Listen to Traci

Remember the dark ages?  Back before we carried the internet around in our pockets, when we had to answer the phone, pay for music and wait for information?  It was a very different world my friends. If you wanted a restaurant reservation you called.  If you were planning a vacation, you consulted a travel agent.  If you wanted to send mail, you needed an envelope and a stamp.  We got our news from television and newspapers.  And we couldn’t get updates 24 hours a day, either. You had to tune in at a specific time, which is where the phrase “film at 11” came from.  Newspapers were also the source for movie times, advice, local events, restaurant reviews, stock market information, weather reports and job searches. You had to watch TV shows when they aired, and if you missed something, you would wait for summer reruns to catch up. Eventually we had VCRs, so we could record shows in our absence.  But if you forgot, or accidentally tape...

Everybody has at least one thing they can do well, even me.  Still, there's a lot of stuff I wish I could do, some attainable, some not so much, some requires talent, or hard work, and some of it is about just plain luck.  Since I haven’t stumbled across a grungy old oil lamp that needs polishing, most of these wishes won’t come true.  That reality doesn’t stop me from thinking about it, though, so here’s my short list: Carry a tune.  I can sing, and I do sing, often.  But man, what I would give for it to sound good. Meet Meryl Streep.  Because I think we’d be great friends.  Which is probably what a stalker would say.  And I want to make it very, very clear that I am not a stalker and have no plans to become one. But even without the friendship thing, I still really want to meet her.  I mean, she’s Meryl Streep! Change people’s minds when they’re being stupid.  But as Forest Gump’s mama always said, “Stupid is as stupid d...

If you have a Fitbit, you understand the power of feedback.  I’ve never tried any other fitness watch, so I have nothing to compare it to, but I am addicted to my Fitbit and the feedback it gives me.  It’s the rush of the little rocket ship that launches when I hit my step goal, the steps-per-hour rainbow I build when I hit my hourly goal, the exercise pentagon I piece together if I’m sufficiently active five days a week.  It doesn’t matter if I already know, intellectually, that I’ve put in the effort, I crave the tiny electronic pat on the back.  Or buzz on the wrist, if you will. Positive or negative, I’m a big fan of feedback.  When I cook for you, I want to know what you think.  Did it need more salt?  Was it overdone?  Could it use a dash of vinegar?  Was it the best thing you ever tasted and you want more? Is this new blouse a bad color on me?  Do I have something in my teeth?  Is my mascara running down my face?...

Everybody and everything getting on your last nerve today?  Traffic worse than usual?  Lunch unusually blah?  Workday progressing at a snail’s pace?  I have a secret to tell you – your co-workers are always this annoying, your commute is always this bad, your lunch is just fine, and time is passing at the same rate it did yesterday.  You’re in a bad mood. There – the first step is admitting it.  Time to move on. Not to over simplify.  Sometimes you’re in a bad mood for a good reason.  You’re not human if you don’t have obstacles, and I’m not about to try to analyze and solve your major problems here. But all too often, the little things get to us. You’re sleepy, or hungry, or there are too many people in the grocery store and they leave their carts unattended and in your way and then they start backing up without checking behind them and for pity’s sake would you please just pay attention .  Whoops, sorry.  This part...

I find people to be remarkably clever, and I’m often struck by their wit, wisdom, and ability to inspire.  But as much as I’m determined to commit their sagacity to memory, there’s just too much bouncing around up there for me to keep it all straight.  I’ll read or hear something that strikes me as profound and memorable, but if I don’t write it down, the best I can do is think, “There was this thing, that someone said one time, that seemed relevant, or important, or valuable.  I sure do wish I could remember what it was.”  So I started a list.  Here, in no particular order, are some of my favorite things that other people have said: “All you need is love.  But a little chocolate now and then doesn’t hurt.”  Charles Schulz “Guard against the impostures of pretended patriotism.”  George Washington “I don’t know much about being a millionaire, but I bet I’d be darling at it.”  Dorothy Parker “When you reach the end of your rope...

I love to read.  Reading is my favorite.  My idea of a perfect day goes like this – having the house to myself, spending a little time doing chores (in order to bank some anti-guilt collateral for later), then settling myself into a cozy spot to curl up with a good book and a cup of coffee. Later in the day I’ll add snacks.  Come evening, I’ll swap out the coffee for wine, and maybe get someone to bring me a pizza.  If I could insert the sound of a satisfied sigh here, believe me, I would. Reading lets you take adventures, explore, be brave, be romantic, make history, experiment and experience, all from the budget-friendly confines of your comfy couch.  And thanks to the internet, I can (and do) have a book with me wherever I go.  When a book is well-written, I get lost in the words, and I feel what the characters feel, whether it be grief or joy, love or fear. I try to keep the actual drama in my life to a minimum, but a book transports me to a wo...

Here’s the thing – I’m the  worst  customer.  I want to stroll through a store and look around without anyone invading my personal space or interrupting my train of thought.  I’m particular and I have an active imagination and I can make up in my head the ideal product and I know perfectly well that it doesn’t exist so please just leave me alone to wander through the pretty things and then leave purchase-less and disappointed.  Also I have three children, which means I have zero discretionary funds to spend on myself.  Furthermore, because of those offpspring, I have to be excruciatingly aware that whatever amount I spend on Kid One must also be spent on Kid Two and Kid Three, and therefore I am compelled to be quite careful about what I spend on Kid One because I need to be able to triple it. So please don’t try to sell me anything.  It’s 99% certain that I will say no, even if that disappoints both you and me.  As for that other 1%, maybe w...