Another Calendar Debacle!

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

My mom and I have always had a love/like relationship when my dogs are involved.  I love my Doodles and my mom likes them.  My mom isn’t a dog person and doesn’t really understand my fascination with dogs.  We are not sure at this point what kind of person my mom is, because dogs and babies are really not her thing.  Since Megan had her baby, my mom has taken to reminiscing about the pitfalls of motherhood.  Just the other day she was telling me she realized early on that having kids might not have been the best decision she ever made and she realized in the hospital with my oldest sister that she might have made a mistake. She then went on to add that she should have probably stopped with one and seemed oblivious to the fact that she was speaking to the number three child.  I am used to these musings by my mom, so I took no offense, and she did later add, “oh well, it’s fine now.”  I did, however, suggest she lose Megan’s number for awhile and keep her fond recollections of motherhood to herself or at least recollect with someone she has not given birth to or who hasn’t given birth recently. 

 

The thing I do take offense to is the fact that the other week when I was home and stopped at her apartment, the Doodle calendar I made her for 2014 through Shutterfly was covered by another calendar she got free in the mail.  I tried to give her a DK calendar last year, but she said she didn’t know any of the other dogs, so I had made one special for her of just Fudge and Vern.  When I asked why the calendar was covered, she said I had given it to her too late last year (before Christmas) and she had already been using another one to record 2014 appointments.  Apparently, she was too busy to take the time to move a couple of appointments to another calendar.

 

Today, I told her I was making another calendar for her and all she said was I had better get it to her sooner this year.  The thing is my mom’s and my priorities are very different.  I love having dogs and if I didn’t have to worry when we have to leave them when we go away, I would love everything about them.  Sure, there are days, just like when I had young kids, that I wonder what I was thinking, but mostly I can’t imagine life without my kids or my dogs.  I also know if someone gave me a calendar for a gift, even if it showcased something stupid, which Doodles are not, I would make sure the thing was hanging up when they visited.  I would not turn to the person who created a magnificent calendar for me and say, “sorry, it just didn’t work out this year.”  Oh, and then she added, “don’t I have a picture of John and you holding one of your dogs or something?” 

The picture she is referring to is one we did for a Christmas card and BOTH dogs are in the picture and it makes my heart feel all warm and fuzzy the way she seems to treasure that picture.  I am surprised she isn’t using it as a coaster for her coffee cup by now.  She also goes on and on about the new digital cameras and how nobody has any actual pictures anymore to show anyone, but when I asked her if she wanted me to have some printed for her, she said it was too much paper laying around. 

 

She told me again today that having dogs is too much work and in the next breath, said she has been having fun planning her funeral. Apparently, when my uncle died the comment I made about the hymns that were sung hit a nerve with my mom.  I have long judged a church by the length of the service and as a kid, used to read the bulletin and have a conniption fit if there was going to be both a baptism AND communion.  Even as a youngster I was impatient and used to grumble that I didn’t want to see some kid I didn’t know get baptized.  I also hate hymns with over four verses.  In my opinion, with some of the voices I hear singing all around me in Church, the Lord probably would be happy with minimal verses being sung and if the composer hasn’t made his point in four verses, then I am done.  Well, since I mentioned this all to my mom about long hymns, she has decided that she is taking a stand at her own funeral and putting it in writing what hymns she wants and what verses.  I told her she didn’t have to go to all that bother because I would be more than willing to shout out to the organist, “speed it up already, we have someplace to go.” In addition, she is also banning the liturgy and I commented by the time she got done with the details, we might just be singing one verse of Neil Diamond’s song, Hello Again, as we line up and walk by her casket and calling it a day.   She laughed and commented again that she found the whole process interesting and I just said, “whatever floats your boat, mom!”  

 

I am only telling you all this so you can see that what my mother says sometimes doesn’t always make sense to me, especially about my dogs.  Why would you want to look at some impersonal calendar instead of one of your grand dogs?  If I would ask her, all she would say is, “oh you and those damn dogs.” Oh, and to further make my case for the crazy mom, she announced at my uncle’s funeral that flipping the bird at someone is on her bucket list.  I just hope it is not me, when I hand her the Doodle Calendar at Christmas.

[Leslie, Yogi & Maci Bear]

Poor V&F. I sure hope they don't feel you mom's ambivalence toward them. Doodles think everyone LOVES them ;-). I do and I don't know them...

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

If it makes you feel any better, my mother told me that she never really cared about having kids, it was just something people did, and my dad wanted some. 

She used desk calendars and I gave her one every year, with my birthday clearly marked in red. 

I bought them at the book store. :) 

[F, Calla & Luca]

I get easily 20 calendars a year but nothing compares to ones with my doodles even if the National Geographic photographers have taken some of the other calendar photos. I almost always support your mom but this anti-doodle stance in indefensible. As for electronic calendars bah humbug. Every day my tablet tells me I have nothing sceduled. Often it is mostly right but it doesn't know I secretly, from the tablet at least, keep at least a daytimer, a monthly calendar and a list or a bunch of lists to organize vital appointments like give the dogs their meds : )

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Well. . . . .   I  made my mom a personal calendar for 2011, 2012, 2013.  I put everyone and everyone's dogs on it, and put their pictures on the actual birthday (including the dogs).  I hoped it would remind her to call people on their and their dogs' birthdays.  She pretty much ignored it each year. So last year I made a personalized calendar for my daughter and gave my mom a dk calendar. I made sure to point out what doodles I know personally, what ones I know cyberly and especially the month my guys were in it.  She got a free cheapie calendar from someone just  walking by and has used it all year!  Next year, perhaps I won't bother with a calendar for her at all.  PS I am sure my mom thinks she should have used better birth control!  :-}

[Camilla and Darwin]

Ha ha, love this blog! I know I may be in the minority (like your Mom) but I don't like personal calendars. I actually don't like printed calendars at all. I would never write on them and they would just sit in my laundry room gathering dust. Give me my impersonal, cold Google calendar any day. LOL

I do love that photo of you and John!