Humor, Things I Want to Remember

things i want to remember – part 29

Kari

if you’re here for the first time, welcome! you’ll be able to find the other parts of this series here.

1- potty training my dogs was way harder than potty training my kids.

2- talking about my blog turning 15 made me realize that in 15 years, i’ll be 70.

3- i can’t believe i forgot to mention this in the tater tot post — but when i was in high school, my nickname was “pee wee” because I could do the pee wee herman dance really well.

look at me go…

4- why is there never heart cancer? ( i asked, and here is what i found out)

5- from the bumper stickers alone in the botanic garden parking lot — coexist, love is love, human rights for all — i knew my people were there. i also learned not to go the last week of may. too many field trips.

6- mcdonald’s had chocolate ice cream in the 80s. some locations bring it back in the summer now.

Photo by Kimsanxw on Pexels.com

7- i saw a man walking in my neighborhood the other morning, and something about the way he moved made me think of my dad. maybe it was his gait, something familiar. but at the same time, i realized: i don’t actually remember how my dad walked. grief doesn’t knock me over like it used to, but moments like that still take the wind out of me.

8- speaking of walkers in the neighborhood… there was a man who lived nearby who walked to the grocery store every single afternoon for years, like since the girls were little. then one day this spring, i realized i hadn’t seen him in a while. i still haven’t. and it makes me sad.

i’d be unhappy too if i had a long-sleeve dress on at the beach

9- the more expensive the clothing company, the unhappier the model in the ads.

10- leon bridges’ real name is todd. todd bridges played willis on different strokes.

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48 thoughts on “things i want to remember – part 29”

  1. Grief is very like that. To this day, 11 years after my mother’s passing, I’ll be in a store shopping for clothes and grab something , thinking mom will love that. Chokes me up every time.
    ❤️

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  2. So, I was never able to potty train my dogs, not really, and I didn’t really potty train my kids. The daycare ladies did. If only I’d had daycare ladies for my dogs. Also, I love that picture of high school you. If it makes you feel any better, in 15 years I’ll be 75. Yikes! How is that even possible? I am the same age as Todd Bridges, and your mention of him took me down such a sad internet hole. Of course he was sexually abused, and by a publicist and family friend. This made me think of another documentary (still have the Pee Wee one on my list), Child Star (on Hulu) and the one about Brooke Shields and about how all children of our generation (not just actors) were so often not well-cared for by adults. How we were too often treated like little adults when we were still just kids. This all made me feel sad (yeah, grief), which is why I very much appreciated smiling at the sad models. Thank you 🙂

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    1. Biscuit still pees and poops in the house, but Buddy has always been potty trained. I definitely need one of those daycare ladies to come potty train Biscuit.

      In the next 15 years, can we have a Blogger Meet Up?

      And yes—child acting needs to be stopped. Hollywood is full of predators, and all the celebrities have blood on their hands. Wow, this really took a dark turn.

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  3. I understand your moment of grief. I’m going through that with my mom and my kitty Olive! the other day I was on my walker and noticed my husband left the sliding glass doors open. My first thought was, “Oh, no! the cat got out!” Then I felt a wave of grief knowing that kitty is gone. She had to be an inside cat since we moved to Arizona because of our wildlife. As for my mom, I find myself wanting to call her to tell her something that has happened.

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    1. Thank you for sharing so openly. Those sudden waves of grief are so hard to prepare for—it’s clear how deeply she was loved. And wanting to call your mom, even when you can’t, is such a tender ache that shows how strong your connection still is. You’re not alone. I’m holding space for you and sending hugs. 💜

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  4. Thank you Kari. I love your life observances. Seemingly simple at first but some are actually quite profound.
    As others have mentioned I could relate to the grief and thoughts of your dad – how he walked. Honestly, I was hobbling a little bit this morning (sore heel/achilles) and it made me think of my mother and how she walked near the end. She didn’t hobble but it was a unique thing she did with her feet and her walker.
    I sometimes am sad I don’t have more of her recipes in her writing.
    Thanks for the info on why there isn’t much heart cancer and that Leon Bridges is actually Todd Bridges and why he doesn’t use that name. :-) xo

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    1. Thank you so much for your beautiful words. It means a lot to me that you connected with those small, tender moments — like the way someone walks. I’m sorry you’re dealing with that sore heel and Achilles pain right now; it’s amazing how those physical aches can bring up memories of our loved ones, isn’t it? I totally get that feeling of wishing we had more of their stories or recipes written down.

      Sending you a hug and lots of love. 😘💜

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  5. The heart/cancer topic is fascinating! Thank you for sharing!

    Oh it is so strange and startling and heartbreaking to see someone who reminds you of those you’ve lost! The heart leaps for just a moment in recognition and that drop is tough.

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  6. I was really hoping you were going to say Todd Bridges’ real name was Leon. What a perfect circle that would have been.

    I just wish McDonald’s would bring back their Cajun McChicken. I loved that sandwich to death.

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  7. I remember Mc Donald’s having chocolate ice cream.. which is weird since I really do not/did not eat chocolate ice cream so I doubt I actually had any. Both those remarks about the model had me chuckling! Why do they always look so angry/sad?

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  8. Awww, I’d love to see your Pee Wee Herman dance! My husband loved to watch Pee Wee’s Playhouse when we were first married. It was too weird for me, but I also hate The Wizard of Oz, so I know I’m a weird one myself :)

    I feel as though every time I took my kids to the zoo or a museum, there was some sort of school/daycare group there. It’s year round!

    Walkers in the neighborhood. Yes, it’s sad when you notice they are no longer walking. There’s a man who walks from our hood to Starbucks everyday between 12-2 pm. He must be retired, but he’s always dressed and groomed very nicely. I would love to talk to him! There’s also a man who lives on the main street in our town and walks everywhere, but he has a distinctive limp. One night while my husband and I were out walking on the main road, he stopped to talk to us. We learned that he had been in the Olympics many years ago as a runner (I don’t remember which category he ran in). He had an injury that made him quit competing, but he never gave up and still gets outside everyday. I am so impressed by him and always beep and wave when I drive by him (because I am NOT walking to the grocer store :) )

    LOL on those models!

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    1. It was a weird show, honestly. And I’ve never loved The Wizard of Oz either—I was terrified of the tornadoes and those monkeys!

      Daycare—that’s why it’s year-round. But when we were there, it was schools and schools of kids. It was the last week of public elementary school in the area, so we should’ve known better. We said we’ll go either in April or in the fall next time.

      Isn’t it fun to watch walkers? I love hearing the stories of your neighborhood walkers. 💜

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  9. I can see you as a 70 y.o. blogger. What’s the problem? 😜

    Agree about the correlation between scowling models and the price of clothes. Maybe the models are so hungry from not eating that they don’t have the energy to smile?

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  10. Ugh about the realization of 15 does in fact equal 70 😑 i am not enjoying heading into senior citizen. So funny about Leon Bridges, I once had a bumper sticker that said “I’m what Willis was talkin’ ’bout.

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  11. LOOK at you go, Kari! I LOVE that photo of you doing the Pee-wee dance. Yes, you DO look like him! Speaking of which, I rewatched “Pee-wee Himself” again last night. Such a great doc, isn’t it? The final scene (once again) brought tears to my eyes. I so miss Paul.

    And speaking of McDonald’s chocolate ice cream, I totally remember it because one of my first jobs when I was a kid, was working at McDonald’s (my job was toasting the hamburger buns). Besides the ice cream, I loved their crispy apple pie dessert.

    We have several Free People retailers here in Philly. I love their merchandise. They are also in the family that includes “Anthropologie” and “Urban Outfitters.” Great retailers as well.

    Enjoyed the video clip you shares, as well as this entire post. Happy Monday, my friend. Wishing you a faaaaaaaaabulous week!

    X

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    1. I’m so glad you loved it, Ron! It made me cry too. He was such a good human. The birthday phone calls he made daily? Oh man. What a treasure. I miss him too.

      OMG—I worked at McDonald’s for two years when I was a teenager! I loved their apple pies too. They also had cherry pies back then, and those were my absolute favorite.

      I’m so glad you enjoyed it, my friend. Hope you have a wonderful week too! 😘💜

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  12. Back in the day I liked Diffrent Strokes well enough but wow, the premise for that show does not hold up. The actors’ lives turned out so sadly. Although in Molly Shannon’s memoir she tells a hilarious/ gross story about Gary Coleman and how he was a total sex pest.

    I don’t think I’ve ever seen the Pee Wee dance!!! Should I just wait until we meet so you can show me?

    Awww, this reminded me of my neighbourhood in Calgary. We bought our house in 2000, it was built in 1962 and most of the residents there were “originals.” We were the young people! And then when we had the kids, there were so few kids on our street that everyone just doted on them. It was really special, they watched them grow up. Since I was a SAHM I would talk to all of them, all the walkers and gardeners and so forth. There was one lady who got a walker during Covid and she said to me “what do you think of my new wheels?” I get updates from an old neighbour and I THINK they are all still alive. But I don’t know. Maybe I’ll start checking the obits like the 70 year old I’ll be in 20 years. Anyway, it was always lovely to see the people in the neighbourhood.

    Grief is such an unpredictable thing. xoxoxo

    PS Potty training is terrible, full stop!

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    1. Right? Sometimes I’ll watch old shows and think, WTF? Why did we ever think this was okay?
      Did you happen to see the documentary on Gary Coleman? It was definitely eye-opening.

      I think it’s something that’s better experienced in person, honestly.

      Nicole, I love this so much. We’ve lived here for 20 years this summer, and I still enjoy seeing so many of the same people—raising kids, staying connected. I’ve never lived anywhere this long in my life. It feels so special to be rooted in one place for this long.

      It really is unpredictable.

      TERRIBLE.

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  13. Can you still do the PeeWee Herman dance?! I would love to see that!

    I never thought about heart cancer (why it’s not usually heard of)…so thanks for that interesting information.

    It’s sad how we forget how our now-gone loved ones walked, or what their voice sounded like, or how they smelled. We don’t think we’d ever forget those things, but we do. But one thing is for certain: we will never forget their love for us (and vice-versa), the way they smiled, their quirks and mannerisms, how they dressed, their sense of humor, what their favorite music was, what their favorite foods were, the way they treated others, what animals they were drawn to, what specific talents they had. <3

    The unhappy model theory…made me laugh out loud! So true.

    xoxo

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    1. Haha, I’ll try next time I see you!
      Anna and I were talking about it on the phone one day and both went, “Huh… wonder why that is?”
      I love all of this. It’s no longer painful to talk about the good memories of my dad—now it just feels really lovely to think of him and smile.
      LOL, so true!

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  14. PS – don’t freak me out about this almost-70 crap. I’m only a little over 7 years away from that age. How is that even possible?! :-o

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  15. Micky D’s had chocolate ice cream? Oh, I’d be into it! Since my friend died almost a year ago, I can care less about aging and numbers. Birthdays are good. I embrace them!

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  16. I love little Kari doing the Pee Wee dance! ❤️ You rock! Oh, I feel that, recognizing a deceased loved one in someone else’s walk or talk. It can hit hard. I hope you’ll keep blogging until you’re 70! I hope I can too, if I can keep up with technology!

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  18. Sumo came housetrained – yay!

    I loved the McDonald’s twist cones. Yum.

    The swings grief occasionally takes at us are all the worse for their sneakiness, if only because they remind us that life does persist. I’m sorry 🖤 My occasional trigger is older women with longish, white hair.

    The info about the heart was very interesting. So was the Willis factoid – what you talking about?

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    1. That is such a huge gift, isn’t it?

      I loved the twist cones too! I made so many of those when I worked there. 💜

      Oh, friend—I understand triggers. I saw a man on TikTok last week who had my dad’s profile. He has dementia, and his daughter was talking about making the hard decision to move him into memory care after taking care of him for so long. I just burst into tears.

      What you talkin’ about! Love it!

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  19. But Todd Bridges isn’t Leon. Right? I mean, are they the brothers of Jeff Bridges? Beau Bridges? So many bridges.

    I’d completely forgotten that Pee Wee had his own dance, and LOOK AT YOU! I need to watch that documentary, maybe tonight.

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  20. I’ll be 70 in a couple of years, and it’s the first decade I’m having feelings about. I guess because not only is there no getting away from it being old, but it also that age after which you start not to be surprised when you hear people have died. I’ve never given any thought to my mortality – not even when I had cancer – but I am starting to do so now.

    Being 15 years away from that deadline means you’ve got a wonderful period of time in which to live life to the fullest Kari <3 <3 <3

    That is such a funny observation about the models in expensive clothing ads! My daughter was a model for one in the UK some years ago. She isn’t smiling in any of the ads either, so I must ask her if that was an instruction.

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    1. I totally understand those feelings. This aging thing—it just doesn’t feel real, does it? When I think about how my mom was my current age when my youngest was a toddler, it blows my mind. She felt older then—if that makes sense? Maybe “older” as in wiser. I was still learning how to be a mom to a little one. Time and age are such a trip.

      Yes I do, Deb! The good news is, the last 15 years didn’t fly by—and I hope the next ones don’t either.

      Yes, ask her!!

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  21. In my college years I worked at KFC… No ice cream there. But my son Rainn and I love a nice soft-serve cone from McDonald’s: just vanilla. Oh, and I love the coffee frappes.

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    1. I used to love KFC when I was growing up—I haven’t had it in years!
      And a vanilla cone from McDonald’s? Still one of my favorite simple joys. 💜

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