Living Happily Ever After
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Blog Articles

Love, Marriage, Eyebrows…Or The Lack Thereof

Date: June 19, 2011  Author: Andrea Merriman

“You have to walk carefully in the beginning of love; the running across fields into your lover’s arms can only come later when you’re sure they won’t laugh if you trip.” (Jonathan Carroll, “Outside the Dog Museum”)

I haven’t run across a field into #5′s arms yet. However, as for the whole “walking carefully” thing, it’s a little too late for that.

Due to a tiny, pink Panasonic “personal” trimmer.

Because I own one, and finally put the battery in it and decided to test it out.

It has been awhile since I’ve shaped my eyebrows, so I thought that would be a perfect project for my little pink trimmer. Consumer report: It worked really well. It was easy to use. I was impressed with its trimming capability.

Until my arm slipped.

And before I knew what was happening, I had shaved off half of my right  eyebrow!

It was one of THOSE moments.

I stood there, staring in the mirror, filled with horror at what I’d done. Then I remembered: I’m married now;  WHAT was my husband going to say? (Note to self: Not a wise mistake any time, but especially when you’re a newlywed AND turning 44 years old. You’d think you’d have the hang of eyebrow grooming by the time you reach middle age! Apparently…unless you’re me.)

That evening, when I saw my husband and he asked me what I’d done that day, I REALLY had something to report! I don’t think it’s what he expected to hear I’d been up to, but he had the good grace, following his initial shock and disbelief, to shake his head and laugh (despite the fact we were on our way to an anniversary party for his talent agency, Utah’s TMG, to spend the evening with actors and models! JUST what you want to do and where you want to go, particularly after you’ve shaved off half of one eyebrow!)

Second marriage moment #15. Having to tell my new husband of less than 4 months that I’m missing half an eyebrow.

I never expected that.

Hamsters Do It All The Time

Date: January 10, 2011  Author: Andrea Merriman

Q: “Is there any living species of animals that feed on their young?
A: A lot of them. Many invertebrates (like insects and spiders) will eat their young…most fish will eat the young as they do not distinguish their young from others. Some mammals will kill and eat the young if stressed.  Hamsters do it all the time. As a kid I raised mink and we had problems. In a thunderstorm the female may devour the young. Much of the cannibalism among mammals is caused by stress and not hunger.” (AllExperts.com)

I’m pretty sure there’s a Proverb about “One bad apple spoils the whole bunch.” And since I’ve never taken the time to thank that one bad apple, I thought I’d do it now.
I was snuggling with my youngest before bed recently, which led to an interesting conversation. His arms were wrapped tightly around my neck, squeezing almost to the point of choking me (anyone who has hugged a toddler/small child knows the kind of hug I’m talking about!) He had just finished whisper-singing a few songs in my ear and we lay face to face, chatting about anything and everything and soon, our talk turned to love.
“I love you.”
“I love you, too, Mommy.”
“I love you more.”
“How much?”
“I love you SO MUCH…I could eat you up!” And I kissed his cheek, his neck, the top of his head, and tickled him a little bit for good measure. (Ok, and I admit it, I may have pretended to gobble him up, but only a little bit.)
He stopped, released his hold on me, pulled back, looked me right in the eye with a bit of suspicion, trepidation and uncertainty and clarified, “But you wouldn’t ACTUALLY eat one of your children…would you, Mom?”
No, I would not. I promise I will not. In fact, I can guarantee it. But how remiss of me to never have thanked the spiders, insects and other creatures who apparently do and who have given the rest of us mothers a bad rap. Thank you. And despite the fact that apparently hamsters do it all the time, I promise I don’t. And won’t.
“I love running cross country…On a track, I feel like a hamster.” (Robin Williams)


Life Is Like A Marathon

Date: December 3, 2010  Author: Andrea Merriman

“I thought about running a marathon a long time ago, but I’m just not a runner.” (Shannon Miller) I thought about it, too, long enough to laugh. Then I sat down and rested because even the thought of it depleted my strength!

There are a lot of similarities between running and life. Unfortunately, in life, you can’t decide you’re not a runner and quit. You have to keep living. And you have to put something into the effort.

“Running is the greatest metaphor for life, because you get out of it what you put into it.” (Oprah Winfrey)

My dad was a runner and he got me out of bed early each morning to go running as a teenager. I didn’t love it, I did it because I didn’t have a choice. And of course, it wasn’t until much later that I looked back and saw how much that experience helped me. The coaching from my dad, and his insistence that I get up each morning and face the task ahead even though I dreaded it,  is what helped me get out of bed every morning to face the misery of my unexpected life in 2009.

His insistence that I run even when I was tired or didn’t want to, helped train me to keep putting one foot in front of the other, no matter how much I wanted to quit, until I finished what I had to do. Because in running, if you quit, you miss out on the “high” that eventually comes. You don’t get the thrill of victory as you cross the finish line. But if you endure it well, hang in there, make it through adversity when life is the hardest and most challenging, it’s your opportunity to shine, with your finest performance.

“I ran my fastest marathon in the rain.” (Bill Rodgers)

So as the challenges of our unexpected lives rain down on us, may we rise to the occasion and even above it, and perform to the best of our ability. Turn in our best times. And eventually, be able to look back and see that the hard times were even possibly some of our best times.

That’s what my unexpected life is teaching me.