about me – Angel Wheeler

My Happily Ever After

I’ve known my husband since I was eleven years old and he was twelve, that’s how it is in a small town. My family ran onto some hard times and had to move to the po’ side o’ town. That’s the poor side of town for those who aren’t from there. You’ve heard the joke…..we were so po we couldn’t afford the ‘or’. Jason lived 2 blocks away to the right. We did not have a love at first sight experience. Actually, he was crushing on my sister instead and would bring her roses he’d stolen from somebody’s flowerbed. They were outside sitting on the porch and I could be found next door watching Golden Girls and Cagney and Lacey with my Grannie, not giving two thoughts to boys.

We went to Middle School and High School together where he was a year older than me. We hung out in different crowds, but said hello in passing.

I was in my early adulthood when I figured out that I knew everyone in both the police record and the wedding announcements. Small town stuff. Early adulthood is when society dictates that you should get married. I wasn’t married, nor was I anywhere close. There’s a sort of panic that sets in when you figure out that you aren’t on the same time frame as the rest of the world.

Being a single girl in a small town is not an easy thing to do. Up until I found and married Jason, I was constantly being asked who I was dating, why wasn’t I dating, or someone was trying to fix me up. Eventually the well meaning townsfolk decided I was probably a lesbian and left me alone.

One day in 1998 I went to the grocery store to buy Fruity Pebbles and Ramen Noodles, staples in my single-girl diet. As I was walking out, a girl I knew stopped me in the parking lot and told me someone’s truck had just rolled into my car. In small towns everyone knows what everyone else drives. I rolled my eyes and groaned. This turned out to be my third wreck in a parking lot! In my experience, you’re pretty much out of luck. The police won’t do much because it’s considered private property. You just have to hope the other guy has insurance and is a respectable dude who will take care of it. When I got into eye shot, I saw this empty, avocado green, beat up Ford pickup had knocked out of gear and rolled about fifty feet before slamming his taillights into my headlights.

It belonged to Jason. I knew that the minute I saw it. Small town stuff. Neither of us were in our vehicles at the time. It was almost as if this old, green, beat up Ford truck saw this fancy, new, bluish purple Mustang and said, “Hey there, wild thang with the 4 cylinder. I think you need a better look at my rear end.” I leaned against the side of my car and waited for him to meander out of the store. He was all apologies, promised he’d take care of it. And he did. He called me up and asked me to take it to a certain body shop, the car got fixed and life went on. And that was that.

For five more years.
Dates with crazies came and went.
Then I became a recluse.
I would never go out. People would tell me I needed to be out meeting people. But I had met people, and they turned out to be daddy’s boys or killer cops and I’d rather stay home and watch Survivor alone. If somebody wanted to date me, they were going to have to knock on my door. And that was that.

Then one day I came home from work to find Jason’s name on my caller ID. That was curious, but I assumed it was a wrong number. He called back two days later and asked me out. We talked for three hours. I was teaching school and a parent of one of my students, that happened to be a friend of his, had suggested he ask me out. He remarked that I was too sweet for him, which is true. But a few days later, we passed each other on the main road in town and waved, and prompted him to call. I’d had my experiences with cowboys, not to mention their dads, and didn’t figure it would go anywhere, but I agreed. Eating Ramen Noodles was getting pretty old by this time.

It worked out pretty good.
He wore a yellow shirt.
I ordered chicken.

We had a second date.
He took me horseback riding.

I needed a boost on the butt.

He happily obliged.
I was petrified.

We had a third date.
At a comedy club.
His truck started breaking down on the way home.

A few months later he proposed to me on bended knee.
We got married.
He still has to give me a boost on the butt.
A much bigger boost on a much larger butt.

Sometimes, when I get nostalgic, I’ll think about the wreck we had in the parking lot both in unmanned vehicles. I learned later that of course that po’ boy didn’t have any car insurance but knew a guy who could fix my car. They did a little bartering and Jason broke a horse for the body shop man in exchange for payment. Small town stuff.

It’s a funny story I guess. Maybe even a coincidence.

Perhaps it was Fate.
Or Destiny.
Or the cosmos aligning perfectly with Mercury in the Sixth House.

But if you really want to know the truth, I believe it was God.
I believe that he intended for that collision of two unmanned vehicles to be the beginning of Jason and Angel. A collision of love.
And we just weren’t listening.

That was a move on His part to create His will for two dumb pilgrims down here, and we missed it. So he went to Plan B. He works around our goofs.
Because He’s cool like that.

This entry is #15 on a list of 30 things. How I fell in love.

My 10 pet peeves

I’m whittling away a list of 30 things to blog about. This is a list of pet peeves.

According to Wikipedia:

Pet peeves often involve specific behaviors of someone close, such as a spouse or significant other. These behaviors may involve disrespect, manners, personal hygiene, relationships, and family issues.

A key aspect of a pet peeve is that it may well seem acceptable to others. For example, a supervisor may have a pet peeve about people leaving the lid on the copier up and react angrily, be annoyed when others interrupt when speaking, or by messy desks of their subordinates. That same supervisor may witness employees coming into work late, and not feel any annoyance whatsoever.

I’m not sure if I have 10 pet peeves although I’m going to do my best to give it a go.

#1. Not using correct grammar when writing your, you’re, to, two, too, there, their, they’re. My goodness, may I be careful to proofread from now on. They’re will probably be at least to mistakes in this post that your going to notice.

#2. When talking to someone on the phone and they begin to talk to someone in the room with them. Either talk to me, or to the other person in the room, but not both of us at the same time. I get confused. “Are you talking to me?” “No, I’m talking to my son.” If it’s that important to talk to them, hang up and call me back.

#3. Not giving me personal space. I am not touchy-feely. I don’t want to sit up against someone on the couch and I really hate when someone sits on the arm of the chair that I’m sitting in. Hugging if you’re not going to see me for a while is acceptable, kissing is reserved for only a select few, and only then if I’m in a good mood. Maybe you’re wondering how I ever had EK. My husband wonders the same thing every day.

#4. Leaving the lid off the milk and putting it back in the fridge. It’s not hard to snap the lid back on. It usually takes one motion.

#5. Hair in the tub. *gag* The bad thing is, if there is hair in the tub, *gag* it’s usually my own. *gag* I’m such a shedder. But it’s terrible when it’s someone else’s hair *gag* or in the sink *gag* or especially while I’m doing dishes *gag*

#6. Noises. Okay, this really is probably my number one pet peeve. I am terribly annoyed by repetitive, unnecessary noises (except the clicking of a keyboard which is happening now). Which is bad considering my former career choice as an elementary teacher. But things like drumming fingernails, rolling a pencil across a desk continuously, clearing your throat over and over, or smacking gum makes me want to hurt someone. Badly. Also, I married a drummer. He’s constantly drumming on things so I just imagine myself hurting him and watch the clock.

#7. Unruly pets that jump in your lap when they were not invited. Refer to pet peeve #3.

#8. Channel surfing really gets on my nerves too. Just find something to watch, already. Same goes with radio stations. I’d rather hear the annoying commercial jingle than the blep, blop, blip, blog, glog, glop, glip of the channels or stations being changed.

#9. Loud yawns. Does that make you feel less tired to let out that loud noise?

#10. Leaving the keys to ding in the ignition or that crazy beeping when you aren’t wearing your seatbelt. Please just close the door, remove the keys or buckle up.

So, that’s a few of my pet peeves, four which involve noises. These are subject to change of course as my daughter grows bigger and draws my attention to others or as I grow older and more cratchety, which is closer than you think. I try to be patient with others, but it’s not always easy. And I’m sure as I publish this post and go about the rest of my day, I’ll find fifteen more that I forgot to mention.

What about you? What’s your #1 pet peeve?

30 Things

So I found this pin on Pinterest recently and I think I’ll give it a try. It’s from a blog titled babymakingmachine.com

It’s entitled 30 things my kids should know about me.

Here’s her list.

THE LIST:

1. List 20 random facts about yourself.
2. Describe 3 legitimate fears you have and describe how they became fears.
3. Describe your relationship with your spouse.
4. List 10 things you would tell your 16 year-old self, if you could.
5. What are the 5 things that make you most happy right now?
6. If you could have three wishes, what would you wish for?
7. What is your dream job, and why?
8. What are 5 passions you have?
9. List 10 people who have influenced you and describe how.
10. Describe your most embarrassing moment.
11. Describe 10 pet peeves you have.
12. Describe a typical day in your current life.
13. What’s the hardest part of growing up?
14. Describe 5 and weaknesses strengths you have.
15. Describe when you knew your spouse was the one or how I fell in love.
16. What are your 5 greatest accomplishments?
17. What is the thing you most wish you were great at?
18. What do you think your spouse loves most about you?
19. How did you feel the moment you became a parent?
20. Describe 3 significant memories from your childhood.
21. Describe your relationship with your parents.
22. Where do you see yourself in 5 years? 10 years? 15 years?
23. What’s your favorite holiday and why?
24. What’s your favorite and least favorite thing about parenthood?
25. If you could have dinner with anyone in history, who would it be and what would you eat?
26. What popular notion do you think the world has most wrong?
27. What is your favorite part of your body and why?
28. What’s your favorite quality in your spouse?
29. What are your hopes and dreams for your prosperity?
30. List 10 things you would hope to be remembered for.

It’s a bit daunting if I do say so myself, but my goal is to attempt a once a week post on one of these topics. I doubt I’ll go in order, because that’s just not how I roll. I’ll do the easy ones first, because that is how I roll and I’ll weed through the rest.