What I don't know for sure
;)
I don't know for sure that Bubby will always live so far away.I have a confession to make: I read O - The Oprah Magazine. I don't watch her show -- although I did DVR yesterday's episode because the cast of Glee was on it -- but I do enjoy the magazine, for the most part.
Oprah's magazine is jam-packed full of articles on how to make your life prettier, happier, more fulfilling. I don't read those articles. I really just pretty much read the articles on books, especially the regular column titled "Books that made a difference to ...". Each month a celebrity of some sort lists several books that formed her (or his; she does feature men, too) core. It's one of my favorite places to get book recommendations.
Another regular feature in Oprah's magazine is the back page essay titled "What I know for sure." Oprah apparently knows lots of things for sure. She's quite the advice dispenser, and she uses this column to regularly inform her worshippers readers what she most recently figured out she knows for sure.
I'm not as wise and confident (or as rich) as Oprah. I do know that for sure. But there aren't a whole lot of other things I know for sure. So in this here daily rambling, I'm taking a different tact: I'm going to tell you a little of what I don't know for sure.
Let me first say that "What I don't know for sure" is quite different from "What I don't know." The latter is a more definitive statement; it applies to things I absolutely know for sure that I don't know. For example, I don't know how to use a pressure cooker. I know for absolute, positively sure that I don't know how to do it. I'm a grandma and I thought grandmas were supposed to know that, but I don't. I definitely don't. I don't own nor have I ever even attempted to use a pressure cooker. So that falls under the category of "What I don't know."
"What I don't know for sure" has a subtle but important difference -- it basically covers concepts and ideas that I'm not positive about, that I don't absolutely know are or will eventually be true.
Rather than try to explain, I'll just give you my list. That should make it pretty self-explanatory. (Although I don't know that for sure.)
Here goes:
1. I don't know for sure that our most recent snowstorm -- yesterday -- was the last for the season. It should be springtime, the snow should have stopped, I should be able to plant some pansies. But I don't know for sure that we won't get a massive blizzard at the end of April, as has happened in many years past.
2. I don't know for sure that I'm going to succeed as a freelance writer to the extent that I won't need a real job, another dreaded, soul-sucking office job. But not knowing that for sure keeps me on my toes, keeps me busy, keeps me trying my hardest.
3. I don't know for sure that Jim and I won't ever get another animal. Isabel (the cat) still has issues now and then with Lyla (the new dog) and prefers using the human bathroom instead of the cat bathroom/litterbox so she doesn't have to sneak to her box, crossing her paw nubbins the whole way that Lyla won't catch her en route. I'd like to say I'll never, ever, ever get another animal again -- which Jim does say every single time he finds Isabel's mess in his bathroom -- but I don't know for sure that we really won't. Especially after one of our current brood kicks the bucket.
4. I don't know for sure what I'm making for dinner. I do know for sure that I'm fed up with always having to figure out what to make for dinner.
5. I don't know for sure that I'll always be a long-distance grandma. Not knowing that for sure keeps me going. I know for absolute definite sure that I don't want my kids and grandkids all living hundreds and hundreds of miles away from me, as Bubby now does. But Brianna will eventually have kids, and she lives nearby now. Although she could move ... is considering moving the Pacific Northwest. Andie swears she won't have kids and is considering moving to a hot, desert-like climate. But ya never know -- she could have kids AND stay nearby so I could have little grandkids stay the night on a regular basis. And, of course, there's always the chance that Bubby's mom and dad will decide they should live in the mountains, especially once Bubby's little brother or sister comes along and Bubby's mommy realizes how very, very badly Grandma wants the little ones nearby. I don't know for sure that it couldn't happen. I do know for sure that I'm hoping it will.
There is lots more that I don't know for sure, but I got a tad verklempt with that last one, making it a little hard to type. And I do know for sure that I don't want these final sentences riddled with typos as I can't see through the tears, so the list ends here.
Today's question:
What is something you know for sure or something you don't know for sure?
My answer: I know for sure that today I will brush my teeth and shower and that's about the extent of what I know absolutely for sure will happen. The rest is up in the air ... which is a good thing. I'm open to surprises today.
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Reader Comments (13)
I know for sure that I'm married to the right man. That's a big one and is at the top of my grateful list.
I love O magazine too ... We TiVo the show, and I watch it only if there's something I am truly interested in -- like the "Glee" show. Wonderful show.
What I don't know for sure is where my "career" will go next. And I don't know for sure what's in store for my elderly mom, diagnosed with early stage dementia. Every day for her is a challenge (and therefore a challenge for me, too). But like Kate, above, I am married to the right man -- for sure -- and that is such a comfort and source of strength. It's good to know that for sure!
I know for sure there is nothing else in the world that compares to being a grandma!
I don't know for sure if I'll always be tripping over little kids (I have 7 grandchildren all living down the street, who mostly come daily), but I hope I will. Grands are a blessing. Loved this post, especially the part about Oprah seeming to know a lot and giving out hordes of advice.
O Magazine is too expensive...I can look at the book recommendations while standing in line at the supermarket. :)
One thing I know for sure is that my dream of having a passle of grandkids will never come to pass. Only one child is reproducing and they have decided to only have 2 children (1 so far) and they live so far away, I'm lucky if I see our grandchild half a dozen times a year.
Lisa, I know you are wonderful and every time I think about picking up and moving to a warmer climate I will now always remember the last line of this post as if my mother in law (who is the only grandma left) had wrote it. Then I'd unpack my mental bags and remember how incredible it is for my son to have his granmother (who walks on water) so close.
I know for sure I've been blessed with seven children (more than most women), twenty grand-
children whom I see fairly regularly, four great-grandchildren, so far, whom I see once in a while, and that my late husband gone now fifteen years was the Love of my Life. Also, for as long as I live, I know there will be a cat(s) or/and dog(s) about whom I complain (muddy foot-prints, etc.) but who have a right to life and love and I'm able to provide that for them. They ask so little in return for the unfailing love they give.
I didn't know they even still made pressure cookers much less that there's grandmothers out there still using them.
First: I know for sure that I will learn the definition of the word verklempt and that someday it will pop out at the right moment. I know for sure I will be forever grateful to you for introducing that word to me.
I know for sure how to use a pressure cooker. I have two -- a baby bear and a mama bear-sized one. However after my potato disaster at Thanksgiving, I'm thinking of putting them into retirement . . . or assigning someone else to do the potatoes.
I know that tomorrow (and the day after that, and the day after that...) I will wake up with the best intentions of getting through my to-do list....and I will fail. I will, however, fall into bed exhausted at the end of the night after connecting with my kids and their friends, loving my husband, and walking the dogs and say, "Yep, it was a good dayl"
I don't know for sure if I will be living where I am now and where I have been living for the past 38 years. I want to be near my children and grandchild but my husband wants to live in a warmer climate so he can play golf everyday. It will be a very hard decision when the time comes.
Great post! What I DO know for sure is that I'm unemployed! What I DON'T know for sure is when I'll find a job. That about covers where my mind is right now!
Okay, I had to think about this post before replying.
First, if you ever want to try out a pressure cooker, I have one you can borrow. It has been used exactly twice.
Second -
I know for sure I don't want to live the rest of my life in Colorado Springs; I don't know for sure if we'll ever actually leave.
I know for sure that I love writing my blog; but I don't know for sure how long this love affair will last.
I know for sure that there are many people who love me; I don't know for sure if they know how much I love them and that worries me.
I know for sure that I'm glad I didn't have kids; I don't know for sure if I'll regret that when I'm old.