(Very) random thoughts

Sparkly body lotion - cool ? Or incredibly juvenile and tacky ? I am so torn. I have a tube of some sort of sample that says it will give me a "glow" and then, I have these bath bead thingies that are technically called "bath caviar" and they look like teeny tiny pearls. And after soaking in a bath with these babies, I am sparkly ALL OVER (if you know what I mean) and I just can't tell if it is freaky or not. I think it looks kind of cool, but maybe other people see it and go "ew. What the hell is she thinking?"

Tissues or Hankies ? Are they gross, or romantic, or should you just get over it and use some toilet paper to wipe your freaking nose as needed? Having hankies or tissues implies that you blow your nose enough to need a constantly supply of SOMETHING to blow on/in/with. And in my family, you would be absolutely correct. I come from a long line of women that could never have their nose pierced because - if they did - there would always be a shred of tissue stuck in the piercing. The only way to avoid this problem would be to use hankies - and now that I am actually contemplating a nose piercing, I am suddenly very interested in hankies. In particular, heirloom hankies, handed down through the generations of women allergy-sufferers in my family. My grandmother had a cedar box on her dresser, filled with hankies. I hope my mother or my aunt has that box (and it's collection) somewhere - because one of my favorite things to do as a little girl was stand at her dresser in a pair of stillettos, with a really bright coral lipstick oh-so-carefully applied, and a squirt of perfume behind my knees, and methodicaly go through the hankie box, and pull out all the hankies - the fine tissue-thin white cotton, the thicker linen, some with patterns, some with colors, some with embroidery - all soaked in a particular scent of cedar and perfume, all clean and neatly folded and pressed flat, just waiting to be tucked in a purse, or a sleeve. My mom does not carry hankies - she carries Kleenex. The good kind - no generic scratchy facial tissue brand for her - she's got the extra-soft stuff. Not the kind with lotion or antibacterial, because you can't use those to clean your glasses. And if you lick them in preparation for wiping off your child's face(or grandchild now - if she tried to do that to me I would knock her out) your tongue ends up all fuzzy and greasy. And she keeps her tissues in her purse and her pockets, and her car, and in every room, and in winter she usually has one or two (mostly clean) tissues up her sleeve. I don't think I will ever carry tissues in my sleeve, but I don't want to rule anything out just yet.

Walking home from school with friends - is it safe in this day and age ? Or a temptation of the fates, or asking for trouble ? Aren't we lucky to live within walking distance of our school, and shouldn't we enjoy our proximity to it's utmost ? The big question in my mind these days (after "How the hell am I going to pay the mortgage?") is: should we let our son walk home in the afternoon with his friend who lives across the street, and his friend's older sister? Is that a good first taste of freedom, or a responsibility he isn't old enough to accept or understand? It is such a hard call for me, as my natural instincts are to coddle and smother the poor things until they run from me screaming. But I don't want to err too far in the other direction either - all willy-nilly letting them do as they wish with minimal supervision. I AM home, so shouldn't I just go get him? Or should I give him a taste of sweet, sweet freedom? I just can't figure out if it's reasonable to give him the opportunity, and see if he can handle it. My biggest concern: if anyone hurt him or snatched him or if he went missing, it would kill me. I am not sure if I trust him - and the world at large - to get back and forth safely. And what if he fell down or was hit by a car or something? Would that make me NEGLIGENT? I would certainly FEEL negligent if anything happened to him. And if I was lying on the sofa waiting for him to get home and heard the ambulance siren I just know I would have a HEART ATTACK. But, for the reality check, My husband was a "latch key kid" and did all sorts of STUPID things, and lived to tell the tale. Just ask him about the spray can of lysol, the lighter, and his GIJoes. It's a cute story. As for me, beginning when I was about Max's age I went to NYC on the AMTRAK, by myself, to stay with my cousin. I survived - and she took me to CBGB's for god's sake. So maybe I am overthinking this just a bit.