Is it just me, or has the word "MANDATORY" been tacked on to everything we do? Mandatory PTO meeting. Mandatory Back-To-School night. Mandatory Scout outing . . . mandatory confirmation meeting. Mandatory service hours, mandatory fingerprinting, mandatory Virtus training, mandatory raffle tickets, mandatory scrip, mandatory annual fund, mandatory tuition auto-withdrawal (you must sign up and there is a fee for doing so) and here's my favorite . . . mandatory donation. Is that a quaint euphimism for a bill? Does it even count as a donation if it is MANDATORY? Is my mortgage payment merely a suggestion? I know that "down sizing" is a nice way of saying you're out of a job (your presence is no longer mandatory). I am saturated up to my eyeballs with being told where I must be, and what I must do. Being very mature, it makes me want to do just the opposite. It's making me feel like a petulant 7-year-old - I am about ready to take my ball and go home.
Whatever happened to, "The honor of your presence is requested" . . . or, "Please join us" . . . heck, I'd be pleased as punch with a "Come by for stale popcorn!" invite. Invite being the operative word here. People used to ask for my time and money - now they simply demand it. Punishment will be meted out for any transgressions - a fine will be levied, you will be tossed out on your tushee, at the very least, you will be pointed out for shame and ridicule.
We've all become so over-scheduled and bogged down, we have lost sight of what is really important. I don't want to have to be anywhere. I want my children to be able to stare up at the sky and let their minds wander. I want to take a drive for the sake of taking a drive. No planned destination - just put on some music and look out the windows at the scenery going by. I want to be with the people I love, have dessert for dinner, and laugh at stupid stuff till I cry!
If cancer has taught me anything, it's that I don't have time to waste. The multitude of mandatory minutia is sucking the life out of life. We all need a day where we never even get out of our jammies. We hunker in with a fireplace and a good book . . . maybe some board games and dancing in the living room. A fun family movie and some take-out. Jammie Day. I love it. I say we make it . . . mandatory!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
3 comments:
I love your blogs, Stacy -- and
Yes! I vote for the mandatory Jammie Day. Funny thing, now that I'm retired I'm allowed and don't. What's up with that? Maybe if I had someone to "jammie" with, I would -- who knows?
What I really love about a lot of this mandatory crap is that the parents are "required" to do something and if they don't, the child's school grade suffers for it! So, if I choose not to sign off on my child's book report, he'll lose 10 points. My favorite was when the school newsletter would come home and at the bottom was a tear off I had to sign that said, "I have read the Nobel Newsletter." Um, excuse me, but I don't HAVE TO read the damn newsletter if I don't want to! I'd sign it, but rarely actually read it. I noticed they eventually changed it to, "I have RECEIVED the Nobel Newsletter." I think I'll take one of those days off, but I'm going to lie in bed and read the stacks of magazines I bought through the school fundraiser. No, it wasn't mandatory that I buy some, but I did anyway.
I love it!! It's like everyone has left their cap locks key on! -- I just begrudgingly sent off a "DONATION" yesterday... "donating" when it's EXPECTED just doesn't have the same feel to it, does it?
Post a Comment