Stop Wasting My Time

Absolutely. I’d keep the advice angle but make “Stop Wasting My Time” the bigger point:

Somebody Needed to Say It: Stop Wasting My Time

If you’ve already decided what you’re going to do, don’t ask me what I think and then get pissed because I thought. 😂

You didn’t want advice.

You wanted confirmation with an audience.

There’s a difference.

“Do you think I should text him?”

No.

“Well, I think I’m going to.”

Okay.

“Do you think that’s a bad idea?”

Yes.

“Why are you being so negative?”

Ma’am, YOU CALLED ME. 😂

If you want me to tell you you’re right, just lead with that. Save us both some time.

And if you’ve already made the decision, TELL ME THAT TOO. Don’t make me spend 30 minutes analyzing your options, weighing the pros and cons, and trying to help you figure out what to do when apparently we weren’t considering any of those options anyway.

Just say, “I’ve already made a terrible decision. I need you to support me emotionally while I do it.”

Perfect.

Now I know my role. 😂

You don’t have to take my advice. You don’t even have to like it. But if you ask for my opinion, don’t punish me for giving you exactly what you asked for.

Because asking for advice, arguing with the advice, ignoring the advice, and then doing exactly what you planned to do before you asked me isn’t asking for help.

It’s wasting my time.

Somebody needed to say it. 😂

I’m Tired of Carrying the Conversation

I’m not as talkative as I used to be. Is this an age thing? Or am I finally out of things to say? I mean, I’ve had something to say about pretty much everything for 61 years, so maybe I’ve finally used up my word allotment. 😂

And I have apparently always been this way. When I was little, I used to tell my siblings, “You rest. I’ll talk.” 😂 I mean, if that doesn’t sum up my entire personality, I don’t know what does. I was carrying conversations before I even knew they needed carrying.

Dennis isn’t a talker, and I’ve always found myself filling in the gaps when we’re together. How did a talker and a non-talker end up together? I guess it worked because I had enough words for both of us. But I think I’m worn out. I don’t want to be responsible for keeping the conversation going anymore. I want to be entertained!

I hate empty silence at the dinner table. Car rides are fine because you’ve got the radio filling the air. Dennis and I can drive 30 miles without saying a word while Pour Some Sugar on Me is blasting like we’re still 25 years old. 😂 Sitting in the living room is fine too because there’s usually a show playing. But the dinner table? There’s nothing. Just two people chewing. I can hear a fork hit a plate and suddenly I feel responsible for starting a conversation like, “Do you think squirrels know they’re squirrels?” 😂

The kids always kept things going. I can ping if somebody else is pinging! Throw something out there and I’ve got something to say. Dennis does join in a conversation, but that’s if everyone else starts it and carries it. Otherwise, he sits at the dinner table to actually eat. Apparently he thinks that’s what we came there for. 😂 For years I didn’t mind being the one who kept things going, but now I don’t want to be that person all the time. Somebody else entertain me. I’ve done my time.

The funny thing is, I recently realized my daddy was the one who carried the conversations in our family. We were lively and we ALL had shit to say, but Daddy was the one who kept it going. My mom was much more like Dennis. Crazy realization, really. When Daddy passed, it was hard on her because suddenly she had to learn a whole new trait. The person who had always filled in those gaps wasn’t there anymore, and now she had to figure out how to do it herself.

Which, of course, got me thinking about Dennis and me.

I hope I go first.

Not for some sweet romantic reason like I couldn’t bear to live without him. 😂 I just think after all these years of me filling in the gaps, it’s only fair Dennis has to learn to talk more.

Knowing him, though, he’ll probably just turn the radio on. 😂

I May Not Spell It, But I Thought It

So I have written this blog for about 17 years. I have even published it into a couple of books that sit in my library, so I never have to shut up or stop having an opinion, even in death. 😂

I tend to write my words like I’m just talking. It helps, if we’ve ever had a conversation, to read it the way you know I would say it—with all my little inflections and theatrics, because maybe then it won’t come across quite so sassy sometimes. 😂

I have always loved to write, and this gave me a place to vent and get my frustrations out. Kind of like a therapy session, only free and I get to do all the talking. I’ve never tried to make it some big talking piece or even something people know about. Occasionally I’ll share a story on Facebook. And I say occasionally because my brain is busy, y’all, and I write almost daily. I have over 1,000 posts, so most of them never make it to Facebook.

My grandma kept a journal, but she only told you she went shopping and how much every item cost. 😂 So I guess we both felt the need to document our lives…we just had different priorities.

Anyway, I only discovered ChatGPT in November of last year when I had a major surgery. I knew very little about it until recently and thought, Wow, she can make me look smarter! 😂 But then she started turning my words into someone else’s words, and they didn’t sound like me. And I realized it’s more important for my personality to shine through than it is for me to sound smarter.

So my pieces are still authentic works of art by a simple person with opinions and insignificant thoughts, just like my title suggests.

But getting the spelling right? That’s all ChatGPT! 😂 I may not know how to spell all the big words in my head, but she does.

And really, that’s all the help I needed

There Are WAY Too Many Graduates of This Program

I’m starting to think How to Be a Dumbass 101 wasn’t just a popular class. It was a degree program. 😂 Because every day I see someone do something completely predictable, get the completely predictable result, and then act absolutely SHOCKED.

You poked the bear. The bear bit you. And now we’re holding a community meeting about the aggressive bear. 😂

There are times life genuinely blindsides us. This isn’t about those. This is about lighting the match, dropping it on the carpet, and then wondering how the house caught fire.

We’ve all heard play stupid games, win stupid prizes. Except now we play stupid games, win stupid prizes, and demand to speak to the manager about the prize. 😂

My daddy used to tell me, “Ya can’t fix stupid.” The older I get, the more I realize that man knew some things. Sometimes the universe isn’t against you. Sometimes you just made a dumbass decision.

Next semester, take Common Sense.

Somebody needed to say it. 😂

Did You Really Come to a Birthday Party Empty-Handed?

 Let’s talk about something that apparently needs to be explained in 2026: you should bring a gift to a child’s birthday party. I know. Shocking.

I’m not talking about spending a fortune. I’m not saying you need to show up with the latest gaming system, a mountain of toys or something that requires its own financing plan. I’m talking about a little something for the birthday child. Because if someone invites you to their child’s birthday party, the polite thing to do is bring a gift.

And before somebody says, “But they have plenty of toys,” I’m going to stop you right there. That is not the point.

The child doesn’t know that you think they have too many toys. The child knows it’s their birthday, there’s a party, there’s cake, there are presents being opened—and you showed up empty-handed. Awkward.

You don’t have to spend $50. You can buy a $10 toy, a coloring book, a book, a craft kit, a ball, a little Lego set or even a gift card. If money is tight, there are plenty of inexpensive things that still say, “I thought about you.”

And if you truly can’t afford a gift, that’s different. Most people understand that. But simply deciding you don’t need to bring one because you don’t feel like it? That’s rude.

And honestly, this isn’t just about children. If someone invites you to a birthday party, a wedding, a baby shower or another celebration where gifts are customary, you should probably bring one. It’s not about the price tag. It’s about acknowledging the occasion.

You were invited because someone wanted you there. They probably bought food, cleaned their house, planned activities, bought decorations and spent time making the day special. The least you can do is walk through the door with a little something for the person being celebrated.

Nobody is asking you to mortgage your house. Just don’t show up empty-handed and then stand there watching everybody else hand the birthday kid a present. Because at that point, the only thing you brought to the party was an awkward moment.

If you think enough of them to accept the invitation, think enough of them to bring the damn gift.