Wednesday, February 01, 2006

Bother

Bother 1.to annoy, worry, perplex
Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary 7th edition

There are days that
I refuse to let people bother me

And so I pass my time
Involved in more constructive things
I sew
I sleep
I write endless letters to people I hardly know
I try to read books or magazines
or even yesterday’s newspaper
I make myself a sandwich
And then I find myself
—annoyed, because I want to hear an explanation
—worried because there may not be one
—and perplexed because I really don’t understand what’s going on

And still I sit
refusing to let people bother me.

That was Webster's 7th edition. Now I think they're up to 10 or 11.
I no longer get that bothered. These days we have medicine.
When I feel bothered now, I get involved in something incredibly productive, or I go take a nap.
Getting older does have payoffs. Not getting so bothered is one of them.
—me strauss Letting me be

22 comments:

Anonymous said...

Congrats on your win at BA for surfing!

Anonymous said...

I have noticed that I'm not bothered by some things that might have bothered me some 5-10 years ago...:) Some things i used to be bothered with seem not that worth to be bothered with in the first place, and it's amusing remembering how bothered I was with those things.

"ME" Liz Strauss said...

Hi Carrie,
Thanks for the visit and for the note of congratulations.
Liz

"ME" Liz Strauss said...

Hi Janus,
Isn't it amazing how life changes us. Hopefully, we get better and better.
Liz

Anonymous said...

Things that never used to bother me, drive me crazy now and things that I used to hate I want to do.

gone are the days I can watch tv for long periods of time, and now I want a social life.

my mind is playing tricks on my old and feeble self

"ME" Liz Strauss said...

Hi mergrl,
It does take so much energy to be bothered. Doesn't it. I hope you have a day completely worry-free. I'm so glad to see you.
Smiles and hugs to you too.
Liz

Anonymous said...

very good my friend, I find the older I get the less interested I am in the energy bothered takes, there are just so many better things to use my energy for :0)

Hope you have a great day (hugs)

Anonymous said...

You know I like debating politics, right? So when I do it's almost always very clear who the young ones are. They're very black & white, right & wrong, carrying the banner of justice to the extreme (sometimes to the actual detriment of the very people they're trying to help) with strong language.
But me? I'm not bothered. I explain again and again patiently and without ra ra ra and soon they mellow too (or maybe they just get bored with me ;)

"ME" Liz Strauss said...

Hey Melly,
I like your debating style, You leave plenty of room for others and you do have patience. Yeah, my son once said "You get old you don't care about things. That's sad." I told him, "No it's not. If you cared that much all of your life, you'd be dead." So much of being bother is youthful hormones I think. :)
Liz

"ME" Liz Strauss said...

Hey mergrl,
I'm smiling, just thinking about what some of those good things I could spend my energy on might be. Guess I've been spending too much time over at Tree's blog reading comments again. :)

Anonymous said...

I wish I wasnt bothered. I just dont know what to do with myself lately. I cant seem to read because i cant concentrate on anything lately. I cant seem to get interested in anything either. Sleep sounds really good though. Maybe I have getting older to look forward to.

"ME" Liz Strauss said...

Hi Sassy,
You've got big changes going on. That's a little more than being bothered I think. You have every right to be distracted. I wish you'd email me.
Liz

Anonymous said...

hi Liz, I really like this post, it's understated but I really get it. Isn't it nice to get older and put your jammies on and relax :)

"ME" Liz Strauss said...

Hi Rain,
How nicely you said that.
Yeah, it's nice to wear jammie-clothes all day long and feel comfy good and to have comfy good friends too.
Liz

Anonymous said...

The only thing that bothers me is people who try to bother me knowing full well that their acts are futile.

[Wanders off to resolve the potential paradox in that sentence before carrying on].

"ME" Liz Strauss said...

Hi Eric,
Great to see you. It's fun to hear your paradox running you around in a circle again.
Don't let it bother you. We all get in those circles now and then. Welcome back to the blog. Missed you. Hope home was wonderful
Liz

Anonymous said...

You are right. As I age, I just don't have the time to get bothered over much, except maybe love.

"ME" Liz Strauss said...

Hello Garnet,
Yes, there really isn't much worth arguing or fretting over that I haven't already done plenty of fretting about. So I just figure the check has been paid in advance and think about other things when I can. :)
Liz

Trée said...

I think I just need to get older. :-)

"ME" Liz Strauss said...

Nah, Tree, you don't need to get older. You just need to take the world off your shoulders.
Liz

Trée said...

I thought I knew how to do that Liz. I'm having to relearn it all over again. But I'm a determined learner. Plod like a turtle, but plod in my lessons I will. :-)

"ME" Liz Strauss said...

Hey, I think that life is all about having to learn the same lesson over and over and over again. I know it's that way for me. When you do, it's like a video game, you get to go to the next level.