Gifts

Not sure what I love more...the absolutely beautiful painting that my sister Chris gave to me (she painted it herself! Such talent--it will be perfect in Maine), or this image of my mother helping Anya learn to knit.  

So many gifts, all around me, if I'm just willing to see them...

Five Minutes

It takes five minutes…

to brew coffee in the French press.

to pick up my daughter from school.

to walk from my office to the library.

to send an email to a friend.

to write a card to someone.

to say goodnight to my kids.

to organize my backpack for the next day.

to set the table.

to read a blog post.

It took only five minutes

for a young man

to kill 26 people,

most of them children.

What does that say about our world?

I choose to focus on the five minutes...

that it takes to love those close to me.

to tell my kids that they are special.

to reach out to others with my heart

and soul.

and to pray that this madness ends. 

What if he were here now?

Today marks three years since my Dad's death.  He'd be 92, almost 93, if he were here with us now.  And this year, I wonder--what would he love if he were here now?

My Dad would love:

1) That Obama won a second term (more to the point, he would love that Romney lost).

2) All the new great grandchildren coming his way, especially those girls.

3) Lecturing everyone over what should happen regarding the fiscal cliff.

4) Being with his family in the holiday season.  If he were still able to, he'd be making seafood chowder for everyone on Christmas eve.

5) Reading, watching TV, and napping in his big comfy chair.

6) Complaining about how everyone today has too many fancy electronic devices that they are plugged into all the time.

7) My mother.  As always.

Mostly, Dad was a guy who loved his home and his family, even if he had some mighty strange ways of showing it.  I think he'd be just as interested in politics, just as ready to argue, and just as joyous in small pleasures now as he was years ago. 

Tournament Day

It was a lot of waaaiiitttinnnggg today, and my back hurt terribly from sitting on bleachers for 4 hours.  But, that's a small price to pay to watch my son do his black belt form perfectly and win a first-place trophy for it, and to see my daughter overcome her nervousness and give a solid performance in her first ever competition.  I'm so very proud of them both. 



Three Generations of Amusement

On a walk just now, Samuel did something to remind me of a hilarious story about my mother from about 25 years ago (or more).  I have to share it:

My mother and I went for a walk one day near my sister Pat's old house in Lanesville (which is part of Gloucester, MA).  On one quiet road near a field, we heard noises.  My mother exclaimed "It's cows!  Quick!  Get a weapon!"  And she snatched up a long, thin branch--you know, the kind that waves in a gentle breeze?  I laughed so hard that I think I nearly fell over.  To this day, I have no idea why my mother thought it was cows, let alone why they would hurt us...

Fast forward several years (about 10, probably).  I was in a mall with my sister Kaethi.  We went into a Bath & Body Works shop.  I was looking around, and suddenly--I hear her voice behind me, exclaiming (loud enough for most people in the store to hear): 
"I'm so soft and fragrant!" 
Yet another moment when I had a hard time remaining standing, because I was laughing so hard.

Another fast forward, to yesterday.  Samuel handed Howard and me menus that he and Anya made.  S & A's restaurant.  Prices for appetizers, lunch, drinks, and dessert.  Howard pointed out that this was a bad deal for us parents: not only did we have to go grocery shopping and buy the food that morning, but then we had to pay for it again through the restaurant.  Samuel blushed, laughed sheepishly, and explained that we would, um, be paying for the service.

Oh, and the entertainment: the kids singing to us while they tortured an old play guitar:

...Sadly, they inherited all of my musical "talent."

Okay, so what funny (but innocent) stories can you tell on your family and friends?

Inspiration

Yesterday, I ran into images like this, of people voting in New York.  Here it's Queens, another was Staten Island.  If anyone had the right to say "I can't vote today," it was these people, whose homes were ruined or who still didn't have power (etc), and whose usual polling locations were not functioning.  I suppose some did decline.  But many did not.  They took time from rebuilding their lives to vote at last-minute tents set up for just that purpose.

If these people could manage to vote, none of the rest of us had an excuse not to do so.

From the Peanut (butter) Gallery

So, here's an opinion piece that my son wrote for me the other day (he calls it a report, but it's not):

The Amount of Peanut Butter and Why ( A report)

                Have you ever gotten criticized by anyone? For how much peanut butter you put on a peanut butter jelly sandwich or a peanut butter bagel? It has happened to me many times. Why, you ask? Because some people out there are critics. Everyone should be able to put however much peanut butter they want on something, so I’m here to say it. I put a good amount of peanut butter on anything. It’s a fact.

                There are many reasons that I am making this claim that everybody should put a certain amount (or more) of peanut butter on ANYTHING. First of all, it is a free country, so everybody should be able to do what they want. If someone just leaves someone to butter their own thing, then the person has every right to put any amount of peanut butter on anything. Also, it’s delicious! It’s irresistible! It should be eaten by anybody, no matter how many times. Lastly,  people can treat their health any way they want, s it’s their fault when they die of too much protein.

                There are also many reasons why I think I put good amounts of peanut butter on my things. First of all, to all you critics (yes, mom, I mean you), have you ever seen that on peanut butter jars, there’s no suggested serving size? Sure, there’s a regular serving size on the nutrition label, but does it ACUTUALLY suggest how much peanut butter to put on specific things? No, most likely not. Also, if , people should already have out a dish of how much peanut butter they want someone to use if the critic doesn’t want the lover of peanut butter to have a great amount of it. Lastly, the more I, or anyone for that matter, have, then we get a whole lot more protein.

                As you can see, all you critical folks, a lot of peanut butter is OK. Wait, it is AWESOME! It gives all sorts of nutrients, and it is very tasty. There are even different kinds, making it even more mouth-watering.  Peanut butter should be used by all. They should be able to use any amount of peanut butter they want (even if it kills them).

Yum, Yum, Yum J

  

Sadly for my boy, his arguments did not work.  I still don't let him put 1/2 a tub of peanut butter on three graham crackers.

Still, you've got to admire his tenacity.