Miserable 24-hour stomach flu shared at our house this week. Thanks kids. You are adorable, and the joy of our lives, but you are also grubby, germy petri dishes of bacteria. And it does not help that one of you is a compulsive thumb sucker. Most days i try not to think about all the nasty things they touch and ingest and/or carry into the house. But then some days, all that filth becomes the center of the universe. It helps,... Read more
“My tummy hurts.” “Show me where. Point.” “Right here!” “That’s not your tummy, it’s your chest.” “Why?” “Look how pretty the sky is! The sun’s going down.” “Why?” “So it can be dark out for bedtime.” “Why?” “Can i have a juicebox?” “No, you already had one.” “Why????” “Um…why did you already have one? Or why can’t you have another one?” *&$^#@&*#!!!! I always thought people were joking about the “why’s,” but we’ve got ’em at our house, BIG time.... Read more
I love hiking in the desert (when it is below 90 degress…). I live in the north valley near several mountain preserve areas, so finding a nice trail is as easy as pulling over, or walking a block and stepping over a fence. Desert trails are mostly dusty and rocky though, and for all of the beauty of my surroundings, i catch myself looking down alot. Not that the trails around here are especially strenuous… Just that there’s lots of... Read more
Raise your hand and jump up and down like a girl if you are super excited for the season premier of Grey’s Anatomy tonight!! I know, I know, it’s only a tv show. Maybe it’s because, though the calendar says fall, it is still 100+ degress in the valley of the sun, and i’ll cling to anything that reminds me a new season has begun. Technically. Maybe it’s because my whole family has been feeling crummy for the past few... Read more
“George was a monkey. He lived in Africa. He was a good little monkey, but he had one fault. He was too curious.” This is the opening scene of the original “Curious George” book, circa 1941. Here is how the more recent George stories begin: “George was a good little monkey, and always very curious.” Whoa. See what just happened there? Big difference. Still a curious monkey, but it’s a long way from but to and… BUT he was curious indicates... Read more
A pumpkin latte in my hand. From Not Starbuck’s. A cool crisp 62 degrees out. I am on a porch swing with a background of lush foliage, bleeding slowly from green into reds and browns and yellows. I am wearing my favorite brown sweatshirt, and reading a really great library book. The day ahead is miraculously full of nothing but open time, save playing with my kids, and later having some friends over for dinner. OK, so almost none of those... Read more
I was sitting on the floor of my crummy first-year-of-being-a-grownup apartment, doing grad school homework that i should have done the night before, and getting ready to go to class. Which means I probably shouldn’t have been watching tv, but was. When the plane hit the first tower, i went and woke up my roommate, who was still sleeping. “What? That’s crazy!” she said. I ran quickly back to the tv to find out what a breathless world was waiting... Read more
"The middle ground lies in the struggle. The acceptance that, when violence becomes necessary to eliminate a threat, it is just that. A necessity. A regrettable, painful, God-forgive-us-but-this-is-the-only-way moment of humanity. Something to be mourned and reflected upon, but never celebrated." Read more
Ultimately, as a society, we suck on alot of things that make us sick. And get your minds out of the gutter, you know what i mean. We have lots of things that pacify us, but are ultimately unhealthy ways of dealing with our struggles. And like drooling, teething toddlers, we are happy to pass the germs of malcontent right along to our neighbor. Read more
When’s the last time you got out the good china? After I went on and on yesterday about the blessedness of a messy house, I think I should clarify–though I blamed the chaos on the kiddos, I have to own that much (much) of the mess is mine. And not quite so much of it is my husband’s. He does his best to keep some order, but he is only one person. Much like my mother (and oh, they do... Read more
Irreverin
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