Do you think he is going commando? I should have taken cues from this guy to stay warm this past winter. Enjoy the warm weather. Remember this? ...click picture.
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Seeing the Royal wedding unfold in the early hours of the morning may have seemed over the top to some, but in my book, it was just right. While I was 10, I remember waking up excitedly the day of Diana’s wedding. My grandmother who was a true Brit. lived with us during the time. In the weeks surrounding the wedding, she bought tea towels with the nuptials faces, a mini replica carriage that depicted the happy couple and a program of the day’s events. We watched the “tele” day and night just hoping to catch a glimpse of the princess to be. The moment I saw Diana’s long train trail behind her, was the moment my dreams of being a bride began. Luckily, I had my own fairytale wedding. My dress was one of the last of the poufy Diana style dresses, before the look became more modern and streamlined. My handsome husband has since made me feel like a princess for almost 15 years now. Today, I set my Ipad to awake me early to witness the oversized hats and feather filled fascinators parade their way through the abbey. For some reason it didn’t feel as early in the morning as it had when I was a child. Amazingly, thirty years have passed since the first royal spectacle. I find it hard to comprehend the vast amount of life I have lived since then. However, the miracle in today’s wedding could be in the sense that time seems to have stood still and I was right back at age 10, watching in awe. Rather than sharing the experience with my beloved grandmother, my eleven-year-old daughter sat glued to the TV absorbing the majesty of it all for herself. Perhaps the seed of her own dream wedding was planted in today’s early hours. Beautiful princess Kate seemed more confident; perhaps a sign of the times but everything else was as perfect as I had remembered. I can close my eyes and remember the tears in my grandmother’s eyes and I now realize the importance of tradition. Traditions help complete the circle and bring sense to our lives. With their balcony kiss, a new generation of hope has begun and the generations of the past will forever live in our hearts.
After all this time, this family has finally found a game that wont cause tears. No fight in a box tonight. This wonderful game is peeled from a banana! After your done playing it, rather than putting it back on the shelf, you can put it right back with the other Chiquitas! God only knows why it comes in the shape of a banana, but it makes me laugh. Somehow this game has managed to beat out other expensive shoot-em-up games and Sims alike. Surely a miracle right there. Before the bus or right after dinner, Bananagrams is peeled from it's handy dandy yellow case and within 10 minutes, it's done. No bloodshed, no tears, no idle threats. As we all try to sneak in proper names or in my case, made up words, at least we can feel good using our brains for a short while. The best thing is that unlike Scrabble, there are no two hour waits for your opponent to get their act in gear and make a word. There's no annoying sound of your opponent shifting tiles and smiling as they irritate you. Just happy word-making. Speed is key here and in this house, we have lots of that. Bar none, this has been the best 14 bucks I have spent for a family game-night miracle. Skip Game-Stop this time around. This low tech toy will supply you with 100% of your RDA of Bananagram fun.
Is there a possession that you obsess about? I see this picture of Lucy, a chocolate lab that really does think of only one thing…24/7, and it makes me wonder. If we could narrow down our obsessions to just one thing, than why do we need to have piles and piles of unnecessary crap filling up our life? Each person in our house can narrow his or her worldly necessities to the bare minimum. Kate just needs a book taken out one at a time at the library. Pete just needs Legos, but we all know theres just not one of those. Chris needs a bike and I need a camera. If our needs are this simple, than why is there a pile so high on my kitchen table of unnecessary objects. I tell Kate all of the time that one passion is really all you needs to feel fulfilled. I often realize that if we just got rid of all of the other useless distractions, then our individual crafts could have half a chance of success. I think the piles of stuff can be attributed to the fact that mankind has a way of never feeling satisfied even long after were full. Well then, it’s time to go on a diet of sorts. If I could only heed my own advice and lose the stuff, I know for sure I would be better off. Maybe today, I’ll dump a huge amount of it in the free pile so it could become another person's “thing”. After all, they say, “One man’s junk is another man’s treasure.” No matter what, I plan of making today a lean day, keeping it simple so I can focus on what’s important to me. I feel lighter already.
After a week off, Monday drags for an eleven year old that has come home with a heavy backpack full of work to do. She looks tired and sad after coming down from Easter’s sugar high. She hits the books on the first truly warm day of the spring with a melancholy look. The afternoon sun is making everything glow and tries to lure her outside. She stays her course proving that she is growing up before my eyes and has become the student I have waited for. I lay on the patio, photographing bugs, petals and unfurling leaves while adjusting f-stops hoping to discover something. The student stares outside looking for an escape route. The swing that hangs from the massive maple tree glows a bright yellow hue beaming from the late day sun. Just short of screaming to her, the swing seems to sway like it’s waving to her. I look at her as she smiles unable to avoid the invitation. The pencil is dropped and she runs for her favorite spot in the yard. The swing welcomes her and together they make it to great heights. Gone is the glum look and instead she has a smile that could launch a thousand ships. The miracle of this swing is that it has played this game with her a thousand times. In her lifetime she has sought out the perch on the wooden swing so she could pout, sulk, think, or question her life. Every time the swing seems to listen and answers her in a way that someone with great wisdom would. Her face beamsshowing pure contentment while I secretly thank the massive old tree for giving once again. She comes inside a different person than when she left. She has found a different approach and her mood has swung positive. If positivity in life can pivot on something as simple as a swing, we should all try it. Perhaps as we sway back and forth we shake off the excess and free ourselves.
Kate as she whips her hair back and forth OK Will Smith. I have a gripe with you. You have been a fantastic entertainer and your very easy on the eyes. You have an adorable wife and equally cute kids. You have the world at your fingertips…access to talent beyond talent. Then, your daughter says to you one day, “Daddy I want to be a mega superstar singer”. Being the good dad Will, you allow her to stand up in front of thousands of unsuspecting folks and sing this song... Based on your hairstyles from the 80's, I realize that you want to give your daughter creative freedom to be an artist. However, in this house alone, everyone, even the dog is howling the tune but ad-libbing their own words. Here are just a few....i whip my tail back and forth (Miles), I whip my eggs back and forth (me scrambling eggs yesterday), I whip my toothbrush back in forth (Kate this morning). Just yesterday, I sang..."I locked my keys in the car, I locked my keys in the car." Will, do you want our first memory of your beautiful daughter to be of an irritating song that gets stuck in our head for days on end? Maybe it's your genius at work, because it's glued to my memory whether I like it or not. Raise the bar Will...The miracle is that I know she has the talent within her if she is anything like you. Anyway, I am off to clean the breakfast dishes and whip the sponge back and forth.
No need to look very far for today's little miracle. These fluffy little peeps were all I needed, no sugar coating necessary. Perhaps there is nothing quite as precious as baby chicks. Add kids to the mixture and you have a match made in heaven. I begged my friend to come over with her new baby chicks just so I could have some fun with my camera and the kids. I hastily threw together as my lights as my dining room once again became a chaotic makeshift studio. With everything pushed to the side, the sound of little chirp chirps came knocking at my door. Ooh ooh ooh we all squealed as they chirped around the dining room carpet with no particular destination in mind. As my camera lens got fussy, I tried not to. But soon, even the camera became mesmerized by the little fuzz balls. I could have spent hours with them, as the minutes passed so quickly without me noticing. Since they left, my mind has thought of all sorts of ways to further capture their adorableness. Maybe next time. As I took shot after shot, I couldn't help but notice how nothing fits into a child's hand quite so perfectly as a baby chick. It's like they were designed to be together. I know it's not Thanksgiving, but I feel so very thankful for everything. Easter has brought joy into our home once again. Not only did I get my bright yellow Marshmallow peeps, but a visit from the real thing. I hope your Easter is full of happy surprises.
Our dentist told me the other day that braces are imminent in our family. I wouldn’t think twice about it if I hadn’t had the absolutely useless teeth straitening experience myself as a kid. Going to the dentist was a harrowing experience born in fear and pain. Dr. Spar always had Air Supply playing or even worst…top 40 ditties sans words filling the air space. While sitting in his chair, I’ll never forget the sailboat armada mobile that spun around as you squirmed in your chair; knuckles clenched as your teeth got drilled with barely enough Novocain. As the boats bobbed up and down, Dr Spar would talk in a slow muffled voice, making me feel seasick. Imagine a tape being slowed to a slur and that was my dentist. I swear to this day that he put on the gas mask when he was alone to rock out to Air Supply. To my misfortune, braces were slapped on my teeth for three years only to result in pearly whites that would crisscross and buck out for the rest of my life. Sigh… The miracle of modern medicine has saved dentistry. While we may still have cheesy mobiles, gone are the days of unbearable music. Somehow, the new generation of dentist gets the fact that many of the dentists of our childhood scared the living daylights out of us. Perhaps in dental school, students now attend a “how to be a cool dentist’ class where you can’t move on if you don’t pass it. My kids actually look forward to going to the dentist to wear their super cool glasses while watching Spongebob, all as they painlessly get their teeth polished. To top it off, the prize chest has taken a step up over the decades. Happy feelings surround you except for the out of pocket expense. Perhaps, as Peter gets his braces soon, I’ll join him in a chair nearby for a second go around for strait teeth. Only this time, I hope I to sport the cool sunglasses and pick a prize all in the name of happy teeth. Smile if you need braces!
On a fantastic morning in NYC, I came upon this light beacon. The view had a hypnotic quality as a storm was clearing into a beautiful day. The color of the sky at sunrise was amazing, but what struck me were the clouds that framed New York. The beacon seemed to muse across the bay at Lady Liberty with affection from afar. The red light reminds me of the heart of a school girl that has a crush. She would gaze his way wondering if he even noticed. It feels like there’s an ocean between she and the possibility of true love. With this thought, I hope their eyes meet eye and capture each other’s heart.
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