The work week went well (alliteration anyone?), and I'm all ready to for the students' first day on Monday. I'm nervous and excited. This year I'm teaching 7th grade English/Language Arts at a fantastic school. I'm still deciding my opinion about most of the other teachers, and so far the administration seems great.
It's a new beginning for little Miss Lilac Rain too. On Friday, I transfered her to the elementary school that is two minutes away from my new school. She's still in the same school district, so when she gets to middle school, she'll see a lot of her old friends again. Also, her new elementary is suppose to be the best in the district. After the year we had last year...well, I'm just happy that she's going to be challenged on a daily basis. In the morning, I'll drive her to my school and the bus will take her to the elementary. In the afternoon, her bus will bring her back to the middle school. So cool! And no daycare bill!!!
Monday is going to be a busy day...our first day with students, Lilac Rain and I both have eye doctor appts. *right* after school, and soccer practice starts! I'm already looking forward to next weekend! No worries...it's going to be a rockin' year!! :)
Sunday, August 26, 2007
Monday, August 20, 2007
All Good Things Must Come to an End
*Sigh* Summer is officially over for me. It was such a blast; I really wish I had a few more weeks of family, fun, hanging out, and crafting.
Tonight, I have to go to my new school for a Team Building Skills lecture. It's not mandatory, but since I'm new there this year, I have to go.
Tomorrow, I report to my new school to start getting ready for the students. Tues.-Fri. are teacher workdays with lectures scattered throughout them. Some I have to go to, others not. Thurs. is a long workday...open house starting at 2 and ending around 7. Ugh! I hope I can be ready in time.
There's still a TON of crap I have to do before next Mon. when we have our real first day of school...
Clean my closet
Go shopping for a few pieces of new clothing (the no money factor makes this a little difficult...at least all of Lilac Rain's shopping is done. On the positive side, I really don't need a whole lot)
Clean my house (because it won't be cleaned for a while)
Get lesson plans ready
Why does my list seem so small? I *know* that I have more to do!!
Lilac Rain starts fall soccer on the first day of school. It's a meet the coach and practice. After that, she'll have practices a couple of times a week and games a couple of times a week until the end of October. I can't believe that I'm a soccer mom again...I guess it goes well with the pink razor *laughs and rolls eyes*
Crafty news:
I finished two long skirts for Little Miss Lilac Rain, and I have two matching skirts almost done for me. They just need drawstrings and to be hemmed. I hate hemming with a passion!
I have a flanned patchwork quilt almost done for Jim. It needs to be sandwiched, tied and have the edging bound.
I'm about 1/4 of the way done with knitting a tie for Jim. I'm thinking it'll be done by Christmas, but if it's done earlier, I'll probably just give it to him since it was suppose to be a birthday/Father's Day gift. I had to bale on that idea and do something else for those days.
Finally, I have finished knitting ONE sock for myself. The sister sock has already been cast on and is ready to grow. The only down side to the first sock is that the yarn is beautifully hand dyed and my most favorite color combination that emerged happened to be on the bottom of the heel..the place that I'm going to be stepping on all of the time! Other than that I *love* it. It's only the 2nd thing I've ever knitted for myself. Usually, my crafts are given away as gifts, which I love to do, but I *really* wanted a pair of hand knit wool socks. Why do I feel so selfish right now?!?
When I start school, I always tend to put my crafting on hold even though it keeps me sane. Then I go insane and whip out all kinds of fabric and yarn and it gets thrown all over the house while I'm doing projects. This year is going to be different. Here's my goal:
1. Knit a little every night (It is probably my most relaxing craft, but the slowest for finished projects. It's also a great thing to take to soccer practices and games)
2. Sew when I want to (most likely on weekends), but finish a new garmet every three weeks (totally do-able)
Hopefully, this will keep me crafting during the school year and will reduce the amount of emotional meltdowns due to not being able to express myself creatively. I think it just might work.
Tonight, I have to go to my new school for a Team Building Skills lecture. It's not mandatory, but since I'm new there this year, I have to go.
Tomorrow, I report to my new school to start getting ready for the students. Tues.-Fri. are teacher workdays with lectures scattered throughout them. Some I have to go to, others not. Thurs. is a long workday...open house starting at 2 and ending around 7. Ugh! I hope I can be ready in time.
There's still a TON of crap I have to do before next Mon. when we have our real first day of school...
Clean my closet
Go shopping for a few pieces of new clothing (the no money factor makes this a little difficult...at least all of Lilac Rain's shopping is done. On the positive side, I really don't need a whole lot)
Clean my house (because it won't be cleaned for a while)
Get lesson plans ready
Why does my list seem so small? I *know* that I have more to do!!
Lilac Rain starts fall soccer on the first day of school. It's a meet the coach and practice. After that, she'll have practices a couple of times a week and games a couple of times a week until the end of October. I can't believe that I'm a soccer mom again...I guess it goes well with the pink razor *laughs and rolls eyes*
Crafty news:
I finished two long skirts for Little Miss Lilac Rain, and I have two matching skirts almost done for me. They just need drawstrings and to be hemmed. I hate hemming with a passion!
I have a flanned patchwork quilt almost done for Jim. It needs to be sandwiched, tied and have the edging bound.
I'm about 1/4 of the way done with knitting a tie for Jim. I'm thinking it'll be done by Christmas, but if it's done earlier, I'll probably just give it to him since it was suppose to be a birthday/Father's Day gift. I had to bale on that idea and do something else for those days.
Finally, I have finished knitting ONE sock for myself. The sister sock has already been cast on and is ready to grow. The only down side to the first sock is that the yarn is beautifully hand dyed and my most favorite color combination that emerged happened to be on the bottom of the heel..the place that I'm going to be stepping on all of the time! Other than that I *love* it. It's only the 2nd thing I've ever knitted for myself. Usually, my crafts are given away as gifts, which I love to do, but I *really* wanted a pair of hand knit wool socks. Why do I feel so selfish right now?!?
When I start school, I always tend to put my crafting on hold even though it keeps me sane. Then I go insane and whip out all kinds of fabric and yarn and it gets thrown all over the house while I'm doing projects. This year is going to be different. Here's my goal:
1. Knit a little every night (It is probably my most relaxing craft, but the slowest for finished projects. It's also a great thing to take to soccer practices and games)
2. Sew when I want to (most likely on weekends), but finish a new garmet every three weeks (totally do-able)
Hopefully, this will keep me crafting during the school year and will reduce the amount of emotional meltdowns due to not being able to express myself creatively. I think it just might work.
Saturday, August 18, 2007
Hippies, Hippies Everywhere
The house is quiet and still. I'm enjoying my coffee and putzing around on the internet...all of the hippies are still fast asleep :)
Our friends, Katie and Jay, decided to make the long haul to NC to visit. I'm so freaking happy and excited! They arrived early yesterday morning after working all day on Thurs. and driving all night. After a short nap, the fun was ON! Swimming, listening to music, Jim and Katie playing the guitar, reminisicing, using our phrases that nobody knows the meaning of besides us, and so many, "I can't believe your here"s. Last night was Euchre, boys against the girls. I'm sad to report that the girls were defeated. Tonight we will have our revenge!!
On the agenda for today:
Breakfast, a trip to the beer store, looking around Greensboro, swimming, music, Euchre...basically making the most of the day, which reminds me that I need to get off of the computer and wake up all of the lazy hippies that are still asleeep...BREAKFAST!!!
Katie and Jay leave tomorrow, late afternnon, but first, we'll to head to the Hillbilly Hide A Way for brunch, then to the state park for a short hike and some more exploring of cool small towns in the area.
Next week, I start getting ready for the school year. Ths was definately an amazing way to end a fantastic summer.
Our friends, Katie and Jay, decided to make the long haul to NC to visit. I'm so freaking happy and excited! They arrived early yesterday morning after working all day on Thurs. and driving all night. After a short nap, the fun was ON! Swimming, listening to music, Jim and Katie playing the guitar, reminisicing, using our phrases that nobody knows the meaning of besides us, and so many, "I can't believe your here"s. Last night was Euchre, boys against the girls. I'm sad to report that the girls were defeated. Tonight we will have our revenge!!
On the agenda for today:
Breakfast, a trip to the beer store, looking around Greensboro, swimming, music, Euchre...basically making the most of the day, which reminds me that I need to get off of the computer and wake up all of the lazy hippies that are still asleeep...BREAKFAST!!!
Katie and Jay leave tomorrow, late afternnon, but first, we'll to head to the Hillbilly Hide A Way for brunch, then to the state park for a short hike and some more exploring of cool small towns in the area.
Next week, I start getting ready for the school year. Ths was definately an amazing way to end a fantastic summer.
Sunday, August 12, 2007
Just Call Me Candy
I might as well announce it to the world. My friends are harassing me non-stop. My new name seems to be "Candy".
Around Christmas I lost my cell phone. If I had to guess what happened, it probably ended up on a shelf or, more likely, in a cooler at Costco...don't ask. Anywho, I was not terribly upset by it. Personally, I hate cell phones, but Jim likes that I'll be able to call for help in some sort of emergency and likes to be able to contact me during the school year without having to go through the school's switchboard. Our cell phone contract was up in June, and then I could get a new one for free. No biggie. So June passes, it's summer, and we didn't even think about the cell phone. I thought I would be able to remain cell phone free. I was wrong.
We took our anniversary trip to the beach. I love the ocean!! It was extremely hot, but we managed to have lots of fun. Lilac Rain and I tried boogie boarding, while Jim kayak surfed. Nights were spent learning to play cribbage (so much fun!), hunting for shells, and stalking the ghost crabs. When we got home, there was a package on the porch. Jim had ordered new cell phones for both of us.
He opened the package and pulled out two boxes. I went about my business unpacking, starting laundry, and looking at emails. Jim took out a cell phone from one box and said, "This one's mine." Alright, whatever...it's a Blue Razor. He says, "Don't you want to open yours?" Sure. I open the box and can't keep from smiling and laughing. "Why would you do this to me?" is all I can say. Lilac Rain is bobbing around going, "What? What?" And I pull out the phone...A PINK RAZOR! I say, "You realize that this is *the* phone of sorority girls, right?" He just laughs and laughs...he finds this totally amusing, but then tries to find composure and plays stupid. "What? (shocked) Don't you like it? I thought that you would love it. I *told* you I was going to get you a Pink Razor. Besides, your new students will think your hip...totally cool because *you* have a pink razor." "I thought you were kidding!" Jackass crap weasel. Don't be alarmed...jackass and crap weasel are my terms of endearment for my husband that I truly love, even though he finds humor in the oddest ways. It's like a trade off...he can find humor in my horror and I get to lovingly call him a jackass, crap weasel or both. He then gets to laugh about it, because, again, he finds humor in the oddest ways.
So, I have a friend who has decided that my new name should be "Candy" for reasons that are so silly I don't even want to explain. Another friend asked me if I was going to start listening to Brittney Spears, NSync, and Hannson...like, OMG! Like, really? Totally.
Jim is constantly handing me the cell phone and saying things like, "Here's your Pink Razor. Call your friends on your Pink Razor. Don't forget your Pink Razor. " and laughing about it like there's no tomorrow. He's even getting Lilac Rain in on the fun. It's tag team torture, that's what it is.
I'm heading to Costco on Wednesday. My Pink Razor might just find a new home in one of the coolers.
Around Christmas I lost my cell phone. If I had to guess what happened, it probably ended up on a shelf or, more likely, in a cooler at Costco...don't ask. Anywho, I was not terribly upset by it. Personally, I hate cell phones, but Jim likes that I'll be able to call for help in some sort of emergency and likes to be able to contact me during the school year without having to go through the school's switchboard. Our cell phone contract was up in June, and then I could get a new one for free. No biggie. So June passes, it's summer, and we didn't even think about the cell phone. I thought I would be able to remain cell phone free. I was wrong.
We took our anniversary trip to the beach. I love the ocean!! It was extremely hot, but we managed to have lots of fun. Lilac Rain and I tried boogie boarding, while Jim kayak surfed. Nights were spent learning to play cribbage (so much fun!), hunting for shells, and stalking the ghost crabs. When we got home, there was a package on the porch. Jim had ordered new cell phones for both of us.
He opened the package and pulled out two boxes. I went about my business unpacking, starting laundry, and looking at emails. Jim took out a cell phone from one box and said, "This one's mine." Alright, whatever...it's a Blue Razor. He says, "Don't you want to open yours?" Sure. I open the box and can't keep from smiling and laughing. "Why would you do this to me?" is all I can say. Lilac Rain is bobbing around going, "What? What?" And I pull out the phone...A PINK RAZOR! I say, "You realize that this is *the* phone of sorority girls, right?" He just laughs and laughs...he finds this totally amusing, but then tries to find composure and plays stupid. "What? (shocked) Don't you like it? I thought that you would love it. I *told* you I was going to get you a Pink Razor. Besides, your new students will think your hip...totally cool because *you* have a pink razor." "I thought you were kidding!" Jackass crap weasel. Don't be alarmed...jackass and crap weasel are my terms of endearment for my husband that I truly love, even though he finds humor in the oddest ways. It's like a trade off...he can find humor in my horror and I get to lovingly call him a jackass, crap weasel or both. He then gets to laugh about it, because, again, he finds humor in the oddest ways.
So, I have a friend who has decided that my new name should be "Candy" for reasons that are so silly I don't even want to explain. Another friend asked me if I was going to start listening to Brittney Spears, NSync, and Hannson...like, OMG! Like, really? Totally.
Jim is constantly handing me the cell phone and saying things like, "Here's your Pink Razor. Call your friends on your Pink Razor. Don't forget your Pink Razor. " and laughing about it like there's no tomorrow. He's even getting Lilac Rain in on the fun. It's tag team torture, that's what it is.
I'm heading to Costco on Wednesday. My Pink Razor might just find a new home in one of the coolers.
Thursday, August 2, 2007
Catching Up, Buttercup
So much time as passed...here are the highlights.
Wilco: Saw them in June. Little Miss Lilac Rain had yet another "moment" with her idol, Jeff Tweedy. She made her debut on youtube with this experience. You can watch it here: http://youtube.com/watch?v=XYcRlR6PyMg
Kentucky: Jim, Lilac Rain, and I traveled to KY to meet up with some MI friends at Cumberland Lake State Park. It was great to visit with Rick, Chris, Alex and Ryan. Unfortunately, when darkness fell and we were sitting around the campfire, it was like we had been transported into a B-rated horror film. From the woods, *hundreds* of skunks would emerge...tails raised and ready to spray. They were coming to get us!! The entire campground was infested with them! We would lie in our tent, and listen to the skunks demolish our site. Very scarry...
By morning, the skunk smell lingered throughout the entire campground. At least the smell didn't stick to us or our gear.
After camping, we headed on over to Mulenberg County, to visit Jim's grandparents. Lilac Rain had a blast hanging out and playing with Granny and feeding the cat fish down yonder in the pond with PaPa. Other highlights include visiting Uncle Bud and Aunt Anna Sue, swimming in their pool, visiting with Great, Great (and for Lilac Rain...another Great) Aunt Mazine (she totally rocks!), and visiting cousins Karen, Allie, and Jessie-Poo before heading out.
Floyd Fest: I loved this more than my Bonnaroo experience, but in a completely different way! It's small, intimate, less than 10,000 people on the busy day, and looking over the Blue Ridge Mountains. They have a wonderful children's section, Children's Univers, and it is appropriately named! Tons of free recycled crafts for the kids to do. Lilac Rain made a bottle cap snake and a newspaper hat that she wore all day long! She got so many compliments on her hat, and was very proud to show it off. Not to mention the free t-shirt painting that they provided for the kids! Animal balloons, music, hooping, frisbee, a huge sandbox, jumping/harness/flippy thingy, and a water slide. My only complaint was the water slide. It was a HUGE blow up slide, with the pool of water that they slid into at the bottom. Unfortunately, the water got extremely nasty quickly from the mud and such, so we bypassed that experience.
The music was jammin' and we had a great time dancing together in the sun. The Hackensaw Boys made the festival IMO. Note for next year: Use more sunscreen!!!
Next week: August 9th is our 10 year wedding anniversary. Jim decided that we should probably do something to celebrate, even if we are oh so broke. The result of our brainfarting is a mini trip to the beach during the week.
And Finally: Summer is slipping away. Soon I'll have to go back to work. Hopefully, this is the start of a beautiful beginning at my new job. I've also spent a lot of time this summer thinking about community/family, quilting patterns, joining a quilting guild and writing.
More on all of that another day.
Wilco: Saw them in June. Little Miss Lilac Rain had yet another "moment" with her idol, Jeff Tweedy. She made her debut on youtube with this experience. You can watch it here: http://youtube.com/watch?v=XYcRlR6PyMg
Kentucky: Jim, Lilac Rain, and I traveled to KY to meet up with some MI friends at Cumberland Lake State Park. It was great to visit with Rick, Chris, Alex and Ryan. Unfortunately, when darkness fell and we were sitting around the campfire, it was like we had been transported into a B-rated horror film. From the woods, *hundreds* of skunks would emerge...tails raised and ready to spray. They were coming to get us!! The entire campground was infested with them! We would lie in our tent, and listen to the skunks demolish our site. Very scarry...
By morning, the skunk smell lingered throughout the entire campground. At least the smell didn't stick to us or our gear.
After camping, we headed on over to Mulenberg County, to visit Jim's grandparents. Lilac Rain had a blast hanging out and playing with Granny and feeding the cat fish down yonder in the pond with PaPa. Other highlights include visiting Uncle Bud and Aunt Anna Sue, swimming in their pool, visiting with Great, Great (and for Lilac Rain...another Great) Aunt Mazine (she totally rocks!), and visiting cousins Karen, Allie, and Jessie-Poo before heading out.
Floyd Fest: I loved this more than my Bonnaroo experience, but in a completely different way! It's small, intimate, less than 10,000 people on the busy day, and looking over the Blue Ridge Mountains. They have a wonderful children's section, Children's Univers, and it is appropriately named! Tons of free recycled crafts for the kids to do. Lilac Rain made a bottle cap snake and a newspaper hat that she wore all day long! She got so many compliments on her hat, and was very proud to show it off. Not to mention the free t-shirt painting that they provided for the kids! Animal balloons, music, hooping, frisbee, a huge sandbox, jumping/harness/flippy thingy, and a water slide. My only complaint was the water slide. It was a HUGE blow up slide, with the pool of water that they slid into at the bottom. Unfortunately, the water got extremely nasty quickly from the mud and such, so we bypassed that experience.
The music was jammin' and we had a great time dancing together in the sun. The Hackensaw Boys made the festival IMO. Note for next year: Use more sunscreen!!!
Next week: August 9th is our 10 year wedding anniversary. Jim decided that we should probably do something to celebrate, even if we are oh so broke. The result of our brainfarting is a mini trip to the beach during the week.
And Finally: Summer is slipping away. Soon I'll have to go back to work. Hopefully, this is the start of a beautiful beginning at my new job. I've also spent a lot of time this summer thinking about community/family, quilting patterns, joining a quilting guild and writing.
More on all of that another day.
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
101 Babies
Being a teacher rocks...who would have thought that by the time I turned 32, I would have 101+ kids? Luckily, I don't have to pay for college tuition for all of them.
Yesterday was graduation for the seniors. I went because 1. These kids were my first students in North Carolina and 2. My principal required all teachers to go. Obviously, I was going to graduation anyway...these were *my kids*. As the students were in line, another teacher told me that a particular student was asking for me, so I made my way from the front to her spot in the back. It took me forever to get to her (she was near the end because of her last name) and as I strolled down the line, all I could hear was my name being called in different directions. Everytime I turned around, there was another student waiting for their turn to have a hug. I got so many, "I love you"s along with the token phrase that all of "my kids" adopted, "You rock my socks!". There were smiles and lots of tears. When I finally found Jessie, she was all smiles...and on her cell phone. I grabbed it from her and said, "Jessie needs to graduate now...call back later" and hung up. She just looked at me, laughed and while throwing her arms around me said, "I'm *really* going to miss you. I love you soooo much!! " and I know that she meant it with all of her heart. When she passed me during the ceremony, she stopped, blew me a kiss and again said, "I love you!". I know her situation...the life that she deals with. I've been her substitute mom for 2 years...boyfriends, breakups, sickness, prom, job dilemas, surgery, sports, skipping, the fear of failing, and the success. I was there for it all. I'm so proud of her...of all of *my kids*.
These kids know that they *belonged* to me-that I treated them exactly as I treat my own daughter. When I lectured them on behavior issues or the way they were slacking on their homework, I would say, "I'm tired of changing 101+ diapers and wiping all of your butts...get toilet trained and learn to do it yourself. " I remember when a group of seniors decided to call me "mom" and I responded with an exasperated, "What?!?". The kids laughed and said, "She really does love us...we really are her kids!", which lead to a conversation about graduation, new responsibilities, hopes and fears. They know that I expect greatness from them and that I'll stand by them even when things aren't going their way. If I could adopt them all, I would.
I know that by the fall, I'll have empty nest syndrom and thinking about each of them often. Thoughts of my seniors will become further and further apart, as the next year turns into the next. Two things are for certain, though...I'll *never* forget this class of seniors and they'll always be *my kids*.
Yesterday was graduation for the seniors. I went because 1. These kids were my first students in North Carolina and 2. My principal required all teachers to go. Obviously, I was going to graduation anyway...these were *my kids*. As the students were in line, another teacher told me that a particular student was asking for me, so I made my way from the front to her spot in the back. It took me forever to get to her (she was near the end because of her last name) and as I strolled down the line, all I could hear was my name being called in different directions. Everytime I turned around, there was another student waiting for their turn to have a hug. I got so many, "I love you"s along with the token phrase that all of "my kids" adopted, "You rock my socks!". There were smiles and lots of tears. When I finally found Jessie, she was all smiles...and on her cell phone. I grabbed it from her and said, "Jessie needs to graduate now...call back later" and hung up. She just looked at me, laughed and while throwing her arms around me said, "I'm *really* going to miss you. I love you soooo much!! " and I know that she meant it with all of her heart. When she passed me during the ceremony, she stopped, blew me a kiss and again said, "I love you!". I know her situation...the life that she deals with. I've been her substitute mom for 2 years...boyfriends, breakups, sickness, prom, job dilemas, surgery, sports, skipping, the fear of failing, and the success. I was there for it all. I'm so proud of her...of all of *my kids*.
These kids know that they *belonged* to me-that I treated them exactly as I treat my own daughter. When I lectured them on behavior issues or the way they were slacking on their homework, I would say, "I'm tired of changing 101+ diapers and wiping all of your butts...get toilet trained and learn to do it yourself. " I remember when a group of seniors decided to call me "mom" and I responded with an exasperated, "What?!?". The kids laughed and said, "She really does love us...we really are her kids!", which lead to a conversation about graduation, new responsibilities, hopes and fears. They know that I expect greatness from them and that I'll stand by them even when things aren't going their way. If I could adopt them all, I would.
I know that by the fall, I'll have empty nest syndrom and thinking about each of them often. Thoughts of my seniors will become further and further apart, as the next year turns into the next. Two things are for certain, though...I'll *never* forget this class of seniors and they'll always be *my kids*.
Friday, June 8, 2007
Discovering Happiness
Let me start off by saying this post is not meant to gain sympathy. It simply is what it is.
It has taken me my entire life to discover true happiness. It seems that past events in my life that should have made me happy just didn't. I know why that is, but I'm not going to go into it today. Now, don't get me wrong...I've experienced joy in life, but nothing like I've felt since I've moved to my little cabin nestled deep in the woods. About a year ago, I was playing frisbee in the backyard with my daughter and husband. Our dog, Karma was running from family member to family member, while Trixie (the dog that literally came with the house) watched from her hiding place among the trees. The weather was warm, but not hot and the sky was clear. And I remember taking in the experience, feeling so full emotionally, and thinking, "For the first time in my life, I'm really happy." I guess by that thought, I should have been instantly sad, but I wasn't. I'm still not upset by that thought because I know that even though it took me 31 years to feel that, my life hasn't been wasted. I've learned a lot for someone my age, and I'm sure that the events that have unfolded in my life have been for a particular reason. Just don't ask me what the specific reason is...that lesson hasn't been revealed to me just yet.
I took today off of work. It was the last day for students, and I just didn't want to be there. Thursday is my official last day of school and then my summer begins. We're having some friends over tomorrow to celebrate the end of another school year, so Lilac Rain and I did some cleaning. Today was one of those days that really made me happy. I was doing dishes, and Lilac Rain asked if she could help clean. I made her a bucket of warm water, vinegar, and a few drops of essential lemon oil so she could wash the fronts of the cabinets. As I was doing the dishes, I looked down at my daughter and was so happy to be sharing the moment with her. We were singing along with our newest Wilco CD, laughing, splashing water, and just having fun talking about our summer plans. I know it sounds cheesey, but we had a ball. Who knew that cleaning could be so much fun?
It has taken me my entire life to discover true happiness. It seems that past events in my life that should have made me happy just didn't. I know why that is, but I'm not going to go into it today. Now, don't get me wrong...I've experienced joy in life, but nothing like I've felt since I've moved to my little cabin nestled deep in the woods. About a year ago, I was playing frisbee in the backyard with my daughter and husband. Our dog, Karma was running from family member to family member, while Trixie (the dog that literally came with the house) watched from her hiding place among the trees. The weather was warm, but not hot and the sky was clear. And I remember taking in the experience, feeling so full emotionally, and thinking, "For the first time in my life, I'm really happy." I guess by that thought, I should have been instantly sad, but I wasn't. I'm still not upset by that thought because I know that even though it took me 31 years to feel that, my life hasn't been wasted. I've learned a lot for someone my age, and I'm sure that the events that have unfolded in my life have been for a particular reason. Just don't ask me what the specific reason is...that lesson hasn't been revealed to me just yet.
I took today off of work. It was the last day for students, and I just didn't want to be there. Thursday is my official last day of school and then my summer begins. We're having some friends over tomorrow to celebrate the end of another school year, so Lilac Rain and I did some cleaning. Today was one of those days that really made me happy. I was doing dishes, and Lilac Rain asked if she could help clean. I made her a bucket of warm water, vinegar, and a few drops of essential lemon oil so she could wash the fronts of the cabinets. As I was doing the dishes, I looked down at my daughter and was so happy to be sharing the moment with her. We were singing along with our newest Wilco CD, laughing, splashing water, and just having fun talking about our summer plans. I know it sounds cheesey, but we had a ball. Who knew that cleaning could be so much fun?
Saturday, June 2, 2007
How I became a mama of a rock star in training
I wish I could figure out how to put this in my profile...
That's my baby girl with her rock star idol, Jeff Tweedy. She absolutely loves Wilco! This picture was taken by Charles Harris at the Chapel Hill, NC show on March 5th, 2006. You can check out all of the pics that Charles took of Jeff and Lilac Rain that night at http://www.charlesharris.com/wilco/hummingirl.
In October of 2005, Lilac Rain attended her first Wilco show. That was in Ashville and was her 30th concert! We were about 3 rows away, and Jeff seemed to have a great time entertaining Lilac Rain for the song "Hummingbird." There was a review written about that show (http://www.popmatters.com/music/concerts/w/wilco-051014.shtml).
After her two experiences with Wilco, Lilac Rain definately wants to be a rock star. Her favorite expression to hear has been, "Rock on little sister" for the past two years now. All I have to do is say that as she's walking away, and she turns so slowly with the HUGE, dreamy smile on her face as it takes her back to the first time she met Jeff. She's gotten a few of her friends together, and sometimes we have overnight "band practice" at our house. I think guitar lessons are around the corner.
Our next Wilco show is coming up fast. It'll be on June 20th. Lilac Rain is excited (of course), but I have to keep reminding her that she may not get that special attention from Jeff everytime. She just gives me this look...almost a half "You're crazy! I'm too cute not to notice" with a quarter "WTF?!?" and a quarter of "Maybe she's right..." I'm trying to prepare her so her heart isn't broken when it happens. After all, even a 7 year old rock star can fall.
That's my baby girl with her rock star idol, Jeff Tweedy. She absolutely loves Wilco! This picture was taken by Charles Harris at the Chapel Hill, NC show on March 5th, 2006. You can check out all of the pics that Charles took of Jeff and Lilac Rain that night at http://www.charlesharris.com/wilco/hummingirl.
In October of 2005, Lilac Rain attended her first Wilco show. That was in Ashville and was her 30th concert! We were about 3 rows away, and Jeff seemed to have a great time entertaining Lilac Rain for the song "Hummingbird." There was a review written about that show (http://www.popmatters.com/music/concerts/w/wilco-051014.shtml).
After her two experiences with Wilco, Lilac Rain definately wants to be a rock star. Her favorite expression to hear has been, "Rock on little sister" for the past two years now. All I have to do is say that as she's walking away, and she turns so slowly with the HUGE, dreamy smile on her face as it takes her back to the first time she met Jeff. She's gotten a few of her friends together, and sometimes we have overnight "band practice" at our house. I think guitar lessons are around the corner.
Our next Wilco show is coming up fast. It'll be on June 20th. Lilac Rain is excited (of course), but I have to keep reminding her that she may not get that special attention from Jeff everytime. She just gives me this look...almost a half "You're crazy! I'm too cute not to notice" with a quarter "WTF?!?" and a quarter of "Maybe she's right..." I'm trying to prepare her so her heart isn't broken when it happens. After all, even a 7 year old rock star can fall.
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