I Swear!

Easton said something that sounded a lot like grandma and grandpa last night. I swear he did! This happened as he ran past me to jump into grandpa's arms. Yes, the hurt continues. He made up for it later by zerberting my tummy. Is there anything more precious than toddler spit on your tummy? I'm thinking no.

You don't hear about this one

All this eulogizing and not one mention of my favorite Heath Ledger film, "Knights Tale." Could it be that I haven't seen Brokeback Mountain or that would be my favorite? Could it be that reviews like the one that follow are some indication of my artistic taste?

"...isn't bad enough to be a total nightmare..."

Not far from the tree

At the news of Heath Ledger's untimely passing a girl in the cubicle next to my daughter began to weep. This went on for a few minutes, until my daughter couldn't take it any more. She went to 'Stephanie's' desk and asked if she was okay. She said that she was, with no signs of stopping her sobbing. Then my baby said, "Were you close?"

She is so her mother's daughter.

Connections

Sunday night I was privileged to meet with the Demon Dames. We were small in number, but the stories flowed along with the wine by the fire in Patty's cozy family room. What a treat to gather with intelligent women who respect each other for having an opinion and sharing it. The meringues were divine.

Monday I had breakfast with my friend Brenda in front of the big fire at Cracker Barrell. I never fail to be encouraged when I get to be with Brenda.

Monday noon Easton and I met 'The Sheldon Girls' for lunch at Spaghetti Works. He was the only boy at the table, he didn't seem to mind. There was Monica's daughter Saylor, she's 6 days younger than Easton. Her 5-year old sister Trinity and her friend Abbie brought their Barbie color books and had a lovely time as well. Halley, Jackie's daughter is 13 but loved every minute of our time together. She and Easton 'shared' a menu and a meatball. Toni's daughter Neve is 14 months old and may be on Easton's mind for a long time. If poking your finger in someones nose is high praise, then she adores Easton. They chatted while Saylor was eating the food off Neve's plate, it was better than the food on her own plate. The only disappointment was that none of us had a camera in our purse. There were some priceless spaghetti-stained faces to capture.

Wonder couple of days with friends. Only heightens my anticipation of the road trip with mom to spend time with Kathleen and her girls this weekend.

Back to school

I was invigorated by my experiences in my first night of university classes in over 10 years. The first class was 70+ students and I was the only non-trad. That class will definitely be an easy A. The professor loves to talk and barely takes a breath between sentences. Last night we covered: what is a degree in communication studies and what can you do with it. That's what will be on our first quiz. Confirmed that this is a major I could like. He discussed how hard it is to explain to people what a comm studies major is or what you can do with it as opposed to getting an accounting degree. The snotty girls next to me kept rolling their eyes. I won't sit by them again. After class I met a very nice girl who I will definitely look for when our class meets again.

According to my notes my next class was supposed to be in the same room. Well, it wasn't. Thankfully I figured that out in the 15 minutes between classes. I had a moment of panic when I didn't know where to get information about my next class, but there were people in the hall so I asked hopefully, "Comm 109?" There was a grunt and a point toward another room in the same hallway. My biggest fear was for naught.

Second class is being taught by a PhD student. He's the speech and debate coach for the university. The shirt and tie were snappy, but something was lost on me about the tennis shoes with orange laces. He likes to perform, as one would expect. This class will not be boring. First assignment in his class was worth 5 points. Find his office and sign the sheet on the door. A nice girl in her 30s named Joscelyn and I walked with him to his office and got our five points. There were already 13 signatures on the door. Okay, maybe we were a little slow, but we got there. Our next assignment is a 2-4 minute narrative speech. Basically tell a story in 4 minutes. I can do that!

I said to Jeff, you know the speech class that everyone dreads taking in college? That's my major!

What to do

I have an I-Tunes dilemma. After adding much of favorite music to I-Tunes I started creating playlists. I have one for Steely Dan and one for Todd Rundgren. The Steely Dan list includes songs by Donald Fagen, lead singer for Steely Dan, his solo work. The Todd Rundgren does not include songs by The Cars even though he is now their lead singer. He was not their lead singer when The Cars stuff was recorded. This was all fairly clear to me.

Now the problem: I have a CD by Michael McDonald. I have music in my library by the Doobie Brothers, he used to be the lead singer. Do I create a playlist for Michael McDonald and include the Doobies or do I create a playlist for the Doobies and include Michael? Are these things the same in any way? He's singing Motown, not Doobie's stuff at all.

These are the questions that plague men's souls.

Learning from the past

When my dad died almost 5 years ago one of the treasures I inherited was a journal my grandfather had written. Why it took me these 5 years to open the cover I have no idea. I sat one cold winter Saturday and read the whole thing. The words are poignant at times, factual at others. It takes him several years of writing, he was good enough to date the entries, to tell his story. Grandpa talks about his twin brother Clayton who apparently had cerebral palsy. There was no special school or social programs to aid in his development, just a family who loved and cared for Clayton the best they could, and his was a life well lived. Grandpa explores the question of why he was fine and Clayton was not, what was God's plan in that? The answers are as beautiful as the heart that asks the questions.

Grandpa had three wives in his 80 some years on earth. He loved them all dearly and trusted that God sent the perfect woman to him at each stage of his life. What a testament.

Maybe more intriguing than the actual words on the page are the gaps and the handwriting. The script that becomes less clear over the years. His writing became his work after he could no longer manage the apartment complex where he lived. The telling gap in entries as he dealt with Bernice's leukemia and her eventual death says that he was giving all he could elsewhere, the journal would have to wait.

I'm delighted to have this handwritten history of the days he was here on earth. Lessons to be learned. Paper and ink don't go the way of lost computer files and changing technology. It's a challenge to me to leave a history, something that will be meaningful to future readers. That requires living a life worthy of our high calling.

Spot on

It's always the last bite, isn't it? Today it was a bit of Sambosa off someone else's plate. It was the very last thing I was going to eat in this sumptuous meal of Middle Eastern food. I had avoided dropping soup on my favorite oatmeal colored turtleneck. I had kept salad dressing clear of my front. But that last bite was the coup de gras. For those of you not familiar, there's this distinctive yellow color in some Middle Eastern foods. It's not quite the yellow of a pencil, but it's close. Not a pretty color dripped down my front. Sad

Why we hide

Our friend's son was recently engaged. They got the news two days later on a scrap of paper on the kitchen counter. Begs the question just how excited he was about his decision. I was recently placed in a position of having someone unexpected at our table for a holiday dinner. If the person bringing the guest didn't think it was a good idea to tell me ahead of time that this particular guest would be joining us, what made them think I would respond positively?

Why do we hide? When Adam and Eve realized the enormity of their shame they hid from God. When our dog does something bad we don't have to find the mess, we can tell by his hanging head and hiding behind me that he knows he's in trouble.

If there's news in your life you should be so proud of the choice you've made you should want to shout it from the mountain tops. Wake your parents to tell them you're engaged. Bring your guest, but call ahead to let the hostess know how excited you are the person you adore is able to join you for the holiday dinner.

Otherwise, we have to wonder just how excited you really are.

Food traditions

Back to work today after leaving the office December 22. Wasn't as hard getting up this morning as I thought it might be considering I've been sleeping in a bunch. It was 5 degrees when we drove to work. Felt kind of fresh and lively.

Food news: don't think I'll ever serve traditional green bean casserole again. At Thanksgiving my niece Lauren, the Gap girl in the St. Paul paper, discovered a recipe for a remix. We enjoyed it for Thanksgiving, made it again for Christmas, and I don't think I will ever look back. Bacon, fresh mushrooms, half and half, what more could green beans ask for? To please the masses we did throw in some french fried onions from the can. Rave reviews.

I realize this was not a very exciting post. I may have gotten here okay this morning but that doesn't mean my brain is fully engaged. Happy new year!