Last night went to see a play, Fragments, with my older son P. He really really enjoyed it and I was so happy to have gone. All week I had been ambivalent... Why had I let myself be talked into buying that ticket? I should have known that I wouldn't be in the mood - wouldn't have the energy - wouldn't have the time during the semester.
Now I'm glad.
I thought I would have some weeks off in December, but it's beginning to look a little like my winter session course won't be canceled. Ha ha. I said yes to the course and then got another job. Decided not to cancel the winter session course because it always gets cancelled anyway and I looked at the dates and realized that I could make it work.
So, I may have to make it work. Oh well, I do like the class - I just need a break to get caught up.
MENTAL image which I want to save: L was getting ready to vacuum the basement today. He was getting the cat out (she had hidden in a corner because the vacuum freaks her out). I told L to just leave her there because he didn't have to go anywhere near that corner with the vacuum. It's in the farthest corner of the back room - L vacuums the front room.
But I guess the cat started venturing out and so L decided to get her to move upstairs. She kind of furtively crept into the front room - finding a path that would keep her from being caught/picked up. Then, when she got ahead of L... instead of running up the stairs and away from the vacuum (sitting in the middle of the room), she throws herself on her back and rolls over to present her belly which is the gesture she uses to get our attention. Who can resist the soft white belly of a cat... she gets a lot of belly rubs, but this one was special. L started saying, "Awww, pumkin. My little pumkin" as he bent to pet her.
With me these days he isn't tender often, so it is so special to watch him display that side of himself. Sigh...
When family came this Thanksgiving, however, he excelled at giving hugs - long hugs, short hugs, hugs for uncle, hugs for aunt and cousins... This morning it was hugs for mydaughter's friend Sh (she had to call for help, because L. just kind of hugged and hugged... didn't look like he was planning on letting go). When V stepped in to help her friend, L started hugging her instead... She walked into the kitchen, where I was, and they were very cute. She started dancing to his music and he was still hugging. So I said maybe this was how she could teach him to dance... The way she got him to let go was to suggest that I change his music. God forbid - so that worked.
03 December 2011
23 October 2011
Mud
Son got home from a JV soccer game yesterday afternoon - his padded goalie pants are all muddy. He was so psyched because his team won against a school with a much bigger and more ambitious soccer program.
I asked him if he had played (surprising since he's the second goalie). In fact, he had not played.
Me: How'd you get so muddy?
Him: Warming up.
ha ha. He's all heart. He gives it his all and it was fun to have him home in such a good mood, even if he did talk about the game non-stop (and over and over).
PS Did I mention tht my dryer's broken. Sigh - But I'll clean the pants with no complaints. Can't say the same about clean clothes I find in wrinkled piles on his floor.
I asked him if he had played (surprising since he's the second goalie). In fact, he had not played.
Me: How'd you get so muddy?
Him: Warming up.
ha ha. He's all heart. He gives it his all and it was fun to have him home in such a good mood, even if he did talk about the game non-stop (and over and over).
PS Did I mention tht my dryer's broken. Sigh - But I'll clean the pants with no complaints. Can't say the same about clean clothes I find in wrinkled piles on his floor.
22 October 2011
14 September 2011
The Red Jacket
Our town has a garage sale weekend every year. This year, my son and a friend walked around looking at the garage sales and just hung out for a while. L’s dad only had a twenty dollar bill and he handed it over (way too much, and the kid just asked for a ten). I suspect that nobody asked me because they know I'm not as nice about handing out $. Sometimes his dad just LIKES the way it feels to be able to do for his son what his parents could never do for him. I don't mind. I find it touching as long as I also have a chance to teach L to use it wisely.
Assuming that L didn’t spend anything for a slushy, he paid almost $9 for three articles of clothing. What a gyp.
L overpaid for this clothing (by late Sunday afternoon garage sale standards). Still, two of the three things are really nice: well made, quality fabric, funky patterns. The third, however, defies description. But I’ll try.
It is a corduroy zippered shirt/jacket. The color is between red and burgundy: very bright. There are two square pockets on the front and the sleeves have a cuff and button. The most notable thing for me, though, was that it was clearly marked as a women’s plus size. My son had bought something designed for the overweight 40+ demographic… It was so ugly that the original owner had never even worn it; the tags were still new with an extra button in a little bag.
Well, I cut the tags out so that L could enjoy his new jacket – he would ne’er have to notice the truth. Next we threw it in the wash with the other two items (everything had maroon in it for some reason… perhaps all owned by the same large woman??)
L. said that the “t-shirt” was ugly, and the proof --according to L-- was that the guy who was running the garage sale “laughed” when he saw L carrying it. I'm thinking that maybe the guy was laughing because he saw L buying all of his wife's (or his mother’s) clothes????
Poor L. The jacket had lay unused for too long. When I got it out of the dryer after just a few minutes, the back had ripped in parallel lines. L wanted to repair it – and he tried it on to show me why it was worth it. I was completely successful in supressing my laughter. I said we’d try to repair it – but the fact that there are parallel tears in the corduroy means that any repair will probably just force the next weak spot to rip. Still, I would so love to see L wearing that jacket. Maybe “repair jacket” should be on my to do list for today.
This garage sale plan, by the way, is something L’s friend “El” comes up with, "let's walk around"; not L's type of idea. It can make H. nervous sometimes, but I like to see L get out of the house.
Assuming that L didn’t spend anything for a slushy, he paid almost $9 for three articles of clothing. What a gyp.
(Just learnt that “gyp” is derogatory and is derived from gypsy… who knew? Isn’t it strange that these things take on a life that goes way beyond the original prejudice? I couldn’t have been using the word as an indirect insult to gypsies because I didn’t know there was any connection; now that I know, I guess I have to stop using the word.)
L overpaid for this clothing (by late Sunday afternoon garage sale standards). Still, two of the three things are really nice: well made, quality fabric, funky patterns. The third, however, defies description. But I’ll try.
It is a corduroy zippered shirt/jacket. The color is between red and burgundy: very bright. There are two square pockets on the front and the sleeves have a cuff and button. The most notable thing for me, though, was that it was clearly marked as a women’s plus size. My son had bought something designed for the overweight 40+ demographic… It was so ugly that the original owner had never even worn it; the tags were still new with an extra button in a little bag.
Well, I cut the tags out so that L could enjoy his new jacket – he would ne’er have to notice the truth. Next we threw it in the wash with the other two items (everything had maroon in it for some reason… perhaps all owned by the same large woman??)
L. said that the “t-shirt” was ugly, and the proof --according to L-- was that the guy who was running the garage sale “laughed” when he saw L carrying it. I'm thinking that maybe the guy was laughing because he saw L buying all of his wife's (or his mother’s) clothes????
The irony is lovely. … but you would have had to be here in this past year to see the unfiltered disdain my son has expressed regarding all things MO – MOM, OLD LADY – my clothes, my taste, my humor, my lack of edurance/physical fitness, my attempts to get him to clean his room. (ok ok - I am exagerating a tad.)
Poor L. The jacket had lay unused for too long. When I got it out of the dryer after just a few minutes, the back had ripped in parallel lines. L wanted to repair it – and he tried it on to show me why it was worth it. I was completely successful in supressing my laughter. I said we’d try to repair it – but the fact that there are parallel tears in the corduroy means that any repair will probably just force the next weak spot to rip. Still, I would so love to see L wearing that jacket. Maybe “repair jacket” should be on my to do list for today.
01 September 2011
7 years of bad luck
Wow - today L and I broke a huge antique mirror. Bummer. It was soooo fricking heavy that I had taken it down from my dining room wall. The plaster was breaking, and my husband's theory is that it was because of the weight of the mirror. I don't know if the theory was correct, but the mirror was making me nervous... since I hug it myself-- I always wondered if one day it would come crashing down.
After taking it off the wall, instead of putting it somewhere logical, I had set it against a wall, on the landing of the stairs which lead up to my room. That wall is also the front of our house, so it's partly against the window and the curtain hung over part of the mirror... it made it too easy to ignore.
So, today L blew up a balloon really really full and started making that horrible squeaking noise you can get by rubbing the balloon. He knows I hate that noise. Today it wasn't really bothering me too much, but I decided to play along with L. I tried to take the balloon. Then I got out a pin and threatened to pop it. He ran up to my bedroom and I called out, "That's fine. It doesn't bother me when you're that far away." So, he opened the door to my room, and I went and hid behind another door thinking I'd pop the balloon when L walked by with it. Only he was taking way too long to come back down so I slowly snuck out of my hiding place. I realized that he had made it most of the way down the stairs and -suddenly inspired- I jumped out at him doing the "AHA" thing. It was very very fun and funny for exactly 4.3 seconds. I guess, with L so big and physically strong, I hardly ever rough house with him any more. So, the situation, where I scared him and sent him running from me, was ridiculous (maybe nostalgic too?)
Seriously. It was so funny that when the mirror came down with this incredible crash, I wasn't even mad.
We just got to work picking up the thousands of shards. Then I sent L to his room to work on homework and I vacuumed for a solid hour trying to get the infinite tiny pieces.
Now - a few hours later - I'm bummed. I think I'm just tired. L went off to a soccer scrimmage and I'm trying to look over a history paper he has to turn in on the first day of school. (I'm not changing anything - just putting things he needs to look at -or punctuation errors etc.- in red.)
You know, I think that's what has me sad. School is starting and I hope he'll be okay. It seems like I nagged him all summer long, but we're going to be scrambling madly for the next six days to wrap up all of his summer assignments. He did learn a lot though - he thought and he read and he even wrote; he's just not as good at writing the finished product (and that, my friends, is the only thing his teacher will see on that first day.)
* * * * * * * *
OH, never said where the mirror came from. The old lady across the street died about 6 or 7 years ago. I still remember odd details: a different neighbor (Cheryl) coming to our door in the rain to tell me that the dead woman's family had come and packed up the house, but there were a few things there that nobody wanted. "Did we need a sofa?" Ha ha - I wasn't really in the mood, but Cheryl was so enthusiastic about it. I ended up lugging this incredibly heavy & UGLY sleeper sofa to my house. As I picked up my half of it I almost fell back into the wall (in which I surely would have put a hole) - This family, all strangers to me, looked on in horror. That day I brought the mirror home too. It was beautiful, but I can see why nobody wanted to take it with them. I always thought it weighed so much partly because of the backing/frame that was attached to it. Now that it broke, though, I see that it was just super thick glass.
Interesting, though. Now I see that where it was etched (down the sides) - the etching was scratched out behind the glass and then the paint was applied (the paint that makes glass reflective). I wonder if that technique is still used? Going to check that out. One of the etched side pieces survived, and I'll keep that.
Why am I going on and on about this. I don't know. You'ld think I was really going to miss this mirror, but I'm not.
After taking it off the wall, instead of putting it somewhere logical, I had set it against a wall, on the landing of the stairs which lead up to my room. That wall is also the front of our house, so it's partly against the window and the curtain hung over part of the mirror... it made it too easy to ignore.
So, today L blew up a balloon really really full and started making that horrible squeaking noise you can get by rubbing the balloon. He knows I hate that noise. Today it wasn't really bothering me too much, but I decided to play along with L. I tried to take the balloon. Then I got out a pin and threatened to pop it. He ran up to my bedroom and I called out, "That's fine. It doesn't bother me when you're that far away." So, he opened the door to my room, and I went and hid behind another door thinking I'd pop the balloon when L walked by with it. Only he was taking way too long to come back down so I slowly snuck out of my hiding place. I realized that he had made it most of the way down the stairs and -suddenly inspired- I jumped out at him doing the "AHA" thing. It was very very fun and funny for exactly 4.3 seconds. I guess, with L so big and physically strong, I hardly ever rough house with him any more. So, the situation, where I scared him and sent him running from me, was ridiculous (maybe nostalgic too?)
Seriously. It was so funny that when the mirror came down with this incredible crash, I wasn't even mad.
We just got to work picking up the thousands of shards. Then I sent L to his room to work on homework and I vacuumed for a solid hour trying to get the infinite tiny pieces.
Now - a few hours later - I'm bummed. I think I'm just tired. L went off to a soccer scrimmage and I'm trying to look over a history paper he has to turn in on the first day of school. (I'm not changing anything - just putting things he needs to look at -or punctuation errors etc.- in red.)
You know, I think that's what has me sad. School is starting and I hope he'll be okay. It seems like I nagged him all summer long, but we're going to be scrambling madly for the next six days to wrap up all of his summer assignments. He did learn a lot though - he thought and he read and he even wrote; he's just not as good at writing the finished product (and that, my friends, is the only thing his teacher will see on that first day.)
* * * * * * * *
OH, never said where the mirror came from. The old lady across the street died about 6 or 7 years ago. I still remember odd details: a different neighbor (Cheryl) coming to our door in the rain to tell me that the dead woman's family had come and packed up the house, but there were a few things there that nobody wanted. "Did we need a sofa?" Ha ha - I wasn't really in the mood, but Cheryl was so enthusiastic about it. I ended up lugging this incredibly heavy & UGLY sleeper sofa to my house. As I picked up my half of it I almost fell back into the wall (in which I surely would have put a hole) - This family, all strangers to me, looked on in horror. That day I brought the mirror home too. It was beautiful, but I can see why nobody wanted to take it with them. I always thought it weighed so much partly because of the backing/frame that was attached to it. Now that it broke, though, I see that it was just super thick glass.
Interesting, though. Now I see that where it was etched (down the sides) - the etching was scratched out behind the glass and then the paint was applied (the paint that makes glass reflective). I wonder if that technique is still used? Going to check that out. One of the etched side pieces survived, and I'll keep that.
Why am I going on and on about this. I don't know. You'ld think I was really going to miss this mirror, but I'm not.
28 August 2011
bail baby bail
Yup. Hurricane Irene hit us, but we were prepared... sort of. In the 48 hours leading up to the storm, my husband got a little "hysterical" and impatient with my lack of diligence. I tried to keep up with him, but I just didn't have the same commitment.
It started out pretty mildly: "Vamos," he said. "We have to fill up your car and go to the bank to get some cash."
I went along with these things and tried to sound calm but aware of the looming threat. When we got to the bank, there was a line outside the ATM entrance and I gamely took my place. It moved quickly and ten minutes later we were right there at the door... when I realized that I hadn't actually brought my ATM card. Hubby was pretty calm - and we drove home to get it (we live close). Almost no line when we got back, so it could have been worse. When we got home from the bank/gas station, my husband decided to go to home depot to buy some tubes to take the water from the rain spouts away from the house. I really did NOT want to go to Home Depot so I quickly thought up the excuse that I might need to head out to look for L (son) who had not returned from soccer practice yet. Actually, I still had cleaning to do in kitchen, because... did I mention? We have been having guests over at our house almost daily (my husband's ex-wife's sister and brother in law.) But, I did sneak up to my room also to lie on my comfy bed and read for a while ahhhh....
Saturday, the preparations, took of full steam ahead. Hubby began to ask for clean buckets, which he washed and filled with water (even though I had already stored some water in old 2 liter coke bottles and in a huge pot). Still, it made sense - if it floods in our community, the water treatment plant can be taken out of commission for a while). We'd gone to the farmer's market and to the store on Friday, but hubby wasn't satisfied: wanted to buy extra food (for us and for guests). I convinced him that, really, we didn't have anywhere to put it... but he could buy things that could be stored without refrigeration. End result: I have diet soda, lemonade and fruit punch galore and packets and packets of galletas maria (Goya). Don't know if you've tried them, but they're pretty addictive. (The after-effects of the storm for me will be cholesterol and tooth decay.)
But that's not all folks... Yours truly had to get up on our roof to clean out the rain spouts. Always a good thing to keep up with, so that was fine with me. L really wanted to get up on the roof instead of me, but I've done it so many times already and his father gets nervous -(he got his chance later...) Then, some brilliant neighbor told hubby that we had better take down our awning. I had kind of convinced him that we could leave it. So, I got back on the roof to undo the awning. Hubby and I had a public argument (in Spanish) because he was very nervous about whether I knew how to take down the awning. I didn't. BUT, I knew that I had done it before and that it hadn't been hard. So, I got up on the ladder again to climb up on the roof, but this time the screws which hold the top of the awning in place were impossible to move. Sent son up to give it a try; he can't do it either. They are placed very awkwardly right below the gutter. Finally I got up there again with a wrench and a hammer (not necessary last time) and managed to get things unscrewed.
I won't go into the details of how I led my husband through the harrowing ordeal of me constantly remembering things about taking that awning down... one by one... after we were well under way with the process. But, I was right. We did it and it was pretty easy.
So, then the guests came over for the daily chat over food and coffee etc. I was a mess, of course, and still needed to get out in the rain to lock up my bike and put the ladders away safely.
Still we had windows to try to get down (very old house) and I had to convince my hubby not to board up a window on the porch; I had to pick things up off the basement floor because it can get very humid or damp in heavy heavy rains... etc etc. etc.
Went to bed on Saturday night and the storm was starting already. Turned out that I hadn't done the one obvious and fairly easy thing that would have saved me a lot of headaches and backaches today. I didn't roll up all of the rugs and floor coverings that I have in the basement. The wind wasn't too bad, but we got socked by the rain I guess. The floor wasn't damp or humid, WE HAD A FRICKING FLOOD. When I woke up in the morning --7:40 am -- I found my hubby shoveling water off the floor into buckets.
I got the snow shovel and we started shoveling. Got me son down there to help pretty quickly (when I realized that my hubby wasn't going to call him but was expecting him to understand that his duty was to help). None of that pride for me - I prefer the open nagging with a good dose of guilt to boot. Ha ha. In the end, son helped a ton - more, in fact, than hubby. But, no doubt that we all had a long day.
It started out pretty mildly: "Vamos," he said. "We have to fill up your car and go to the bank to get some cash."
I went along with these things and tried to sound calm but aware of the looming threat. When we got to the bank, there was a line outside the ATM entrance and I gamely took my place. It moved quickly and ten minutes later we were right there at the door... when I realized that I hadn't actually brought my ATM card. Hubby was pretty calm - and we drove home to get it (we live close). Almost no line when we got back, so it could have been worse. When we got home from the bank/gas station, my husband decided to go to home depot to buy some tubes to take the water from the rain spouts away from the house. I really did NOT want to go to Home Depot so I quickly thought up the excuse that I might need to head out to look for L (son) who had not returned from soccer practice yet. Actually, I still had cleaning to do in kitchen, because... did I mention? We have been having guests over at our house almost daily (my husband's ex-wife's sister and brother in law.) But, I did sneak up to my room also to lie on my comfy bed and read for a while ahhhh....
Saturday, the preparations, took of full steam ahead. Hubby began to ask for clean buckets, which he washed and filled with water (even though I had already stored some water in old 2 liter coke bottles and in a huge pot). Still, it made sense - if it floods in our community, the water treatment plant can be taken out of commission for a while). We'd gone to the farmer's market and to the store on Friday, but hubby wasn't satisfied: wanted to buy extra food (for us and for guests). I convinced him that, really, we didn't have anywhere to put it... but he could buy things that could be stored without refrigeration. End result: I have diet soda, lemonade and fruit punch galore and packets and packets of galletas maria (Goya). Don't know if you've tried them, but they're pretty addictive. (The after-effects of the storm for me will be cholesterol and tooth decay.)
But that's not all folks... Yours truly had to get up on our roof to clean out the rain spouts. Always a good thing to keep up with, so that was fine with me. L really wanted to get up on the roof instead of me, but I've done it so many times already and his father gets nervous -(he got his chance later...) Then, some brilliant neighbor told hubby that we had better take down our awning. I had kind of convinced him that we could leave it. So, I got back on the roof to undo the awning. Hubby and I had a public argument (in Spanish) because he was very nervous about whether I knew how to take down the awning. I didn't. BUT, I knew that I had done it before and that it hadn't been hard. So, I got up on the ladder again to climb up on the roof, but this time the screws which hold the top of the awning in place were impossible to move. Sent son up to give it a try; he can't do it either. They are placed very awkwardly right below the gutter. Finally I got up there again with a wrench and a hammer (not necessary last time) and managed to get things unscrewed.
I won't go into the details of how I led my husband through the harrowing ordeal of me constantly remembering things about taking that awning down... one by one... after we were well under way with the process. But, I was right. We did it and it was pretty easy.
So, then the guests came over for the daily chat over food and coffee etc. I was a mess, of course, and still needed to get out in the rain to lock up my bike and put the ladders away safely.
Still we had windows to try to get down (very old house) and I had to convince my hubby not to board up a window on the porch; I had to pick things up off the basement floor because it can get very humid or damp in heavy heavy rains... etc etc. etc.
Went to bed on Saturday night and the storm was starting already. Turned out that I hadn't done the one obvious and fairly easy thing that would have saved me a lot of headaches and backaches today. I didn't roll up all of the rugs and floor coverings that I have in the basement. The wind wasn't too bad, but we got socked by the rain I guess. The floor wasn't damp or humid, WE HAD A FRICKING FLOOD. When I woke up in the morning --7:40 am -- I found my hubby shoveling water off the floor into buckets.
I got the snow shovel and we started shoveling. Got me son down there to help pretty quickly (when I realized that my hubby wasn't going to call him but was expecting him to understand that his duty was to help). None of that pride for me - I prefer the open nagging with a good dose of guilt to boot. Ha ha. In the end, son helped a ton - more, in fact, than hubby. But, no doubt that we all had a long day.
22 August 2011
. . . . . . . haiku
tiny creaky house
infinite jumping bouncing
sweaty teen seems giant
infinite jumping bouncing
sweaty teen seems giant
p.s. showed this to L and he laughed
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)