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Thursday, March 31, 2011

Twins

Two new lives, compact
Have changed the world already.
Happy Birthday, boys!

There is nothing-but-nothing like the birth of an eagerly awaited child to make this world feel like a better, more hopeful place. It's twice as good when there are two! I know my friends K. and S. are over the moon now that their two healthy, beautiful little boys have been born. The rest of us are pretty darned happy, too. 

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Facebook Friend Finder

Facebook Friend Finder
you insist on showing me
my less-than-best self.

Newsflash: I'm not a very nice person, sometimes. Longtime readers may have noticed I have a certain ... shall we say, caustic ... outlook on life that, while occasionally humorous, also carries a certain sting. I'm not proud of this, but I have to be honest and at least acknowledge my inner bitch if I'm going to do anything to lessen her impact on my better self and become the more loving, lovable human being my priest, my yoga instructor, and my therapist all insist I can be.

The reason I bring this up is beacuse of a strange thing that happened to me while I was wasting a few minutes on Facebook this morning. You know that "Friend Finder" banner they have? It pops up on the right of your homescreen and scrolls the faces of "People You May Know!" along with their names and the fact that you have a gazillion mutual friends. You are encouraged to add these people as friends, so you can happily share all future posts, pictures, and birthday wall-scribbles (Happy 29th!!!XOXOXOXO.) I usually ignore this aspect of FB, because 1) I really don't know most of these people, even though we apparently have acquaintances in common and 2) I realize that this is only one more way Facebook is trying to take over and control my online life. (I'm not really ready to be taken over or controlled by Mark Zuckerberg and his ilk, not just yet, anyway.)

Only today, my screen popped up a couple of faces - one from the past and one from the present - I really can't stand. Does that sound extreme? I thought so, too ... but one glance at those pictures and I felt that most revolting of emotions: hatred. My mental gears switched right from "mellow" to "mean." The girl from high school who made my teenage existence miserable? I decided the posed glamour shot she was using as her profile pic made all the bad cosmetic work she's had done in the thirty years since I've seen her far too obvious. The business acquaintance I've caught undermining his colleagues time and again? I was momentarily tempted to grab a Sharpie and scribble an ugly mustache on his smiling, smarmy face ... only then I remembered that that face was on my computer, and while Mr. Smarmy would never know I defiled his image, my husband would be sure to question the marker all over the screen.

That was when I realized that this is my lesson for the day. Like most people, I suppose, I spend way more time engaging in ill-feeling about people over whom I have no control and who most likely don't give a rats-ass about me or my opinion. The only person hurt by my negative reaction to them is - d*oh! -me.

I don't have to "friend" these folks, certainly. I don't have to go out of my way to spend time with people who don't make me feel good in real life, either. But I do have to let go of my reactions to them, justified or not ... because, really, aren't most petty resentments just that ... petty? They're as easy to release as dandelion fluff, if you just decide to do it. Hang on to them, though, and they'll irritate your insides to no end. So thanks, FB. That brief exposure to my lesser self wasn't very comfortable, but I'm heading off into today with a higher purpose, and that's good. Just ask my priest, my therapist, and my yoga instructor.

Monday, March 28, 2011

Thursday, March 24, 2011

grumpy 6 year old

grumpy 6 year old!
there can be just one diva
in our little house.

... and it ain't you, honey.

Friday, March 18, 2011

The Luckiest Woman in the Universe

anniversary
so, so much more than a date
a time to reflect.

It's been a long week. A big conference on Monday and bad news from the state regarding the budget for schools on Tuesday and a big paper that had to be done by Friday 9:00 am and the usual hate-speak from the crazies out there and crashing antiquated servers and ... did I mention half the family (including me) is sick? Nonetheless, the man I love more than anyone else on the planet made reservations at the restaurant where we had our first date and spent an hour telling me why he loves me, our family, and our life.

We were going to to take maximum advantage of the fact that our oldest (17 years) was on hand to babysit our youngest (6) and spend the night on the town, browsing bookstores and maybe even hitting some good local music. Instead, we drove up to the Riviera to look at the full moon and the city we love, and decided to come home early and hang with the kids. Right now the Big Kahuna is asleep in the twin bed where he fell asleep reading "Dragonslayer Academy 8," and I'm more in love than ever.

PS - to my PIL ... I never forget the package deal I got when you two entered my life as well. I love you. XO L

Gardenista

Keep your clothes and shoes;
My passion is not fashion -
I'm much more "grounded."

Other women may get all excited when the spring couture collections come out; not me. What gets my goosebumps going are the garden supply catalogs that start hitting the mailbox right about this time of year. With their promises of fecundity and ease ("Grow great TOWERING tomatoes!" "Precision Planting with No waste, No thinning!") gardening catalogs make me feel like an Earth Goddess just waiting to happen - Demeter ready to throw the welcome-home garden party of the century for her long-awaited offspring.

Will this be the year I finally coax a peony out of the dusty ground with a can't fail SoCal hybrid? Can my strawberries REALLY be sweet and AND big? Maybe what I've really been waiting for all my life is the right pair of Nitrile gloves - "Fit like a second skin and wear like iron!"

Sigh ... there is so much promise in a garden supply catalog. Fashion catalogs, with their in-one-year-out-the-next peasant blouses and wedge sandals just can't hold a candle. I'll leave it to my more elegant sisters to sport the latest in oversized handbags. What I'm really lusting after is a new compost crock. (Gardener's Supply Company Item #37-985, in case you're interested.)

Thursday, March 17, 2011

March 17

i don't drink green beer
or believe in leprechauns
still ... erin go bragh!

Having spent four years in Boston evading the drunken advances of guys named "Sully" every time St. Patrick's Day rolled around, I've never really been a fan of the holiday as it's celebrated here in the U.S. (What's with the pinching, anyway??)

Nonetheless, Ireland has a fascinating history, and they continue to make some of the best music in the world, so I'll raise a pint of Guinness tonight in gratitude for all things Irish ... especially MaryPat O'Connor!

Saturday, March 12, 2011

Flu Haiku

It's been so long since
I've been sick that I forgot
I'm not essential.

Woke up at 3 am with a raging sore throat and headache; had a fever and body chills by dawn. It still took me half a day to realize the world would function very well without me if I just put my sorry self back to bed, where I belong. I think this happens to moms, in particular ... we do a lot and get to thinking everything will fall apart without us.

Trust me.

It won't.

Monday, March 7, 2011

Heading for the Hills

there are times, I think
when it's best to turn your back
on the obvious.

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

rain

rain, rain go away
come again another day
...it's haiku? Who knew?