Some Words Sunday–Date Night

Yes, I know that’s Back to the Future there…  There’s no video for that song I know of, but it works.

I went out on a date yesterday…and not with my husband.

No guilt, no worries…  My son and I spent a day together.  First we took in a butterfly conservatory and the raptor show they were promoting.  Then we drove north, listening to a-ha on the radio/mp3 player singing at the top of our lungs to songs like “Sun Always Shines on TV”, “Blue Sky” and “Living a Boy’s Adventure Tale”.  We had a quick but yummy bagel dinner at a local Bruegger’s  (it was playtime and he wanted bagels)….

All the world’s a Stage

Then my 7-year old son and I went to listen to the Albany Symphony Orchestra playing Vivaldi‘s Four Seasons.  Yeah, that same kid who is now watching episodes of  Dude, What Would Happen not only sat through two hours of orchestral music, but he enjoyed himself and talked with people (he has Asperger’s and often doesn’t speak to strangers…or if she does, he often “performs” at them quoting shows he knows) about the music and where he recognized the sounds of different instruments.

Can you say HAPPY?

That’s me.

It’s not just a pride thing, though I confess, I’m probably prouder than I should be that my son is this awesome.  It’s the joy of sharing one’s passions with someone and feeling that reciprocation that makes me extra happy.

And the best part came when we’re driving home, having been awake for almost sixteen hours of the day already, and the Boodle says “This was the happiest day I ever had.  Can we do it again?”

I may need to buy more tickets for the symphony.

row80 check-in

The Ruined Tower, one of my favorite images at the Albany Institute

Barring that I missed most of the #teamsprinty gatherings (even my Friday one was only a quick hop in to say “Hi” then I had to head out), this has been a great writing week.

I stuck to my five sentences plan and managed about 4 full pages of handwritten fiction and four typed pages of notes for potential blog posts.  Just five sentences…  at least to start.  It never feels insurmountable, even as I’m completely tuckered out and in need of sleep, the eyes almost closing on me…

I can write a lot if I tell myself all I need to get down is just five sentences.

There was also editing, commenting, blogging…  It was a busy writer’s week…. and photographer’s week  I edited a bunch of photos, learned a bunch more about how RAWTherapee and Photoshop work (not to mention how color pixels are mixed to create the images).

And it was great for my ROWFitness.  Lots of movement, a walk with the Boodle where we met a bunny (and he collected a bunch of rocks and two big clumps of rabbit tail–different rabbit), time with handweights and crunches…

Yeah!  That’s more like it.

How was your week?

 

Some Words Sunday–Mother’s Day

Running (cred. Dan Mabee)

A shortish post today–it’s Mother’s Day in these parts.

Mother’s Day in our family is spent doing things for and with the Boodle.  It has been that way since I became a mother, and I have no interest in changing the pattern.

I became a mom through the Boodle’s presence in my life.  What better way to celebrate that fact (especially given the fun we have together)?

The truth is that I have a problem with any commercialized holiday, and Mother’s Day and Valentine’s Day fall just under Christmas and Halloween for commercialization in my book.  And at least All Hallow’s Eve and the Winter Solstice have some real historical precedence.

I’m not saying we shouldn’t celebrate motherhood, or fatherhood, or parenthood in general.  Honoring those we love is never a bad thing.  Setting aside a special day where people buy cards, take mom out to dinner and tell her how much they appreciate her sounds great in theory too.

I favor the longer term approach though.  Instead of cards and remembrances on a special day–leave me a solitary flower on my pillow unexpectedly, bring me my tea in the morning with a smile, or just come over and hugs me daily.

Oh, yeah…  my husband does most of that anyway.  He doesn’t leave the flowers, but the Boodle brings dandelion bouquets all year.  The hubby comes in while I’m working and rubs my shoulders and tells me I’m beautiful regularly.

Who needs Mother’s Day when one has all that?

Spring kittens

Then there are those who have no concept of a special day for mothers.  It’s not a worldwide phenomenon, but I was thinking a bit more local… as in our deck.

See, we have outdoor cats.  You may have read some of Shan Jeniah‘s posts about her semi-feral cats.  Well, because of the winter ick and life happening here, we missed our chance to get their sister, Punkin, spayed in time.

It was actually quite funny when I found that out yesterday.  Creamsicle met me on the stairs,  all love and mews and leading, as she tried to lure me over to the nest, a “Come–come see the grandkids!”  Even Grandpa Beauty has been a lot more civil lately.

Punkin wanted none of it.  All wild animal instincts triggered by new motherhood, she hissed and yowled from behind to try to draw our attention to her and away from her babies.  Thing is, the silly girl made her nest right in front of the sliding glass door on the deck….

Just outside the window

We moms are pretty funny sometimes.

ROW80 Check-in

After all that great news the last few check-ins, I almost feel depressed by this Sunday’s.  Of course, I spent two days driving out to Syracuse to spent time with family.  My grandmother turned 90 on Thursday.  My grandfather is in a nursing home (not quite on death watch but we know all the time we have with him is borrowed).   And the same ick and steady series of small calamities that kept me from getting our cat fixed in time also kept us from making the trip out (especially the ick, as Grandpa is on antibiotic therapy).

After a time, phone calls and letters just aren’t enough.

I did bring my laptop; I did get some editing done and I wrote some journal entries.  I didn’t write any new fiction at all.

Along the drive, I took time to stop off and see some new places that we usually don’t have time for during these trips.  Instead of the highway for the whole drive, I took rt. 5 from Canajoharie to Utica, and grabbed pictures along the way.   On the way home, I detoured down toward Fayetteville and passed by my Great-aunt Pearl‘s former house.

I even gathered up the courage to knock on the door of the lady who owns it now and introduced myself.  We had a wonderful talk, and in the way patterns repeat, I can see how she’s becoming much like my great-aunt once was.  I wonder if her brother has a daughter too…

Dungeon Office

I also took some time to hike the trails at Chittenango Falls and had supper in the “Dungeon” of Beardslee Castle.  Not much writing time, but lots of fodder for the future…  And despite the sitting and driving, I made my ROW80 Fitness goals for the week. 

I almost wanted to be depressed by the lack of writing, but… as you can see, I can’t.  It was a good week.

I hope whatever your Sunday brings you, it is good.

 

Some Words Sunday–Tag Lines

To short cut to the ROW80 check, click here.

“We’re here to love each other, serve each other, and uplift each other.” — my morning Yogi tea tag line

I’m a huge fan of tag lines…  the kind one finds on the tea tags of certain brands of tea.  I started out (with my Nanny’s help) with Salada tags when I was about six years old.  She would save them in quart-size Mason jars for me, and when  visited, I would sort them by saying, reading them over and over.

Moment of Heaven

Then I found Good Earth teas (I’m not a huge fan of their Original Blend–too sweet for my tastes) and indulged heavily in their Energizing Black tea with Maté and Citrus (yum!) for a time.  I also indulged in my passion for collecting tag lines, because Good Earth gave me a whole new selection of (sweet, sometimes trite) sayings to muse over.

It was after I broke my wrist last December and found that caffeine was causing me problems with my pain meds that I ended up finding my latest tea tag supplier–Yogi teas (yes, I know I could just spend time looking through a website or book of quotes, but the morning discovery is more than half the fun).  They have some wonderful caffeine-free flavors (tisanes and infusions really–since tea actually only comes from one plant, Camellia sinensis) that I’ve grown quite fond of.  If you want flavor recommendations, just ask… then remember to tell me to stop. 

(As a side note, I love the porcelain figurines in Red Rose tea too.  I’m not a collector, but I enjoy it when I get one from a family member or in a box.)

But WAIT!

This post isn’t about tea… Is it?  Well, in a sense, it is.  It’s about what tea is to me–connection and family, love and contentment.

My recent What’s With Wednesday post, despite the fact that it still feels like it needed to be written as it was, has left a very bad taste in my mouth.

I don’t like to read posts where people dwell on the ills they suffered in their youth, especially that harm done by those people who should love them most.  I don’t like to read books about child abuse and neglect (the reason I’m struggling through Angela’s Ashes by Frank McCourt, despite his flair for words).  I don’t like to dwell on the negative.

It’s a power thing…  I hate the thought of giving power and credence to the horrible things we do to each other by speaking about them.  And I hate that I’ve written about them, both in an active sense in my blogs and a more passive sense in my fiction.

I hate it, but I also understand how therapeutic it has been for me to admit that bad things have happened and that not only have I survived but grown and improved… not despite the bad but sometimes because of it.

That said, it’s wrong to dwell on the negative.  Positive things are all around us, and they deserve equal, if not heightened, promotion in our lives.

I was not fair to my father at all in my Wednesday post.  No, Dad is not a perfect person.  Even now, Dad’s temper can be a challenge to deal with.  My own temper can be too, and I’ve witnessed myself acting like him too many times for comfort.

Family

But Dad is an amazing man in so many ways.  He is insatiably curious about the world; it’s from him that I discovered my love for Classical music, gained the courage to sing, and useful life skills like swimming and how to fix my car (I don’t own the equipment to rebuild an engine or do most automotive work these days, but it’s a rare issue that leaves me stranded for longer than a short trip for a supply or two).  I know Dad loved his role as a father, and he loves working with and being around kids.

Both Mom and Dad gave me a love of reading and words.

And they both also gave me my love of tea.  Iced tea was Mom’s gift.  Dad introduced me to the joys of brewed tea, not just tea bags, but the delight of watching balls of Chinese Gunpowder unfurl in hot water, of the many subtle flavors and nuances that one can achieve with different steeping times or waters.

Tea is comforting and delightful on its own, but it’s more for me.  My tea drinking might not reach the level of a true tea ceremony, but when I have tea with a friend, to me, it’s always the fifth cup.  It draws on the good things I grew up with and enhances them.

Tea reminds me of how much I love my parents.  And the tag line

ROW80 Check-In

The tea tag line at the beginning of the post also seems to be the theme for this ROW80 check-in.    It inspired my sponsor post, which will be posted some Monday during this ROWnd.  It’s the essence that encouraged me to become a sponsor; it’s the reason I found myself drawn not only to the ROW80 but also Kristen Lamb’s WANA Tribe.

Any creative person knows how hard it can be to work at an endeavor without knowing if his/her efforts will be appreciated by others.  But we do it anyway.  We have to–it’s our nature.

Communities, like the ROW80 and WANA, allow us to support and nurture each other.  And we’re uplifted when we bring another person up.  It’s the same power thing I mentioned above.  Bringing good things to the table is always more empowering than rehashing the bad.

That doesn’t mean denying the bad.  It’s there, and it needs to be dealt with–but positively.

At least that’s what I think.

So along with the good in this post, let me acknowledge some bad.  Despite my choosing to do the April CampNaNo, I’ve taken two days off of writing fiction.  My wordcount is behind but not irrecoverably so.    When I wasn’t pondering the aforementioned sponsor post, I was taking time out to play Minecraft or spend time going to museums or on walks with my family.

I feel rested and rejuvenated.  I feel uplifted.  And I’ve gotten a bunch of exercise and reading done toward those goals as well.