Three times seven

My shredder and I survived Phase 1 of the great office clean out and the stage is now set for Phase 2. Hubs and I are ships passing in the night today as he is flying home from a business trip and I am heading south to spend the weekend with daughter2 so I can help her move apartments. I told him that I hoped he could see how much I'd done but honestly so much of it was getting rid of paper that I'm not sure how different the office looks. The closet on the other hand is much improved. You can actually put your whole self in there now, maybe even the whole family.

Besides being overrun by income tax returns do you know what else we're overrun by around here? Photos. Holy moly. I have been scanning and filing photos for the past year but it seems every time I open another drawer, bag or box I find more photos. Some I dated when I had the film developed (remember when you had to have film developed?) but I got lazy about 1999 so I had to wrack my brain to figure out the year on a few of them.

I also found some of the things I'd saved from my girls growing up days. School work, letters home from camp, notes to mom and dad...oh my. I tried to stay focused on the task at hand but I couldn't help but read some of the cards and notes. One thing I kept was something daughter2 wrote during the very first week of third grade-she was seven getting ready to turn 8 in a few days. The teacher had them complete a packet about themselves and it was sitting on their desk when parents arrived for Back to School night. Here is what hers said-

When I'm in sixth grade, I hope-I get a good teacher.

When I'm in high school, I would like to-get four teeth pulled.

When I'm 25 I would like to be-a waitress.

When I grow up I would really like to be-a teacher.

If I could have three wishes for my future, I would wish for-a puppy, a good husband, a little girl.

Dear sweet seven year old daughter2-

You with the bluest eyes and the hair so blonde and the smile so big...you did get a good teacher in grade 6. Two in fact. And they both had babies that year which delighted you. We still lived in Maryland and you moved into the Middle School. You sang in the show choir, took piano lessons from Dr. Haberman, played lacrosse, danced with a new studio and loved finally being old enough to join the youth group at church.

About those teeth...I think if you knew all the orthodontics waiting for you in your future you might not have wished so hard for this one. I'm pretty sure the wish was inspired by the fact that your teacher's daughter had just had her wisdom teeth pulled and this fascinated you. Or maybe it was just all that talk of ice cream but nevertheless, your wish came true and guess what? You had those four teeth pulled by a British surgeon in the UK. He came in to see you beforehand and explained in great gruesome detail precisely how he was going to remove those teeth. They served me tea and biscuits while you were in surgery and once you were out they fed you and took your blood pressure and checked on you at least 87 times before we were permitted to go home. As always, you were a trooper. Did I mention we moved to England four years after you finished the third grade? Your seven year old self had no idea what was waiting round the bend. My 37 year old self didn't either.

Your wish to be a waitress came true too, just much sooner than age 25. It was difficult for teenagers to find part time jobs in the UK but you were bound and determined and lo and behold you landed a job at the nicest little cafe in our village. The owner Deb was from South Africa and she absolutely loved your sunny disposition, your huge smile, and your sense of humor. Daddy and I loved to come for breakfast and have you wait on us. Daddy would order the equivalent of $40 worth of beverages-his freshly squeezed juice, one of their famous lattes, and a strawberry milkshake. You were an excellent waitress and only once or twice dropped something and the fact that you were an American girl was a big hit with the customers too.

Now, about that growing up bit..well, that happened too. And at this very moment you are working hard at uni to make that dream of becoming a teacher a reality. You will student teach some lucky second graders this year and you're beyond excited. I love that you and I share this slice of life and we talk often about education, classroom management, disadvantaged children, and what makes a good teacher. I have no doubt you will be one of the best.

In just a few weeks you will turn three times seven. I imagine you sitting at your desk in Mrs. O'Neill's room as you were beginning the third grade. I picture you thinking hard about the things you loved-puppies, babies, family-and wanting your own some day in the distant future. I pray everyday those gifts are waiting for you to grab hold of as you step into the world of full grown adult. Suddenly that long ago distant future is here. You have always been the girl who grabbed hold of life. You are still that girl.

A melodious Wednesday Hodgepodge Vol 38

Thanks for playing along in the Wednesday Hodgepodge...here are my answers to this week's questions-

1. Share a favorite song lyric.

I shared a dozen in yesterday's post which you must have seen since you had to go there to get today's questions. You didn't just skip to the questions did you? I thought not. Anyway, I have a million so here's one more-

"We are His portion and He is our prize, drawn to redemption by the grace in His eyes, If His grace is an ocean we're all sinking. And heaven meets earth like an unforseen kiss and my heart it turns violently inside of my chest. I don't have time to maintain these regrets when I think about the way...He loves us..." from How He Loves by David Crowder Band

2. When was the last time someone yelled at you?

Hmmm...this might be easier to answer if the words were turned the other way around. I don't think anyone has yelled at me this week. So far.

3. Money, fame, happiness...are they mutually exclusive?

It might seem that way if you watch tv but no, I don't think they're mutually exclusive. I do think fame is the trickiest piece of the puzzle. People with money can be incredibly happy, and many people with money do amazing things for others which also brings happiness into their own lives. It's when fame is added to the mix that happiness becomes complicated.

4. What is your favorite dish to prepare for family/friends that doesn't involve turning on the stove, oven, or an outdoor grill?

A caprese salad-simple, delicious, and beautiful.

5. The first week of August is National Simplify Your Life Week. What is one thing you could do this week to simplify your life? Will you do it?

Clean out and better organize our office. Will I do it?

I have spent the past two days in the trenches and I'm realizing it is one of those jobs where one thing leads to another. Here's what I mean-I intended to clean out the desk drawers, to go thru every file and shred what needed shredding and organize what needed organizing. Sounds simple, right? The thing is, when you start going thru paperwork you run across some things that are not current but that cannot be thrown away. They don't need to be in the desk drawer file system so I was going to move them to a file cabinet we keep in the office closet which of course led to another clean out. And then once I was in the closet I looked around and thought, ugh, might as well tackle some of the other miscellany in here. Hubs is high fiving anyone within reach as he reads this because the office closet is a pet peeve of his. ahem.

To be honest its a pet peeve of mine too but its one of those jobs that falls into the 'things that make me whine' category. Quite a few odds and ends were stashed in that closet when we moved in (two years ago, gulp). The idea was that I'd get to them later and well, uh, yeah. I guess its later. Having this closet customized is on our to-do list but I'm not sure how far down on the to-do list it is so I decided to bring a little cheap organization into the picture for now. We also had three boxes of books in that closet that have been sitting there since we moved in. I opened those and then decided I'd bring a bookcase up from the basement and use it in the closet. Of course the bookcase was full of games which had to be moved somewhere else and on and on and on it goes. This closet is a job I've been dreading but now that I've tackled it I'm feeling better. Still a ways to go but life in the office already feels simpler. You may find that hard to believe since it took me two paragraphs to explain but trust me, it's better.

6. On a scale of 1-10 (with 10 being 100% and 1 being not at all) how tuned in are you to your country's national political scene?

About a 9. There are just some things I'll never understand. And hubs can't live with me if I accelerate up to a 10. Now, shall we rate our level of disgust with politicians in general? That is off the charts for me.

7. What are your final parting words to the month of July?

already?

8. Insert your own random thought here.

I'm having a girls weekend with daughter2 this weekend. And by girls weekend I mean she and I are going to get her moved into her new apartment. Essentially her new apartment is across the parking lot from her current apartment but nevertheless, boxes and bins and clothing must be moved. And yes, she could manage this one on her own but since she's been working in SC all summer we haven't had a lot of time together so we thought it would be fun. We told hubs to sit this one out since he's been in Brazil all week and would have to turn right around and get on yet another airplane.

This picture was taken the very first week of her very first year of uni. And then we blinked and next week she starts her senior year. The roommate in the picture was a stranger back then. The girls were matched in the university's random roommate shuffle and didn't meet in person until they moved into their dorm. They are still roommates. Sometimes random is good.

Any songwriters in the Hodgepodge?

Hubs and I love listening to music and quite often we spend our Friday evenings sipping a glass of wine while listening to our favorites, both old and new. Hubs has an ear for music and he can name most songs on the first note. I do not have an ear for music but I do have an ear for words and a well turned phrase. Our tastes are wide ranging but music from the 1970's will always top our list of most loved.

Just as some people collect spoons and some people collect tea cups I collect words. I'll often hear a line in a song that is clever or thought provoking or just plain well said and think, 'I wish I'd written that." Hubs and I were talking about this very thing last Friday night and I thought it would be fun to share a few and then use that as our launch question for this week's HP. I'm not making any sort of statement with the artists I've chosen and I realize we could debate the merit and character of each one but I'd rather not. This is really just about the words.

Sometimes I love the whole song but a lot of the time its just a line or a particular phrase that strikes a chord with me. I have linked to the actual song for copyright purposes and on that note, here's a random dozen in no particular order-

1. "She's living in LA with my best old ex friend Ray"...my best old ex-friend? I absolutely love that wording...from Operator by Jim Croce.

2. "These are not the best of times but they're the only times I've ever known..."from Summer Highland Falls by Billy Joel

3. "Did the captain of the Titanic cry?..."

from Someday We'll Know by The New Radicals

4. "She's got a smile that it seems to me, reminds me of childhood memories, where everything was as fresh as the bright blue sky..."

from Sweet Child O' Mine by Guns N' Roses

5. "I'm not crazy I'm just a little unwell..."

Unwell by Matchbox 20

6. "What are these voices outside love's open door, makes us throw off our contentment and beg for something more?..." from The Heart of the Matter by Don Henley

7. "My life has been a tapestry of rich and royal hue, An everlasting vision of the ever changing view..." from Tapestry by Carole King

8. "I'm so happy, that I can't stop crying..."

From I'm so Happy by Sting

9. "... wearing a face that she keeps in a jar by the door..."

from Eleanor Rigby by The Beatles

10. "She needs wide open spaces, room to make her big mistakes..."

from Wide Open Spaces by The Dixie Chicks

11. "Another turning point, a fork stuck in the road, time grabs you by the wrist directs you where to go..." Good Riddance by Green Day

12. "But the ending always comes at last, endings always come too fast. They come too fast but they pass too slow..." from All I know by Art Garfunkel

I'd love to know if you have a lyric or ten that make you say, "Wish I wrote that." Oh wait...it's time for the Hodgepodge. How convenient. Here are the questions for this week...come back tomorrow (Wednesday) so we can link our answers with the whole wide world.

1. Share a favorite song lyric.

I better not see 'I can't think of one' on anybody's paper. That's an automatic F in the Wednesday Hodgepodge you know.

2. When was the last time someone yelled at you?

3. Money, fame, happiness...are they mutually exclusive?

4. What is your favorite dish to prepare for family and friends that doesn't require turning on the stove, oven or an outdoor grill?

5. The first week of August is National Simplify Your Life Week. What is one thing you could do this week to simplify your life? Will you do it?

6. On a scale of 1-10 (with 10 being 100% and 1 being not at all) how tuned in are you to your country's national political scene?

7. What are your final parting words to the month of July?

8. Insert your own random thought here.

Starry starry night

Guess what we woke up to on Saturday? A blank calendar. Whoohoo! I know that probably doesn't excite most people but we heaved a collective sigh and said, thank goodness. This was the first Saturday since May 28th we were both home with nothing on the calendar. That's the whole summer so far people! Why do I feel like I should shout? We've had a lot of fun this summer but sometimes fun can wear a person out and a day without plans becomes golden.

On Saturday we enjoyed a long leisurely lunch overlooking a nearby lake. The weather was perfection and it felt good to catch up on the two of us. When you're on the go a lot its good to take time to step back and smell the roses. Or the coffee. Or the lobster roll with basil fries-yum!

Saturday night we loaded up the car with our camp chairs, blankets, water for the dog, bug spray, citronella candles and possibly the kitchen sink and headed to the drive in. As we were making our way there I spied a friendly neighborhood bear chowing down in a nearby orchard. Pretty sure you'll have to click to enlarge the photo in order to spot him.

Bears look so cute and fuzzy sitting on their backsides like that, don't they? He tucked himself behind the bush as we approached so he's a little bit hard to see but he's definitely there feeling fat and happy.

Do you have a drive in movie theatre anywhere near you? I know most of them have been shut down but what a fun way to spend a Saturday night. The lot was filled with families and children of all ages, there were older couples, groups of friends, the family pet-you name it. Before the movie started Frisbees were thrown and footballs tossed and there was even a scout troop setting up tents for post show camping. The crowd was friendly and well behaved and we really enjoyed ourselves.

When we lived in NJ the last time, roughly 20 years ago, we used to take our girls to the drive in. We would put their sweet, just bathed selves dressed in princess pjs into the back of our station wagon and they'd watch in style with pillows and blankets.

Hubs and I were smiling as we remembered the last movie we saw there-101 Dalmatians starring the very evil Cruella DeVil. Or Cruella VaDil as she was known in our house. In case you're wondering, those are the sort of thoughts that squeeze the air right out of your heart. If you are in the early years of child raising just know that down the road it will be the little things that will sneak into your memory and tug at your unsuspecting heart strings on some far off day in the future.

Where was I? Oh yeah. At the drive in. We couldn't have asked for a more beautiful night...the sky turned all pink and golden as the sun set. It was cool and clear so if the movie got a little weird (Cowboys and Aliens) you could star gaze.

I love a starry starry night.

The song, the painting, and the real thing most of all.

Hindsight is 20/20

I did not blog today but linked two older posts over at Kelly's Korner in her Show us Your Life Series on Parenting.

Daydream Believer

Riding Bicycles

If you have something to share why not link up too?

Have a great weekend!

Mirrors

Brace yourself for some sentiment...I'm about to get sloppy.

When I was seventeen turning eighteen I left NJ to attend uni in The Volunteer State. That's Tennessee in case you didn't know.

When I was eighteen I didn't know.

I was out of my element in the fall of 1978.

It was love at first sight for me and the great state of Tennessee. I fell head over heels for the lakes, the mountains, a certain boy, the gravy, the people and let's not forget, the accent. If you've been reading my blog thinking I have the voice of a Jersey girl you might be surprised to know I have a little Southern drawl. Pretty sure I picked it up about five minutes after I set foot on Southern soil and there it has remained all these many years later.

I did not know one single solitary person on campus when I arrived so I decided to pledge a sorority. Oh, I know some of you out there are rolling your eyes and conjuring up every stereotype you've ever heard or imagined but y'all...these girls...they made my college years some of the best years of my life. For sure some of the most fun. Like most stereotypes I suppose there is a kernel of truth to some of what you hear on some campuses, but most of what you hear is hogwash (is that a Southern expression?). The girls I knew and still know had/have hearts of gold.

When I look back at my life I see that the college years stand alone. The world was at my doorstep and I had one foot placed tentatively out in it while keeping one planted firmly on the safe soil of youth. We lived in one another's pockets way back when and testing your wings was easier knowing someone was there to catch you if you fell.

I don't know if you've spent much time around college aged girls but let me tell you...so.much.angst. My goodness, we liked our drama and just writing that makes me smile. We could take our little problems and discuss and dissect and analyze and cry and laugh like there was no tomorrow. All problems are big problems when you're twenty. I will add that most of my drama revolved around a certain boy who shall remain nameless but who might possibly have married me. Problem solved.

I spent this past weekend at a little informal reunion of some of the girls who were in my sorority. There were about 20 of us there this year, our third get together in six years. Each year we add a few new attendees who bring their photographs and memories and for a little while we remember what it felt like to be poised at the starting line of our adult lives.

I don't see these women very often although thanks to the magic of facebook we are in better touch as a group than we have been in years. We gather at a gorgeous vacation home set high up in the mountains of North Carolina courtesy of one of the girls. We relax. We hang out in our pjs and have long conversations. We share time in the kitchen and we take a lot of pictures, most of which I won't post here because somehow it doesn't feel right. We put our collective brains together as we try to identify long ago friends in old yearbooks and composites. We all pull out the reading glasses too. I guess some things do change.

Most do not.

We compare notes on aging and children and occupations and we marvel at the different paths we've taken that all lead us back to each other. Being with these girls is effortless. Sorry, but they will always be 'girls' to me. We grew into adulthood together. We studied and didn't study together. We laughed ourselves silly over pranks and antics and a few instances of questionable judgement and we cried over hard things that have happened to people we love in the intervening years.

Mostly though, we remember what it felt like to be weightless. I don't mean in pounds, I mean in life. In 1981 we were not yet weighed down by the seriousness of a grown up world. We were still figuring that out along with about a million other things. It was in this sorority, surrounded by these girls that I learned more about friendship and leadership and confidence than any place else. These girls encouraged me to be my best self.

We're all grown up now and as I look around I feel pride at who we have become. We are an accomplished bunch, working as nurses and teachers, pharmacists and therapists, CEO's of businesses and homes, raising families and caring for aging parents. If you were to stumble upon this group you'd see women over 40, okay most of us are over 50, who look like any other group of women. When I look I see something more. Behind the eyes she's there...the 18 year old girl I knew.

We still share something special that defies both description and definition. And we're still challenging and encouraging one another to be our best selves. Oh, and we're still fun too.

Pack your suitcase for the HP- Vol 37

It's that time again-whew! I can't believe it's Wednesday...I need to run a little faster on the treadmill to catch up around here. I'm glad you're playing along in the HP today. Everyone is welcome to join the fun and you'll find the game rules on my sidebar. Add your link at the bottom, after you read my answers of course, and then go visiting.

1. July is National Ice Cream Month...your favorite flavor? Soft serve, hand dipped or frozen yogurt-which do you prefer? And technically yogurt is not ice cream but its hot outside so I'll let that slide for today.

Hand dipped coconut. Or a vanilla soft serve dipped in chocolate shell. What I really love though, is gelato.

In Italy.

2. When you travel do you tend to pack too much or too little?

You'd think with all the packing I do I'd be a pro but I normally pack too much. Except this past weekend I had too little. I was fine but it was so hot I wish I'd had a couple more tops. I normally have just the right clothes but shoes are my downfall. Women need a lot more shoes for a weekend away than men do...at least I think so.

3. What's your favorite cleaning product?

Can I say my husband? He rocks at cleaning the showers. If not I'm going with good old Windex. I hate fingerprints on the glass top coffee table and doggy breath stains on the front windows.

4. What's the greater tragedy-an innocent person imprisoned or a guilty person set free? Explain.

An innocent person imprisoned. Both are a tragedy but the guilty person will ultimately be judged, maybe not in this life but for sure the next. An innocent person imprisoned loses a piece of their life that can never be reclaimed.

5. What's the longest trip you've taken by car?

Hmmm...we've taken a lot of car trips. I think our longest road trip by car would be the trip we took in September 09 from NJ to Prince Edward Island Canada. Or the end of the earth as my hubs likes to say.

It was about 1000 miles one way and most of the drive was beautiful. We both say this was one of our favorite trips ever, and that's sayin' something. I wrote three posts about it which you can read here, here, and here.

6. tennis-golf-canoeing-biking...pick one.

canoeing...I love to canoe and I love the water.

7. What sound drives you crazy?

smacking...as in food. shudder.

the kids on dirt bikes in the woods behind our house sometimes grate too...I understand they are kids but on a peaceful evening the sound is jarring and in my opinion upsets the balance of nature.

8. Insert your own random thought here.

I have so very many random thoughts. Sigh.

How 'bout this-we put in a new mailbox. And by we I mean the mailbox guy put in a new mailbox. It required concrete and 100 degree heat and all day and in case anyone has forgotten I have a hubs who travels.

The mailbox has brass numbers on the side but I have very cleverly edited those out. I love the new look...so much better than the old one with the rust spots and the tilting post. It's the little things in life, isn't it?