We are in such a magical time right now with our children. They are old enough to take on some real responsibility and yet young enough to crave time with us. It's hard to imagine them NOT craving that with us and yet I know that they will when the teenage years hit. There are times when their neediness is overwhelming. And when it is, I try to picture how it will be when they want to make all their own decisions without consulting us.
Right now though, it's magic time.
player
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Monday, June 23, 2008
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Aging Gracefully?
So all year I've been saying I am 40. Listen to me: "Well, you know now that I'm 40...". Or "being 40 is great - I loved my 30s so much more than my 20s so it would follow that 40 would be even better". And, "how old are you Mrs. Armentrout?". "I'm 40."
So on the phone the other day I say something like that to my mother and my mother says, Paige, you're 41...
I had to count it in my head - so convinced was I that she was absolutely wrong.
Wow. I lied for the better part of a year. I think maybe being 40 wasn't such a big deal but wading on into the 40s wasn't as palatable.
Now I'm almost 42. I think that sounds better anyway.
So on the phone the other day I say something like that to my mother and my mother says, Paige, you're 41...
I had to count it in my head - so convinced was I that she was absolutely wrong.
Wow. I lied for the better part of a year. I think maybe being 40 wasn't such a big deal but wading on into the 40s wasn't as palatable.
Now I'm almost 42. I think that sounds better anyway.
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
From our Father's Day
We gave him framed art from Em with a poem about a firefly (I'll post later) which is very cool. Wilbur wrote him a note (that his teacher transcribed) saying, "I love you at home. You gave me a red balloon at red robin." I gave him a briefcase and a wallet.Saturday, June 14, 2008
Come and Play, Everything's A-OK...
Did you know that they've changed the opening of Sesame Street? I don't know why this makes we want and need to join the Woodinville or Seattle Historical Society to say "You Can't Tear that House Downnnnn!!!" but, that's what it makes me want to do!
Changing the opening music? I didn't even realize it until I had heard it for a few days. Every morning I turn on the TV at 7 am (shut up about my lousy parenting, it works) and that gets Wilbur out of bed to watch Sesame Street. So, imagine that I hear the new music but I delude myself. I tell myself that I don't hear rap. And if I do, it's only some figment of my imagination - I just got up, after all, and I haven't had my coffee yet. Then, even though I know that they've changed the music, I ignore it. The opening of Sesame Street has been the same since 1968. We can all sing it:
Sunny day - Sweepin’ the clouds away,
On my way to where the air is sweet.
Can you tell me how to get, how to get to Sesame Street.
Come and play, everything’s A-OK
Friendly neighbors there that’s where we meet
Can you tell me how to get
How to get to Sesame Street
But now, it's a rap. It's not Sunny Day... It's sad
Changing the opening music? I didn't even realize it until I had heard it for a few days. Every morning I turn on the TV at 7 am (shut up about my lousy parenting, it works) and that gets Wilbur out of bed to watch Sesame Street. So, imagine that I hear the new music but I delude myself. I tell myself that I don't hear rap. And if I do, it's only some figment of my imagination - I just got up, after all, and I haven't had my coffee yet. Then, even though I know that they've changed the music, I ignore it. The opening of Sesame Street has been the same since 1968. We can all sing it:
Sunny day - Sweepin’ the clouds away,
On my way to where the air is sweet.
Can you tell me how to get, how to get to Sesame Street.
Come and play, everything’s A-OK
Friendly neighbors there that’s where we meet
Can you tell me how to get
How to get to Sesame Street
But now, it's a rap. It's not Sunny Day... It's sad
Clay Jenkinson on Facebook!
Ok, I am a nerdy fan. I found Clay Jenkinson on Facebook, the man who portrays Thomas Jefferson all over the country. We saw him on Washington Public Access - he was appearing in Tacoma and had been brought in by the Rotarians there. He is amazing. He 'enlightens' Doug and me and reminds us of all the fabulous Jeffersonian ideas that, while claimed by the republican party often, now sound much more like Democratic ideals. We LOOOOOOVE him.
Saturday, June 07, 2008
Girl Dreams
I hadn't even planned to watch it. I thought, 'it's over and we can move on to the convention and then November...' I certainly didn't feel sad. But there I was, watching her come into that hall and watching her steely resolve while she must be crestfallen, speaking to the crowd, conciliatory and gracious; tears rolling down my face and sobs forcing their way out of my throat. Why? Why was I crying?
Hillary Rodham Clinton is a polemic (not necessarily her fault) but her campaign, irrespective of the result, was historic. I realized today just how important it was in the context of my life. So many of us are marginalized in some way, but we assume that women have really come a long way and that our needs and dreams aren't civil rights issues. As I sat on our couch crying, touched by the speech and her inner strength, I knew we hadn't come all that far until Hillary started winning states and mounting a campaign that we all took seriously. Smoking our own brand of cigarettes in public just isn't going to cut it, Virginia. I won't consider us a long way there until a woman is in the oval office.
Hillary put to rest that notion that we might not be tough enough, might not have the thick skin or the stamina to go it all the way in this man's business of politics. But she's a shrewd cookie and she has more grit and determination than any man I've seen. To dish it out and to take it is quite an accomplishment.
So, here's to Hillary. She's a game girl and a good egg and I wept today as she showed her strength for all of us. We can dream the dream. Yes, Virginia, there is a chance.
Hillary Rodham Clinton is a polemic (not necessarily her fault) but her campaign, irrespective of the result, was historic. I realized today just how important it was in the context of my life. So many of us are marginalized in some way, but we assume that women have really come a long way and that our needs and dreams aren't civil rights issues. As I sat on our couch crying, touched by the speech and her inner strength, I knew we hadn't come all that far until Hillary started winning states and mounting a campaign that we all took seriously. Smoking our own brand of cigarettes in public just isn't going to cut it, Virginia. I won't consider us a long way there until a woman is in the oval office.
Hillary put to rest that notion that we might not be tough enough, might not have the thick skin or the stamina to go it all the way in this man's business of politics. But she's a shrewd cookie and she has more grit and determination than any man I've seen. To dish it out and to take it is quite an accomplishment.
So, here's to Hillary. She's a game girl and a good egg and I wept today as she showed her strength for all of us. We can dream the dream. Yes, Virginia, there is a chance.
Friday, June 06, 2008
Good!
http://usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/cars-trucks/daily-news/080604-General-Motors-Others-Decide-the-SUV-is-Dead/
When I see someone driving some huge hummer, Denali, Expedition or other some such foolish car I honestly think, "what a fool."
What a fool for contributing the ruin of our environment. What a fool for not seeing the handwriting on the wall at the beginning of the Iraq war (when we downsized our vehicles, knowing that gas would go sky-high). What a fool for indulging in excess. What a fool for being out of the loop and behind the times.
And what's more, I wonder how many of the jumbo vehicles I see driving around are leased.
What fools.
Do I get to ride a high horse about such matters? Is it really any of my business? Well yes I say. Because we are all connected. And if a whole bunch of fools in our community - society - country decide to be reckless with money and as indulgent of their whims as petulant children, paying no mind to what they can actually afford and heeding not the affects of their consumerism, guess who pays? Yes, even those of us who've been frugal and intentional for years and years will pay for their short-sightedness.
I have all kinds of empathy for people who live responsibly and ethically and yet find themselves in a pickle. But woe to the idiot glutton who awakens one day to his destructive ways only because of his personal pain.
Thursday, June 05, 2008
Tuesday, June 03, 2008
A Break-In
So, they are in the house now. And we have moved all our foodstuffs to a shelving unit along with all the pots and pans.
Sunday, June 01, 2008
Human Guinea Pig
We had Emery's party last night and I need to post pictures. It was 5 boys and 1 girl. The boys were CRAZY and LOUD and I don't always do well with CRAZY and LOUD. But as the party went on, and I worked to let go, we all had fun.
I realize, in these situations, that I seem a lot like my own mother. There was a distance she kept from kids that I think I employ at times. My mother loved her own children, but for the most part, she preferred the company of adults. I am just like my mother in this respect. I really enjoy Emery's friends one-on-one, but I struggle being around a big group of kids. I even struggle with my own kids when they go tribal.
And speaking of struggle... I got an email from the mother of the guinea pigs we are adopting. They are ready for us to take ownership. On Monday. This family is moving back to Thailand and they can't take their pets with them. Emery has wanted a guinea pig since they got one in his class (Hillary, the teacher, takes it home on weekends. The kids named it Oreo). When this family sent out a note saying they needed to give their guniea pigs away, I saw it as a perfect opportunity. This family can give us all kinds of instructions and on-going customer support (via email). These animals are already socialized, not traumatized from living at PetSmart or some such place. So, this seems a good option. The only thing is, the deal I originally made with Em was that we'd get a guinea pig once the construction was complete. So here we are in the middle of all of this, already squished into living in less than a house than the small house we had and I have to figure out where to put these possibly-smelly rodents.
And I struggle, because I am not the best Pet person. But I keep trying to follow the path that beckons me. And these guinea pigs beckoned. We will have to go with the experiment/experience and see where it leads us.
I realize, in these situations, that I seem a lot like my own mother. There was a distance she kept from kids that I think I employ at times. My mother loved her own children, but for the most part, she preferred the company of adults. I am just like my mother in this respect. I really enjoy Emery's friends one-on-one, but I struggle being around a big group of kids. I even struggle with my own kids when they go tribal.
And speaking of struggle... I got an email from the mother of the guinea pigs we are adopting. They are ready for us to take ownership. On Monday. This family is moving back to Thailand and they can't take their pets with them. Emery has wanted a guinea pig since they got one in his class (Hillary, the teacher, takes it home on weekends. The kids named it Oreo). When this family sent out a note saying they needed to give their guniea pigs away, I saw it as a perfect opportunity. This family can give us all kinds of instructions and on-going customer support (via email). These animals are already socialized, not traumatized from living at PetSmart or some such place. So, this seems a good option. The only thing is, the deal I originally made with Em was that we'd get a guinea pig once the construction was complete. So here we are in the middle of all of this, already squished into living in less than a house than the small house we had and I have to figure out where to put these possibly-smelly rodents.
And I struggle, because I am not the best Pet person. But I keep trying to follow the path that beckons me. And these guinea pigs beckoned. We will have to go with the experiment/experience and see where it leads us.
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