This past week proved to be a typical winter in the Poconos. Just as we were starting to believe that we got let off easy, winter struck. Arianna had an early dismissal on Tuesday and then was off from school on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. The lovely weather also closed Len’s company on Thursday and Friday and left me unable to send or receive my work via Fedex due to the closure of roads in our area. With the entire family home, work to be completed, sledding to be done, snow thrones to be built, and hot chocolate to be made, our schedules have all been disrupted a bit.
So after an unexpected winter break, I set my iphone alarm last night in order to wake up early enough to get Arianna off to her Odyssey of the Mind practice before school today. The competition is this coming weekend and the pressure is on, especially with the lost days of preparation. My alarm was set for 6:30 and Len’s was set for 7:00. At 6:48 I was grabbed by the arm with a startle. Len said to me in a panic, “Jen, I don’t think you woke up!!!”
“Hmmmmm. Really? What gave that away”, I wondered. “Could it be my body still laying here beside you, sleeeeeeping??”
Despite oversleeping (because I set my alarm for 6:30PM), I woke up laughing this morning. Not only did I wake up laughing, but we made it to Odyssey on time.
So, I’m 34 years old and I have no idea how to parallel park, ok? Whatever! It’s never been an issue for me until recently. When I took my driver’s ed. test, we were allowed to fail one thing and that was exactly what I did. Everyone told me how difficult it was to parallel park – even my driver’s ed. teacher. No one bothered to try to teach me and actually I was told that it wouldn’t really be an issue in my life, so I took the “F” in parallel parking, got my diver’s license and moved on with my life.
I know that you’re probably thinking that since I’m currently in the big city of Las Vegas that this parallel parking handicap finally struck me now. No! I just haven’t had the time to share my joyous experience until now. My parallel parking hell struck me in the grand old not so big town of East Stroudsburg, PA.
I was driving Arianna to an after school activity one day, which is on a one way street with only on street parking. It had never been an issue before because the street was not packed, but due to road construction every spot was filled except for one. What did that mean? I had to park in between two cars! OMG! I instantly broke out into a sweat! I put my blinker on and a car came up behind me. I assessed the situation looking desperately for another place to park. There were none. I looked in my mirror again and now there was a car, a bus and then multiple cars behind the bus, just waiting for me to park so they could get by. More sweat…
I rolled down my window when I saw a familiar Mom and reminded her of a conversation we once had about how I’d be screwed if I ever needed to parallel park. I begged her to do it for me. She smiled and said she’d talk me through it. Great! What a fantastic time to be talked through it when there’s a line of traffic behind me!
I pulled forward, put on my blinker, turned the wheel this way and that way and pulled forward and went in reverse and turned the wheel this way and that and pulled forward and went in reverse and turned the wheel this way and that………… for about 7 minutes……
One car drove on the sidewalk to get around me…… but in the end, my car was parked!!!
Yippee for me! Now I just need to find a parking garage near by so I never have to do that again. Hey, I tried it once. That was enough!
You know how you feel when you invite someone over to your house for the first time? You wonder if it’s clean enough, big enough, decorated nicely enough and so on. Or how you feel before you go to a new restaurant for the first time. You wonder if your outfit is too dressy, too casual. I think you get the idea. That’s the same way I feel about my glasses when our dear friend Jim comes over. No, not reading glasses – drinking glasses. Let me explain….
One of the first times our families went out to dinner together he asked the waiter to bring him an empty glass. He specified which kind of empty glass he would like and then proceeded to pour his drink from its original, substandard container into the new and improved one. Clearly something must have been wrong with the first glass. You see, here is what Jim knew that I, and apparently many others, don’t understand…
Certain drinks have appropriate glasses
Glasses can be either masculine or feminine based on size, shape, color and texture
Women can drink from a masculine glass, but it is an insult to present a man with a feminine glass
and finally that size does matter!
So you see, the waiter had served Jim his very Manly beverage in a tall, slender glass that was obviously meant for a woman. Duh!!! I understand that now and since Jim is my elder, I shall continue to study and learn all about glass etiquette. ( I wonder if he thinks my martini glasses are too feminine!!)
Times are really changing around here. Arianna’s favorite color isn’t pink anymore. She hung her first poster in her room. It is a poster of a cat, but I know all too well that posters of boys will soon follow. She is no longer into the Disney princesses. She writes in script, is pretty good at her times tables, is no longer a brownie – but a junior girl scout. Not to long ago, I noticed that her shirt wasn’t laying perfectly flat! Ahhhhh!!! No one else would notice, but I certainly did!
The good news is that she still wants a piggy back ride to bed each night, still wants Lenny and I to tuck her in, still believes that someday she’ll be able to fly. The best news of all is that she still really loves us! About an hour after we tucked her in the other night she came downstairs with a gift for both of us. It was a book she entitled, “My Family is the Best Family – The Ultamet Rock Stars”. (Yes, that’s how she spelled Ultimate)
Here’s a little piece of what she had to say:
My Mom
_________
My Mom is awesome, sweet and fun to hang around! She could never get any better! My Mom and I always have fun together. She is a shoulder to cry on. There are so many good things about her, I can’t even list them. You are caring and wonderful to be around. Thank you for making me and thank you for everything you have done for me!
She then dedicates a page to her Dad, one to our times in Las Vegas, one to “the rock stars in us” and then closes the book with this…
Thank you
__________
Mom and Dad, this book is for you, saying thank you for all that you have done. Some of my favorite things about my family. These are a few of the things I could think of. Please take this as a gift to remember I was just thinking of you.
by,
Arianna
What a beautiful gift!!! What more could I ask for!!! :)
Friendship can be a tough thing sometimes. Over the years I have had many friends come in and out of my life. I have however, had one long lasting friendship that I am proud of.
We're so odd...
My best friend is somebody that I have a long history with. Somebody I’ve known since I was a teenager. Somebody I’ve grown up with. Somebody that I can laugh with, cry with and just be down right silly with. My best friend will support me and stand up for me when no one else will. If we have a small disagreement or a huge blow out, I know that he will be there after the fall out with open arms. I know that my best friend won’t walk away or turn his back on me for any reason. He has been by my side through the absolute best and the worst of my life – picked me up off the floor and glued my pieces back together. Our true friendship is based on love, laughter, support, forgiveness and more love and more laughter. It’s what true friendship should be all about. My best friend will watch American Idol with me even though he hates it and rub cream on my dry, cold feet!! He also knows that in the end, I’m always right. (Ok, that part isn’t true. Only mostly true! LOL!)
I’m happy to say that my husband is my best friend. Always will be. I love you, Babe.
Confidence is one of those attributes I think we all hope that our children have. As a child, my mother was made fun of because of her glasses, white hair and braces. She pulled through the pains of childhood and grew into a confident, successful woman. She was the first woman ever to be hired as an EMT at her place of employment. Breaking into that world of men took guts and lots of confidence.
As a child, I too was made fun of because of my pointy Spock ears, my pointy fangs and anything else those rotten kids could pick apart. I was shy and unsure of myself, but what I did have were a few powerful, successful women that served as role models for me and helped me to grow into the woman I am today – one of them, of course, being my mother. I am totally comfortable with who and what I am and where I am in my life right now.
And then there’s my daughter….
Unlike the prior two generations, Arianna’s confidence issue seems to be the complete opposite of her elders. Let me give you an example. On the first day of school, the teacher handed out a “Getting to know you” sheet. You know, they ask questions like “Do you have any brothers or sisters?” or “Do you like sports?”.
Well one of the questions was “What are you most proud of?” Her response “ME!” And no, it’s not me, her mother that she was referring to. She is most proud of herself!! Then she had to fill in “The best thing about me is ….” and her response was “ME!” No lack of confidence going on in her head. In her view everything about her is so good, she couldn’t pick just one thing.
Arianna recently started gymnastics. I was driving her and a friend home from class the other night and listened while she told her friend that she’s close to a back walker over so soon she can learn a back hand spring. Her friend said, “No fair. You’re better than me and I’ve been doing it longer.” My daughter looks at her best friend and gleefully responds, “I KNOW!!! I AM BETTER THAN YOU!”
I’ve got a problem on my hands over here and it’s most certainly not from lack of confidence! She’s a wild girl and I am very anxious to see how her life plays out.
I cannot believe it’s been 7 years. So much time has passed that my doctor, my hero, has now retired this year. Hmmmm.
The following video is dedicated to our unborn Angels and anyone else who can identify. I would like to thank Holly for introducing me to this unique song that . . . well sums it all up.
My friend Robin is going to take some family photos for us tomorrow. We decided that the three of us would wear blue jeans and a white top. Robin suggested that we should have long sleeves because elbows don’t photograph well. That put me in a bit of a predicament, you see. I don’t own a long sleeve white shirt. Ok, I do have a long sleeve tee shirt, but that hardly seems appropriate, right? I have white camis, white sports bras, white tank tops and white bras. Also, not appropriate. Is it?
So I set out on my mission at 11:00 this morning. It is now 3:00 and I just got home. I tried. I really tried to like what I thought would be appropriate for a family photo. First I thought I would try on some button down shirts. Geez, oh man, I felt like I was wearing a smock! Everyone of them that I put on made me feel like I should be in art class with a paint brush in hand. So totally not me!
Oh, then Robin asked me if I could bring a pair of high heels. That was quite a complicated question to answer. Do my casual shoes with a 2 inch heel count? How about stilettos? Surely that’s gotta be classified as a heel. How’s that for a family portrait?!
So what’s my style, you ask? I don’t have one. I don’t know one brand from the next or even care to. A Walmart purse looks no different to me than a Coach bag. I like to be comfy and warm. If I’m not comfy and warm then I’m sure I’m uncomfortable and cold but my boobs look good and my husband is happy. Well I am neither comfortable nor warm and my boobs looked non-existent in those family appropriate button down shirts!
So I ask the question again . . . What is appropriate attire for a family photo and I only come up with one answer. It is only appropriate that I be comfortable in what I choose to wear so that I can be myself. If that outfit is warm and comfy – great. If I’m cold, but my boobs look great – even better. I just gotta be me!!!
Watch out Robin! Here we come! Are you ready for the challenge of photographing the original Rock Star Family!!
Can you tell which one of these was done by my child chalk and which was done by my kitten when I was painting? It doesn’t seem to matter what species we are. Kids will be kids!!!
There is this song that Arianna listens to every single day that describes her personality to a tee. The tempo moves about as quickly as she does. Every “dee da dee” and “yeeee haaaa” cracks me up because if you didn’t know my kid, you could get a feel for the pace at which her mouth and brain run just by listening to the song. It brings a smile to my face everytime!!
Now take a moment. Listen. Then imagine trying to work with that next to your ear all day long. Yapping and yapping and yapping! It’s a wonder I passed my July Audit!!!
