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!!!
I figured since Lenny has lots to say about flying, I would say a few things about it myself. . .
My family is pretty respectful of my severe dislike of the entire miserable event. (The event of flying that is.) Here are a few rules that are loosely followed by the people I travel with.
I don’t want to talk about flying once our feet have touched the plane. I don’t want to discuss how the weather is going to affect the flight or how some of the people look like terrorists. I don’t want to discuss the wings, flaps, pitch and all the crap that Lenny is learning in flight school that keep the levitating trap from hell in the sky!
Arianna sits on one side of me by the window with her headphones on watching movies. Lenny sits on the other side of me with his headphones on watching movies. I sit in the middle holding a book and staring blankly at the words. No one is to talk to me unless they need to pee. Otherwise there is NOTHING to say until the flight is over. Although I may not look it, I am very busy up there in the sky. I am using my energy to help the pilot and God keep the plane in the sky. I am also deterring any undesirable turbulence from affecting our already hellish experience up there far. far away from the lovely Earth.
Take off and landing are very exhausting for me since I really need to exert my energy then. During take off I’m sending my magic “go, baby, go and lift off” energy out and during landing I’m using my “nice and easy” energy to help the pilot land softly. My hands become sweaty during both events.
Here’s a little side note: I believe it should be against the law for people to wear perfume and cologne on planes. No one wants to smell you for 5 hours. It’s sickening. It’s bad enough that we’re all crammed together with all these burping, farting, coughing, sneezing people! I don’t want any additional, unnecessary discomforts like the stench of bad perfume.
I remember my father reading a book when I was a teenager that talked about “your zero”. Let’s say you are driving on the highway blasting music happily. You pull up to a toll booth and automatically turn down the music. That is because your “zero” has changed – your point of comfort with the loudness of the music – your point of overall comfort.
That being said, there are two states of being for me that affect every other possible state of being – cold and not cold. We have been here in Las Vegas at our condo since the first of July and I have to say that I AM NOT COLD! I have this lovely pair of overwarn, stained, beloved fuzzy socks that generally protect my feet from weather below 90 degrees. They have been sitting lonely in my bedroom drawer since we got here. It is wonerful!
When I am cold, that means that I am not at my zero. I am not at my zero when it’s wintery, icey, firgid, cold, cool, chilly, breezy, lukewarm, airconditioned, or anything other than hot. So that tends to affect my overall day to day being. If a happy event occurs while I am anything less than “Not Cold” than I cannot be completely happy because I already started at something less than my zero.
I’m not sure if this is what that great thinker had in mind while speaking of one’s zero, but this is how I’ve applied it to my day to day existence. My zero is my state of being where I am neither hot or cold, sad or happy, angry or elated. It’s where I just am. When I am regular, average, normal. You know – living comfortably without straying from the median.
Right now, my veins are popping out of my arms, my feet are warm, my blood is circulating and I am content sitting her on my deck at a comfortable 108 degrees. I am happy and at MY Zero!!!
We all know that this world is corrupt in so many ways – including our own country. Did you know that your own town, your own neighborhood, your own neighbor, or even worse, your very own friend could be capable of corruption or corrupting those around her?
I spent the day at Camel Beach with great friends and wonderful children the other day. Ok, feel the excitement with me here for a minute, people, ok? We are at the top of a water slide, getting ready to race each other down to the bottom, as a group. A bunch of teenage boys behind us are eagerly awaiting their turn as they watch us with great anticipation. I am leaning over, hanging onto my mat, waiting for the lifeguard to blow the whistle when Arianna asks for help holding onto her mat so she doesn’t slide down before the race is set to begin. With my right hand I am holding onto my own mat and with my left hand and foot I reach over to steady her mat. Yes, I feel like I am playing Twister at the top of a water slide! All of the sudden, I feel a POP!!! My bikini top shoots open and the gang of 14 year old boys waiting in line let out a gasp!
I let go of Arianna’s mat and quickly try to block the “view” with one hand, while hanging on to my mat for dear life with the other hand. The last thing I need is to bounce my way down this darn slide topless! I called to the lifeguard, who was just getting ready to blow her whistle and ask her to help me. Not only did my top POP open, but the hook broke! I call for Kelly and the girls. They all pick up their mats and come running (and laughing) to help me. Kelly tied a noose around my boobs and a sweet child offered her hairband for reinforcement.
And so, I spent the rest of the day with poor circulation to my upper half and succeeded in corrupting a few innocent boys in the line behind me! Leave it to me to mess up a “G” rated family event!!!
One of my greatest joys is my husband’s biggest pet peeve. I am so glad to have Arianna home this summer – especially with the endless hours of singing. It’s not just any old singing either. It’s OPERA!!! Take a peek. . .
I have spent a good deal of time with my fellow pisces friend over the past month or so, between Las Vegas and regular day to day life. In Las Vegas I learned that 2 female pisces are incapable of total and complete relaxation together because the following words with be uttered from one or the other’s mouth repeatedly: “I’m worried that . . . ” OR the even more popular phrase: I feel guilty because”! Between the 2 of us in that little condo of ours, there was more than enough worry and guilt to go around!
Another important lesson that I learned is that when you hang with people that iron obsessively, you look like a total slob! I have always owned and iron, just because I know that I’m supposed to own one. It looks really nice on the closet shelf. Kelly and Pat actually used my iron every day and sometimes even twice a day! In order to appear that we were not homeless people next to them, I was forced to try my hand at ironing. At one point water started pouring out of the thing uncontrollably and soaking Lenny’s new dress shirt. It turns out the circuit tripped and that apparently happens to irons. Is this common knowledge or something that I missed growing up? I guess the iron cries when you lose power or something. I don’t know.
Yesterday, Kelly and I went to a spin class. Although that quiet, sweet woman has a couple of years on me, DON’T let her fool you!! She spun me under the table! Today, as I prepare to go to a wedding, due to the merciless pain in my legs, I am unable to wear heels, so I’ll be going bare foot. I cannot stand up gracefully once sitting and I either need to walk sideways down the stairs or slide on my butt. Can’t wait to do it again. Thanks, Kel!!! :)
It’s a wonder I passed my July Audit!!!