Maternal Instinct (with Cool Aunt Attitude)

I was washing dishes this afternoon, watching through the kitchen window as a gaggle of smallish boys rode their bikes up and down my driveway. I have an awesome driveway launch, it's steep but safe. Mostly. I looked down to rinse a dish, looked up and saw one of them laid out flat on his back in the middle of the street. In what seemed like a millisecond, I had dropped my dish, left the water running and was in the street assisting. I was strangely calm and knew what to check before trying to move him. Little Grant had wiped out hard, but nothing was broken. Cuts and bruises and shaky nerves. He was crying a little, but I picked him up and set him straight. I grabbed him by both shoulders, shook him a little and said, "Look at you, you're going to have the most awesome bruises tomorrow and you'll get to show all your friends at school!" He smiled, a friend brought him his bike and then they were gone.

Marvelous Monday #1

I started a new tradition with my niece today. Every Monday, I plan to pick her up from school and spend the rest of the day with her. Today was our first Monday, and it was four hours of FANTASTIC!

First, we went to play Pirate Golf (putt-putt) and then had dinner at Sushi House (she had miso soup and tamago with rice, I had miso soup, tea and a California roll).

Then we went back to my neck of the woods, and I took her to see the Sycamore Log Church which was built in 1933. We signed our names in the guest book and she noticed that the piano wasn't dusty at all, so they must still use it during services.

Afterward, we drove further down the road and saw a snake, so we stopped to look at it (from the car, of course). About a hundred yards after that, we saw a tarantula crossing the road, so we got out to see it up close.

We ended up at the Ruth & Paul Henning Conservation area and waded in the stream. I taught her how to skip stones and now she's a pro. We collected some cool looking rocks, saw minnows, crawdads, water gliders, spiders and a sleeping bumblebee. She found a broken branch that served as an excellent walking stick, and we saved it to use during our next exploration.

We plan to hike the Homesteaders Trail (a 3 mile loop) at some point, but maybe on a Saturday when we can get going early. On the drive back to my house, we saw a herd of white-tailed deer! It was a day full of critters.

Then we took Lola for a little walk and went to the park in my neighborhood where Bailey played on the monkey-bars and successfully avoided playing with a strange little boy with a rash. All-in-all, our day was a huge success! My favorite quote of hers was, "This is the best day ever, I don't want it to end!" Score!

Desert Island Picks for Those Who Harbor Gypsy Fantasies

Every now and again, I have the 'jump in my car and escape into the great beyond and never look back' fantasy. Don't freak out, it's only a fantasy.

In reality, I am enmeshed with a wonderful family, I have a good job, a house with a fixed low mortgage, my car is paid off and I have a moderate amount of credit card debt for someone my age (somewhat comparatively).

In the fantasy, I do not think about my family, my job, my house or my debt; there is no currency in this fantasy world, either that or I am independently wealthy. In the dream, I own a camper. In the dream, Lola is a trained dog who doesn't need to walk on a leash.

We travel around North America in the camper, meeting people. I write. I sing. I busk on corners with my guitar (which, in the fantasy, I can play like a dream--pun totally intended). I document everything with a camera and a digital audio recorder. Maybe video, too.

Back in college, Taylor and I had this grand idea to fill a bus with artists, musicians, writers, filmmakers and photographers, travel around the country documenting beauty and life and wild experience like the Merry Pranksters. The end result would be a multi-media compilation of awesomeness that would make us rich and famous. While that would be cool, too, my current fantasy consists of just me and Lola.

If loyalty to family, home ownership and working for a living were no longer issues I had to deal with, these are the things I would gather (quickly) in a mad dash to the car before making my escape:

Lola
Wallet
Passport & birth certificate
Address book
Cell phone
Crucifix from childhood
Three changes of clothes
Toiletry kit
Dr. Martins
Sleeping bag & pillow
Journal
No more than 5 awesome books that struck me at the moment
Cameras
Guitar
iPod & headphones
Laptop
Photo Albums
My jewelry

Looking at it, these are probably the same things I would grab in a fire, would there be enough time collect all of it. In a mad dash to a new adventure, what would you grab? Post responses in a reply!

Another New Song

Now I can play 'Midnight Radio' from Hedwig and the Angry Inch!
It's structured Am F C G7 Am, then F C over and over, then F Am Dm G F C for the chorus. There's a funny E thrown in at the end of the last chorus before a funny Fm C bit at the end which resolves like a dream. I can only get 3 strings in the Fm, but it sounds OK anyway. My fingers are sore. Here's a vid of the song (the last scene of the movie--WARNING, there's a bit of nudity at the end that only makes sense if you know the story).

Fall Becomes Winter, Winter Becomes Christmas!

So, I may be a little bit ahead of myself, but I think that's a good thing. Usually, Christmas rolls around and I haven't had a chance to plan or think or SAVE. This year, though, I have a little hoard of cash already tucked away, enough for all my holiday spending. I feel proud. I feel like an adult.

Yesterday, though, our family came to a decision of sorts. Given the current economic state of our country and seeing as people all over are struggling to make ends meet, we've decided to forgo the whole gift-giving part, except for the kids. Everyone will get a present for the kids, but other than that, there will be no presents. There will be family and togetherness and several potentially garish meals and of course, the Christmas Story marathon on TBS.

It has been suggested that next year we take what we would have spent on gifts for each other and give it to charity.

It simultaneously makes my heart swell and my inner-child throw a loud and elaborate tantrum. I mean, it reeks of the true spirit of Christmas, but it's also a swift kick in the teeth to a capitalistic tradition I've been mainlining for 28 years. So while intellectually, I agree with our NEW family tradition, I'm still processing it emotionally.

And what, you might ask, will I do with all my Christmas savings? An Alaskan cruise? A fancy robot vacuum? Tap-dancing lessons? Nah. I'll probably get my carpets cleaned and use the rest to pay my Home Owner's Association dues. HAPPY BIRTHDAY JESUS!