Cole: Mom, you know how you always say that you learn something better by making a mistake first?
Me: (jaw dropped, squinting suspiciously at him) No, I've never said that - do you mean how I've said "Learn from your mistakes?"
Cole: Yeah, that! Well, I did bad on a test, but don't worry! She let me retake it and I got a B. So, I did better by making a mistake first, like you said!
Me: First of all, I never said to make mistakes first! And secondly, the best option would have been to STUDY, if you knew a test was coming...
Cole: It doesn't matter, I got a B.
Oy vey.
Thursday, September 26, 2013
Sunday, September 22, 2013
Knowing where you've come from
Shine that light
Shine it out proud
I chime daily and daily
checking my own bushel for a light hidden
underneath it
Hear my words
lodge them in your heart
Carry them along, decades from here
I know they'll sink in
like soft weights, anchors, oh soul
or pointed barbs if I've not gone careful
but sink they will
And on the day
you say them in the heat of a moment
The hooks are in good
I'll know my job was done
It's only when we spout out to our own
that we know something for sure
That we know who we are
where we've come from
"You've come a long way, Bethy Lee."
BL
9/22/13
This one's for my Nanny - great-grandmother Annie Mae Harrell - who loved me a long time, lodged some simple words in my heart, and fed me up with soul food of the original kind. I know where I came from Nanny, and you're right - it was a long way. :)
Shine it out proud
I chime daily and daily
checking my own bushel for a light hidden
underneath it
Hear my words
lodge them in your heart
Carry them along, decades from here
I know they'll sink in
like soft weights, anchors, oh soul
or pointed barbs if I've not gone careful
but sink they will
And on the day
you say them in the heat of a moment
The hooks are in good
I'll know my job was done
It's only when we spout out to our own
that we know something for sure
That we know who we are
where we've come from
"You've come a long way, Bethy Lee."
BL
9/22/13
This one's for my Nanny - great-grandmother Annie Mae Harrell - who loved me a long time, lodged some simple words in my heart, and fed me up with soul food of the original kind. I know where I came from Nanny, and you're right - it was a long way. :)
Thursday, July 25, 2013
palindromic
I am wanting to say endless summer backwards, like Madam I'm Adam, because now the days are just r-e-m-m-u-s s-s-e-l-d-n-e to me.
I woke up with wanderlust and immediately began browsing on TripAdvisor. Yeah, that kind of wanderlust. The gotta get out of this r-e-m-m-u-s s-s-e-l-d-n-e kind of wanderlust. The kids kept wandering by, looking at the screen and whispering to each other "I think Mom is planning a trip... c'mere c'mere! Look! Sssshhh, I know!"
When the wandering need hits on the same day as a mood, there's trouble in paradise, people. I got all knotted up with What I Thought Would Be.
It's best to fast forward those days and move on, Check, please. New Day.
We were riding along in the van, and I was thinking 10,000 thoughts but couldn't hear myself over the noise of large voices from small people. I turned the music down and shrilled at them: "I can't hear myself think! You have to be quiet, this car is too small for all this noise."
Isabella apologized for the noise.
Cole looked over his shoulder and said: "Isabella. Don't be sorry. It was Mom's decision to have all these kids."
Yes, well.
Enough said.
:)
Natural consequences anyone?
I woke up with wanderlust and immediately began browsing on TripAdvisor. Yeah, that kind of wanderlust. The gotta get out of this r-e-m-m-u-s s-s-e-l-d-n-e kind of wanderlust. The kids kept wandering by, looking at the screen and whispering to each other "I think Mom is planning a trip... c'mere c'mere! Look! Sssshhh, I know!"
When the wandering need hits on the same day as a mood, there's trouble in paradise, people. I got all knotted up with What I Thought Would Be.
It's best to fast forward those days and move on, Check, please. New Day.
We were riding along in the van, and I was thinking 10,000 thoughts but couldn't hear myself over the noise of large voices from small people. I turned the music down and shrilled at them: "I can't hear myself think! You have to be quiet, this car is too small for all this noise."
Isabella apologized for the noise.
Cole looked over his shoulder and said: "Isabella. Don't be sorry. It was Mom's decision to have all these kids."
Yes, well.
Enough said.
:)
Natural consequences anyone?
Monday, June 10, 2013
Endless Summer
I was thinking of the words endless summer, with a dreamy smile.
The first weeks of summer are so endless; a running play of pool time, bath time, drink time, movie time - we all veg out and laze out and it is well with my soul.
And then because I begin to feel so rested, and de-stressed, I can stay up when all is quiet and kids are snoring and maybe even Rick is too.
I can begin to have thoughts and write words and hear poems in my head again, because maybe the clutter of the school year has been stifling me, and maybe the constant laundry was crushing me (yeah, I said "was," you heard me. Swimsuits make fine clothing options.) and definitely the start of endless summer has remedied those 2 buzz-kills.
Again I have slips of paper blooming from my handbag and car console, with lines that rustle in me and beg to be written, at a stoplight or parking spot. Again I am lost in time, decades ago, or yesterday, reliving whatever feels worthy and jotting it down.
My gardenia bushes exploded this weekend. Like the sudden rains that drenched, the blooms just opened wide to drink it in - and I didn't even see it coming. I walked by, I smelled that gardenia fragrance, and my eyes drifted to close in delight.
Gardenia is the scent of endless summer.
Gardenia brings new life, new thoughts, and fresh, fresh summer.
****************************************************
Getting to know you
is like hearing a ping underwater
a homing device
and I draw closer.
Marco... Polo they holler
And I do the same in the turmoil of my head
ping ping ping
I follow
You walk forward
Some things are simple.
****************************************************
Endless summer, you complete me.
The first weeks of summer are so endless; a running play of pool time, bath time, drink time, movie time - we all veg out and laze out and it is well with my soul.
And then because I begin to feel so rested, and de-stressed, I can stay up when all is quiet and kids are snoring and maybe even Rick is too.
I can begin to have thoughts and write words and hear poems in my head again, because maybe the clutter of the school year has been stifling me, and maybe the constant laundry was crushing me (yeah, I said "was," you heard me. Swimsuits make fine clothing options.) and definitely the start of endless summer has remedied those 2 buzz-kills.
Again I have slips of paper blooming from my handbag and car console, with lines that rustle in me and beg to be written, at a stoplight or parking spot. Again I am lost in time, decades ago, or yesterday, reliving whatever feels worthy and jotting it down.
My gardenia bushes exploded this weekend. Like the sudden rains that drenched, the blooms just opened wide to drink it in - and I didn't even see it coming. I walked by, I smelled that gardenia fragrance, and my eyes drifted to close in delight.
Gardenia is the scent of endless summer.
Gardenia brings new life, new thoughts, and fresh, fresh summer.
****************************************************
Getting to know you
is like hearing a ping underwater
a homing device
and I draw closer.
Marco... Polo they holler
And I do the same in the turmoil of my head
ping ping ping
I follow
You walk forward
Some things are simple.
****************************************************
Endless summer, you complete me.
Monday, May 20, 2013
Summertime... Will the livin' be easy?
Mother's Day 2013
This is not what I've been doing lately. It's what I long for, my comfy chair in my Serenity Zone, but no - not nearly the time for it. Or blogging. Or other hobbies. The hamster wheel keeps spinning me around. And everything except the bare necessities have gone flying off the wheel. Groceries. Bathtime. Homework. Baseball. Laundry. Packing lunches. Packing lunches. Packing lunches. Out the door to work. In the door from work. Did you know I am working now? A story for another day!And... In three days - here comes summer! - and either the wheel will slow down, or it will not. Right? Summer changes every year with the ages of the kids. With the modes and moods they are in, and the shifting sibling factions. With the swimming abilities and propensity to play nicely in the water with others.
Summer...
Come on, I'm ready.
Monday, April 15, 2013
Respite
Our familiar trek to Apple Hill, and the welcome respite of friends and the silence of the countryside.
My sweet forever friend Louise & I, at Easter dinner.
Rick & Harry - I have an identical photo from 10 years ago - clearly it's a favorite spot, by all the yummy food prep...
****************************************
Quiet days here on borderland, as I have a new job Outside The Home. Yay, me! Whew, me. It's *still* transition time... which means we still don't have clean clothes or food in the fridge some days. If you need more perspective, this bookworm did not go to the library for a month! The horror! But it's going so well, and I'm enjoying something fresh to do and think on.
Happy spring... may your week be full of lots of sunshine and only a little pollen. Ah-chew!
Friday, March 22, 2013
To Be Me - Birthday Edition
What a day for a poem on being me! Today I am 37. I keep hearing Alice Cooper in my head "I'm 18, and I don't know what I want..." then the Beatles, then Cracker - the birthday songs of my life. My parents would play them, my friends would crank them up, and now it's me: singing them in my head, musing on those years, happy to be right here. Right now. This is the good stuff. You are the good stuff, you friends.
Here's one from a few weeks ago:
To Be Me
To be me is to be hearing snippets
to be hearing lines pass through
words forever unfolding
like ribbons rumpling
like kites with no tether
balloons with no hand clenched tightly
It is background
it is white noise
It is a parallel life
invisible by my side
I can turn and be silent
or I can grasp that kite
sprawl those words across paper
from my hand
to your heart
I can keep walking
watch that balloon
into the distance
lose that kite to the wind
Those words might have been
The Words
That line might have made
It All Clear
This circular universe
this unicycle of life
might never bring the same exact words
but there is nothing new
under
the
sun
BL
2.19.13
Mom comes to visit today, so, there will be tales to tell. You know it.
Cheers!
Sunday, March 10, 2013
Thursday, March 7, 2013
Cultures in a Jar
So, a month ago, the bilingual specialist (my co-coordinator) Mayte and I sent out volunteer forms for the elementary school's International Night. This event is the most-loved, best-attended event at school - usually over 500 people come to International Night. Our school has over 250 families from outside the US, and we try to have a table for each of those countries - but it all depends on volunteer parents. There are 7 choices on the form, from "Coordinate a table" to "Bring food" to "Wear traditional clothing from my country" to "I know a dance group from my country."
The volunteer table coordinator has to make a tri-fold poster about the country, come up with a stamp or sticker to mark the kids passports that night, make or purchase small samples of food, wear traditional clothing - and most importantly, contact and organize all the other volunteers for that country.
My job has been to process all the forms, input the names & contact info and create a spreadsheet and binder of separate countries and volunteers. Then, pass this organized info on to all the country table coordinators, and stay in touch to be sure everyone is on target and on time. We have 29 countries represented this year, and a response trend emerged early on. Alpharetta is a big tech-job area, resulting in a size-able east Indian population. But, as in most school events, finding volunteers to coordinate or head up anything can be a challenge. We all have busy lives and varying abilities to Show Up and Lead. Here are my favorite responses, and some of the cultures in a jar:
I would call these generalizations, but they are Actual Responses and Rough Estimates - and they crack me up. Over the past month it's become a game with Rick & I. Mayte sends home an envelope of whatever forms were returned that day - I divide them into countries and hold them up for Rick to guess the responses. I am continually fascinated by cultural differences, and love this opportunity to see them in play, at our own school event!
*********************************************
In other updates - thank you for the well-wishes - and 10 points to Gryffindor! No wait, 10 points to Root Doctor-indor! Mom's tea tree oil steam treatments have won the day!
I did 7 treatments in 2 days, and cleared those sinuses right out. Now, it was not without issue, let me assure you. Isabella walked in after school, took a deep sniff and said "What smells like Gigee's house?" HA! Sorry Mom, you smell like ointment and oils! And, I discovered later, much to my chagrin (since I couldn't smell a thing!) that I smelled like a potent mix of antiseptic tea tree oil, peppermint (for the headache), and Vick's VapoRub (for whatever it would fix) - and wow! You wish you could get near me. :) Here's to warmer weather (though it's currently 32 in GA) and healthier households.
XO
The volunteer table coordinator has to make a tri-fold poster about the country, come up with a stamp or sticker to mark the kids passports that night, make or purchase small samples of food, wear traditional clothing - and most importantly, contact and organize all the other volunteers for that country.
My job has been to process all the forms, input the names & contact info and create a spreadsheet and binder of separate countries and volunteers. Then, pass this organized info on to all the country table coordinators, and stay in touch to be sure everyone is on target and on time. We have 29 countries represented this year, and a response trend emerged early on. Alpharetta is a big tech-job area, resulting in a size-able east Indian population. But, as in most school events, finding volunteers to coordinate or head up anything can be a challenge. We all have busy lives and varying abilities to Show Up and Lead. Here are my favorite responses, and some of the cultures in a jar:
- East Indian responses: total: 31 - (our best response) 30% want to bring food, 60% want to wear traditional clothing and 90% know a dance group from their country. No one wants to run the table.
- Mexican responses: total: 22 - (second best response) 10% want to wear traditional clothing, 90% want to bring food. No one wants to run the table.
- Iranian responses: total: 4 - All 4 want to bring food, all 4 want to run the table.
I would call these generalizations, but they are Actual Responses and Rough Estimates - and they crack me up. Over the past month it's become a game with Rick & I. Mayte sends home an envelope of whatever forms were returned that day - I divide them into countries and hold them up for Rick to guess the responses. I am continually fascinated by cultural differences, and love this opportunity to see them in play, at our own school event!
*********************************************
In other updates - thank you for the well-wishes - and 10 points to Gryffindor! No wait, 10 points to Root Doctor-indor! Mom's tea tree oil steam treatments have won the day!
I did 7 treatments in 2 days, and cleared those sinuses right out. Now, it was not without issue, let me assure you. Isabella walked in after school, took a deep sniff and said "What smells like Gigee's house?" HA! Sorry Mom, you smell like ointment and oils! And, I discovered later, much to my chagrin (since I couldn't smell a thing!) that I smelled like a potent mix of antiseptic tea tree oil, peppermint (for the headache), and Vick's VapoRub (for whatever it would fix) - and wow! You wish you could get near me. :) Here's to warmer weather (though it's currently 32 in GA) and healthier households.
XO
Tuesday, March 5, 2013
In Which I Consult The Root Doctor
Now, I know it has been awhile since I wrote about my Mom, but that's because she has fallen in love and fallen off the planet. Oh, I jest! (Not really.)
But, after 14 days of a sinus ache that I could not beat, I called The Root Doctor aka, My One and Only Mother (this is how she refers to herself in every voicemail). Oh, I jest! (Not at all.)
You may remember my loving recollection of Mom's root-ish remedies from this post a couple of years ago. Oh I jest, how I jest! (This one bit me on the butt.) Because I truly did need a remedy, and I needed it fast.
Mom did not disappoint. In less than an hour I was set up at home with steaming water, dropping in essential oils and dripping potions into my ears. I did have a brief panic attack and visual of a Bill Nye the Science Guy experiment gone wrong at one point - when I had cleaned my ears with tea tree oil and then later dropped in hydrogen peroxide. Ooooh, the excitement! The thought flashed through as I dripped peroxide "Ummm, maybe I shouldn't mix things IN MY EARS..." flash bang boom fizz! Well, mostly fizz. Okay, it was all fizz, and it was all fine.
I breathed steamy tea tree oil and water, I dripped and dropped and I felt mildly better.
I forgot where I was going with this, because that's what happens when you have a sinus headache. Thoughts leave your head because all you can think is in a cave-womanish mumble: "Ugh. Head hurt. Head hurt. Face hurt. MUST STOP HURT." And then you make a call to your mother and wind up at the natural food store wondering what a eucalyptus oil enema is. The jesting, I can't stop! (Seriously, don't try any kind of oil enema, I totally made that up.)
The moral of the story, kids, is that *sometimes* root doctoring can help you out.
Other times, you just get a good story in which you can make fun of your Mom.
*************************************************
In other Borderland news, I am the PTA's International Liaison this year for our school's International Night!
That is going to be a separate post, entitled In Which I Generalize Cultures Based On Volunteer Form Responses. I know. Sounds boring, but really isn't. I jest not!
Last year's post can be seen here, in case you want to reminisce with me about how often I used to post, and how sometimes I wrote cute stories. Ah, the good old days.
Now back to my regularly scheduled Sinus Steam Cleaning.
But, after 14 days of a sinus ache that I could not beat, I called The Root Doctor aka, My One and Only Mother (this is how she refers to herself in every voicemail). Oh, I jest! (Not at all.)
You may remember my loving recollection of Mom's root-ish remedies from this post a couple of years ago. Oh I jest, how I jest! (This one bit me on the butt.) Because I truly did need a remedy, and I needed it fast.
Mom did not disappoint. In less than an hour I was set up at home with steaming water, dropping in essential oils and dripping potions into my ears. I did have a brief panic attack and visual of a Bill Nye the Science Guy experiment gone wrong at one point - when I had cleaned my ears with tea tree oil and then later dropped in hydrogen peroxide. Ooooh, the excitement! The thought flashed through as I dripped peroxide "Ummm, maybe I shouldn't mix things IN MY EARS..." flash bang boom fizz! Well, mostly fizz. Okay, it was all fizz, and it was all fine.
I breathed steamy tea tree oil and water, I dripped and dropped and I felt mildly better.
I forgot where I was going with this, because that's what happens when you have a sinus headache. Thoughts leave your head because all you can think is in a cave-womanish mumble: "Ugh. Head hurt. Head hurt. Face hurt. MUST STOP HURT." And then you make a call to your mother and wind up at the natural food store wondering what a eucalyptus oil enema is. The jesting, I can't stop! (Seriously, don't try any kind of oil enema, I totally made that up.)
The moral of the story, kids, is that *sometimes* root doctoring can help you out.
Other times, you just get a good story in which you can make fun of your Mom.
*************************************************
In other Borderland news, I am the PTA's International Liaison this year for our school's International Night!
That is going to be a separate post, entitled In Which I Generalize Cultures Based On Volunteer Form Responses. I know. Sounds boring, but really isn't. I jest not!
Last year's post can be seen here, in case you want to reminisce with me about how often I used to post, and how sometimes I wrote cute stories. Ah, the good old days.
Now back to my regularly scheduled Sinus Steam Cleaning.
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