Fall Already?

Two days left until September.

Generally at this point I am a little tired of Summer, even though I know I will quickly miss the slower pace. I look forward to the crisp weather, the smells of cinnamon and burning wood, the fuller, richer tastes of more substantial food. I crave the organization and order the season demands in my household. This year, however, I am simply not ready for Fall!

Now curiously, I appear more ready. The school supplies are all purchased and ready to go. The calendar is quickly filling up with color-coded entries for each adult and child in our house. Enrollment forms for various sports and classes have been completed. I am taking stock of my cupboards and fridge and getting ready to fill it with breakfast standards, school lunch selections and quick dinner options. I am pulling dinner recipes that can be made ahead, slow-cooked, put together extremely quickly, or prepared by a teenage babysitter.

All those outward trappings hide the fact that I am not mentally ready for Fall.

I have not spent enough time at the pool, I have had far too few evenings trying to beat the heat sitting out on my front porch, I haven't eaten enough grilled food or salad. I know it will remain warm well into September and possibly even October. I know I can grill year-round if I like and a salad is always a better choice than some of the junk I eat.

But the atmosphere will be different. We will be on a schedule. We will have places to be, homework to do, bedtimes to make a priority. That is what I am truly not ready for - the high gear that Fall demands. Working for a university, we are already in high gear at work. I am barely meeting the energy and enthusiasm demands there. At home the pace is still slow, lazy and, most importantly, FLEXIBLE. Those days are numbered. I think we are down to 6.

So, this Labor Day weekend I will endeavor to gear myself up mentally for the onslought of Fall. I will organize my house, my calendar, my kids. I will marshall the energy required to keep all the balls in the air. I will stockpile enthusiasm to share when one or another of the kids or my husband gets overwhelmed or starts to drag.

I think maybe the term "super mom" was coined in the Fall.

Confession: I am a Groupie Wanna Be

Back on New Year's Day of 2000, I left my Y2K stockpile of bottled water, batteries and canned food behind and joined my sister at a Barenaked Ladies concert at the Palace of Auburn Hills. I was 31 years old, had two children and had never before been crazy about a band. My generation dismally lacked bands with the life altering charisma of the Beatles or the Rolling Stones. You never see an Internet survey that asks whether you prefer Poison or The Cars.

That day, however, I fell head over heels for "The Ladies" who are, in fact, not ladies but most definitely men. And I didn't fall in love with any one of them, I fell for the whole kit and caboodle. I was so impressed by the charisma of their show. Perhaps I was just feeling down and dumpy, a stay-at-home mom with some packed on pounds from two kids. But those three hours inspired me.

I was inspired to love music again, beyond just the Top 40 drivel I had been listening to. I was inspired by the art these three otherwise ordinary men had created. To look at them, although I see them as quite handsome (every single one in their own way!), they are truly the kind of men you could run into every day. Yet their music is sublime. The tunes are fun, catchy, multi-layered. But what I most admire are their lyrics. Whether they are poignant or downright hilarious, they strike such a cord with me. I would even go out on a limb and say they inspired me to consider writing. While I had always felt intimidated, I saw this amazing group of 5 who had met (at least the founders) in high school and wrote in such an articulate and intelligent way, whether the lyrics spelled out humor or pathos. Not to mention the fact that these guys are married, are in the midst of having families (like me), and they play hockey (who can resist that?)

With the help of my husband (who was very gracious in indulging my collective crush) I amassed their CD's. He also pandered to my growing obsession by keeping careful track of their tour schedule and purchasing concert tickets consistently, whether for a special occassion or "just because". I can safely say I have rarely missed a BNL pass-through and have traveled to catch a concert. We have even dragged two of our children to Toronto for the express purpose of attending a BNL benefit concert at Ontario Place. It still reins as one of my favorite concerts (0k, 2nd the one where they lived up to half of their moniker, but that is a whole 'nother story, as they say).

It may seem frivilous to say they have been my life soundtrack, but in the last 7 years they truly have been. I listened to a variety of Barenaked Ladies CD's to distract me from the side effects of chemotherapy. I listened to their Greatest Hits CD to train for my first 3-Day Walk in 2004. "Everything to Everyone" was quite possibly my personal soundtrack while I trained for the 2005 3-Day. Their "Barenaked for the Holidays" is more of a standard in our house then "White Christmas". It has my kids fascinated with Hannukah.

I admire these guys. They are articulate and talented and socially conscious and involved. They are funny, VERY funny! Have I mentioned that intelligent humor (without pretention) drives me wild?

I am grateful to this group. They inspire me. They amuse me. Most of all, they show me that ordinary people may be the exterior for extraordinary talent. Perhaps there is hope for my writing.

So, am I a groupie? Well, I would say no. Just barely. I have all of the characteristics. Here is what holds me back: I am cheap. I cannot wait in line at the backstage door to stalk this group. Believe me, I would. Or at least I would be thrilled to meet them. But I generally have a "curfew" - a time my babysitter has to be home by, my kids should be in bed by, or just common courtesy for whatever family member might have felt sorry for me on this occassion.

So, my utmost compliments to my inspiration(s): the Barenaked Ladies. You are phenomenal and I can't wait until you roll through town again!

Letting Go

It's so cliche, but it truly does feel like yesterday when my oldest daughter was the only baby around and everyone was completely fascinated with her every move, from giggles and gurgles to the first big steps. Of course, her dad and I were delighted with all she did. As the first child of her generation in our family, though, she was a source of entertainment for all - aunties, uncles, cousins and, naturally, her adoring grandparents. Could that really have been 11 years ago?

Now we are taking new steps of all kinds with her. As her last "elementary" summer winds down, we are gearing up for her to start Middle School. Almost as a symbol of her growing independence, this is the summer she asked to accompany a friend (and her family) on a week-long family trip. She is farther away from us than she has been since birth, eating their favorite family dishes, sleeping under a strange roof, taking part in someone else's traditions.

She was thrilled to be invited and I was (am) delighted for her. Her friend is a very sweet girl - funny, adorable, talented, athletic and, most of all, a nice girl with the same sort of value for friendship my daughter has. They are pictured together above, enjoying themselves as they usually do when they are together. Her family is equally nice and I trust them implicitly, not only with my daughter's safety, but with her happiness as well.

Still, it is an awkward week. I feel incomplete and a little out of my element. I am certainly enjoying increased time with my other two. But I can't help looking over my shoulder from time to time, expecting her to be there. I wait for her to sign into gmail so we can have one of our brief funny "chats" in the middle of the day.

I know this is just a taste of what is coming as she continues to spread her wings. And I am glad she has the confidence and poise to do this. But I would be lying if I didn't admit it is somewhat bittersweet. I would never rush this golden week for her, but I will be happy to see her home Saturday. I will feel my nest is full again, the way it still feels natural to me.

Happy 1st Anniversary!

Hard to believe that it was only one year ago that we were stressing about the day's schedule and I was hiding from my sister the fact that the Best Man and another Groomsman were MIA.

Happy 1st Anniversary to my little sister and my brother-in-law! They are kind, loving, beautiful, intelligent, fascinating people individually and, together, they have the amazing quality of being both dynamic and down-to-earth at the same time. Naturally, their wedding was a blast from start to finish. One of the best parties I've been to in some time!

They live in DC, which is hard for all of us sometimes but has also had its benefits. We have all been able to visit that amazing city and see it as tourists and as semi-insiders. My kids are counting the days until they can take solo flights to visit their aunt and uncle. My oldest is hoping to go soon, while my son has targeted 10 years old as his "ready" date. My youngest would go now if I let her. Not a chance.

Speaking of youngest children, my sister is also the youngest in the family. Something about those youngest siblings, especially girls! Check out the picture of her on the altar with her brand new husband. Seems to me, except for the age, you could practically interchange my youngest with my baby sister between the picture in my last post with the altar picture. You could nearly interchange them in real life as well!

Have a wonderful, wonderful day you two! All of us who love you so much at home are thinking of you today and remembering what a lovely day we had last year.

Heard on a Busy Friday

I should let my husband write this one, because it was his encounter. Every other Friday he has the day off because he works Saturday. So, he gets some true quality time with the kids without the distraction of Mom. Without my oldest daughter around, he was IMMERSED in the other two and apparently they were very, very chatty today. The youngest in particular.

For example:

My husband and daughter were each having a glass of lemonade and he offered, "Cheers!" My daughter came back with, "Cheers to God, because he gives us all the cool things." (We are very neglectful church-goers)

My daughter later offered markers to my husband and told him to pick his favorite color. He picked blue and told her it reminded him of the ocean. "Like the ocean in Jamaica on your date with Mom?" (Wow, no one can ever say I'm a cheap date!)

Or the one that I'm sure will prove to be my father's favorite -- "Dad, you need to finish one job before you start another." says the 5 year old. To which my husband asked, "Where did you get that line from?" She outright lied and said, "No one. I made it up myself."

In the interest of proper citation - thank you Poppy! Thanks to you my living room was completely cleaned by the time I got home from work.

Silly little ramblings coming out of a little mouth, but she lives large. The picture above says it all.

Little did I know how quickly this would come in handy...

Tonight was a perfect example of why it is so important for me to get this stuff in written (is that what this is?) form. My oldest daughter leaves for a week away with her best friend tomorrow very early in the morning. She is spending the night at her house tonight. To give her a good send-off, my husband cooked a very tasty dinner and offered to treat everyone to Coldstone.

As we sat outside Coldstone wolfing down our "Signature Creations", I turned to my daughter and said, "I can't believe you are actually leaving for a week!"

She turned back and said, "I can't believe I'm leaving YOU for a week." (Have I mentioned she's a bit of a mama's girl?)

But the punchline came when my son added right on her heels, "I can't believe you're leaving for a week with $80." (Have I mentioned he's a bit materialistic?)

Inaugural Post

At the ripe old age of 38 I am certain Alzheimer's is just around the corner. I have a terrible memory for conversations, details of encounters, etc. Give me a phone number to remember and I'm all over it, but my previous power of vivid recall has left me. And I stink at writing things down to preserve the memory of it. Friends and family are forever recalling my children's funny anecdotes that I have completely forgotten. Which is sad because I have three pretty hilarious kids! So, at the risk of your complete boredom, I have decided I need a mechanism to "get down" the details and anecdotes of my life. Welcome to my mechanism!