The Taming of the 'Do

You come to me, all pouty-faced.
Your curls are all askew.
A brush is dangling in the mess
of summer's sticky dew.

The straight smooth hair of older sis
has captured all of your thoughts.
You beg me with your eyes of blue
to tame your curly locks.

Reluctantly I plug it in
and expectantly you wait.
This magical black instrument
will change your curly fate.








As Mama works methodically,
your legs bounce up and down.
It's hard to be so patient
in your change to princess from clown.

And when she is done, to the mirror you run
anxious to see the effect.
Alas for the Mama when she examines her work,
if even one stray curl is left.

Texas in summer is hot and cruel
especially for one so small.
To have a head filled with lustrous curls
just isn't fair at all.


:)

My Kind of Camping

Where the kids sleep downstairs in the Homeschool room in their super cool humongous tent, and DH and I are upstairs in our super comfy feather-mattressed king size bed.

Yes.

That's the way to rough it.

:)

Progress

Back here I wrote about my woes with gardening.

DH has gallantly taken over and, with no surprise to me, exceeded even his own expectations.









































We are hoping and praying (and sufficiently drenching) that these come to their full potential as huge, red, mouth-watering home grown tomatoes.

Any tips?

:)

Remember?

This has been a family joke ever since.

And so, for Christmas last year, I sent my FIL a Little Boo t-shirt:











(click to enlarge)

You know you want one.

:)

Because We Need a Few Laughs...

Last night, after a day of absolutely horrific behavior, I announced to my darling peanuts that dessert would no longer be an automatic right, it would have to earned. Furthermore, I bellowed, since their attitudes towards each other and their parents had been so atrocious, there would be no dessert tonight.

{pause for moaning and gnashing of teeth}

Little Boo: I know! To celebrate this new rule, let's have dessert!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

At the end of mass today, the acolytes placed two purple velvet pillows on the steps of the altar so the priests could kneel during adoration...

Little Boo: Is there gonna be a pillow fight?


:)

Life Lessons: Snapshots

There are a few snapshots I have stored in the recesses of my brain from this past weekend. Because it would be very odd and awkward to pull out a camera and start taking pictures at a wake or funeral, wouldn't it?

The one at the forefront of my mind is that of the ten grandsons acting as the pallbearers. Such tall strong young men lifting the flag-laden casket out of the hearse, bearing my grandpa up the stairs to the church, then back down to be taken to his final resting place. All dressed in black, their faces are set in stern lines taking in the seriousness of their task. As they maneuver in silence, working together, ever gentle, ever strong, I can only think that my Grandpa's soul is bursting with pride over these fine young men.

Life Lessons Part III

Don't look at his lips. They did an awful job. See? Those are all wrong.

This was my youngest Aunt "tawking" (NY accents abound here.. and mine has come back with a vengeance... wanna hear? give me"cawl!") and she smirked. My Mom feigned dismay. And my Aunt replied, How else are we going to get through this?

She is absolutely right.

One of my cousins spoke the last night of the wake. He said the last time he saw Grandpa (and here he got a little choked up) Grandpa slipped him $30 and said he wished it could be more. We all smiled and shook our heads, thinking how much Grandpa had given all of us with his love and his life. My cousin grinned at us and told us what he said in reply.

He said; I do too.

Everyone cracked up.

My extended family possesses such a quick dry wit, the sarcasm drips off of every tongue and the Uncles are the worst. Apparently my male cousins are fast learners.

Where did we get this from? This dark humor, so funny, so self-deprecating, with lots of teasing to go around?

From him, our Grandpa. He was always easier on the daughters and granddaughters. But the sons and grandsons? It was open season. And always with a wink and a twinkle in his eye so we were sure he wasn't serious. We knew we were loved and treasured. We also knew that everyone was aware of our downfalls, and that to poke fun at human nature was the best defense.

We learned to laugh. To see the humor and irony in life. We learned not to take ourselves too seriously... and now I can just hear my Uncle say Well, maybe everyone but Marc. And the laughter would start again, and my older cousin would acknowledge this shot with a wave of the hand and a nod in agreement.

It punctuated our visits, weaving the silver around the clouds of sadness that sometimes occurred. It was comforting to see that that will never change.

The tears mingled with the laughter this past weekend.

It's part of the legacy that was left to us all.

Life Lessons Part II

Ah, Meg... He loved you so much.

The eldest of the siblings, my Aunt M, enfolds me in her arms and the sobs give way.

I had just walked into the room and she spotted me and quickly came over. I turn from her, wiping my eyes, and my Godfather holds me close and tells me of his dream the previous night. My Grandfather had come to him, sternly scolding him for his grief.

I'm not rattling around in some box, he had said with disdain. That's not me anymore.

I'm so peaceful now, my Godfather tells me. His confidence and support strengthen me as I make my way to the front.

As I wait my turn at the casket, my Mom and Dad come over and we hug for a long time. This is so hard, I think. This first meeting since we heard the news. It's almost like the reality of the situation is validated now that we are all together. I remember when Lil Sis came home the day we found out. My mom had called her after her class, to tell her before she got to me. I did not want to be the one to break the news. When she walked in the door, our eyes met, all rimmed in red and seething pain, and she rushed upstairs. I buried my head in the laundry and focused on the task at hand. Words would come later. There were chores to be done and lunch to make first.

(to be continued...)

Life Lessons

I wasn't intending to, but this will be a multi-part post. One short snippet is not enough...
I need to write it out, to get it out, to share my heart. Please be sensitive in your comments. It has been hard enough for me this weekend. And it will continue to be difficult for awhile.


I just returned from my trip to NY for my Grandfather's funeral, and I bring home a heavy heart and a wearied soul.

It was a very emotional weekend to say the least.

I wish I could sufficiently explain the dynamics of my extended family. As it is with all situations and people, you just cannot fit them into a box and label them.

It takes time and experience to fully understand someone, and I have had my whole life and many experiences with my NY relatives, but I just don't have the time (or energy right now) to do justice to their charism of love and family loyalty.

Think NY Irish Mafia. Without the criminal activity, of course.
;P

I'm the second oldest grandchild of 26. My aunts and uncles all had fairly large families. My godfather leads an "alternative" lifestyle, and he and his partner have been together for over 13 years. I know that may disturb some of you, but it is a reality we've accepted. Trust me on this one, it is not a battle worth starting in a family. It only causes unhealable rifts and resentment. Maybe someday I will be brave enough to write about my own folly in this regard... I bring this up because it is one of the experiences that I've had that shows how loving and forgiving my extended family can be. In fact, barring this last weekend, it is the best example I have of their love and devotion to family.

But, back to this past weekend.

I arrived at LaGuardia airport around noon. I was reeling from 6 hours of travel. (yes. please do the math...) Trundling to a ladies' room, I changed out of my jeans and into a black dress. I was being taken straight to the funeral home for the immediate family viewing time.

After exiting the secured area, I headed for the suited gentleman who was holding a placard bearing my name. He took hold of my suitcase and we walked briskly to the limo. If it were different circumstances, I would have felt a bit spoiled. My uncle is an insurance tycoon in Manhatten. But this type of treatment is typical down here, and I was already fighting back tears in anticipation of the day to come.

As we made the journey to "the Island" (Long Island) I maintained my composure and made small talk with my driver. Just pleasantries, not much else. I was dreading this first meeting with everyone and felt my hands shaking and was trying to keep my mind occupied.

At the funeral home I saw that most of my relatives had just arrived and were getting out of their cars. I thanked the driver as he placed my suitcase by the side of the driveway and drove away. Before I knew it, I was enveloped into the arms of my Aunt and the tears poured down. Hug after hug, and kiss after kiss, I greeted about half of my family.

And then, gripping my Aunt's hand tightly, I steeled myself and walked into the funeral home and down the hallway to where the wake would be held.

(...to be continued)

Prayers, please

My Grandfather passed away unexpectedly yesterday.

We knew he was not in good health. A WWII veteran, a NYC firefighter, and father of 5, he was always active. But he has been wheelchair-bound for quite some time now, and just very sad since my Grandmother suffers from dementia and has been very difficult to deal with. They still lived at home, alone, and my extended family has been amazing about sitting with them everyday and taking meals to them.

We knew that this day would come, but it was still unexpected. And we are all heart-heavy and reeling in sorrow.

The most difficult part of all of this, of course, is my Grandmother. Please pray for her, and for all who have to make some very difficult decisions in the next few weeks.

A lot of us are traveling "home" for the funeral. I ask especially for prayers for safe travel, and peace of mind for everyone.

Thank you, friends.

It's "Summer" in North Texas...

... and we've already had the "keep certain doors closed at all times due to the wacky positioning of our A/C units and thermostats... because we really want to have some money to travel this summer, don't we?" conversation.

{sigh}

Sometimes this 5 months of summer thing wears me down.

:)