Saturday, September 25, 2010

Speshol Day



Charming Baby used up all of my small and large envelopes and stamped my return address stamper with the fancy G until the ink ran dry.  He created enough junk mail to make Publisher’s Clearing House envious.

I was frustrated, and borderline postal, cleaning up all of his waste, noting he also used real stamps, too.  I was tossing the piles of fake mail he generated into the recycling bin when it occurred to me that maybe he used more than paper and stamps in his project.

I opened one of the fat envelopes and there was an 8 ½ by 11 piece of paper folded into a small square:

DER MOM,

I LUV YOU.  DOO YOU WANT TO HAV A SPESHOL DAY WITH ME?

{heart}
SAM

Thursday, September 16, 2010

Everything’s going to the dogs.

And I don't mean my favorite shoes or all my free time.  I was with a fun new group last night (part study/part social) and we were talking about our summer travel.  One of the women commented how the stores used to be closed on Sundays in Amsterdam and how peaceful the streets were because of it.  This year, when she went back, everything was open and it felt like a mob scene.

That reminded me of when we spent a month in London as a family six years ago.  We were there for an extended business trip, so weekdays were busy.  Sundays were our favorite, my family didn’t even have the option of shopping or running errands.  We did what everyone else was doing— went to Hyde Park and had long, relaxing picnics together.

I got home late last night and Googled “Harrod’s London Store Hours.”  There it was:  Open Sunday 11:30a.m.– 6:00p.m. No!  NO!  No!  I then Googled “John Lewis.”  Maybe Harrod’s is for tourists, I’ll see what’s up where the locals shop.  Open Sunday 12:00p.m. – 6:00 p.m., 11:30a.m. to noon for browsing.  I fell asleep with my laptop next to me, the offensive news glowing at me like a goblin.

It bothered me so much that I was still mulling over it this morning as Huck dragged me around the neighborhood.   Marketers pushing consumerism as a pastime is so bad here in the states that stores are open on Thanksgiving Day.  I realized it last year when we were in NYC watching the Macy’s Day parade and I was shocked to see all the stores weren’t closed. 

I don’t know why it surprised me.  We jumped from opening up at 5:00am on the day after turkey day to shopping at midnight on holidays. 

The road to hell is paved with flashing neon signs.

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

42 Things to be happy about


Today is my 42nd birthday.  We are coming down from a full weeknd in NYC and it's also the first day of school for the boys.  I almost sulked around that I was not awoken with coffee and cards and kisses in bed.


"Mom!  Is the laundry finished?"..."Mom, what's for breakfast?"..."Honey, you need to go to the DMV and get a copy of your driving record..."

"Gentlemen!  I appreciate that we are full blown back-to-school and real life.  Steve, thank you for doing the legal work to fight my tickets.  You are a Godsend.  Boys, I am glad you are excited for school.  BUT HEAR THIS.  Today is my birthday.  This morning is about first grade and fifth grade and deadlines, but this afternoon we are switching gears around here.  You have until 5:30p.m. to make cards, get flowers, produce a cake and whip up some sort of dinner plan."

They melted like putty into my hands and I am sure  I'll be basking in the glow of their love tonight.  In the meantime, I have plenty to be happy about.  Here are my top 42:

1.    Fireflies
2.    Crickets
3.    Toads
4.    Hiking
5.    Hydrangeas
6.    Margaritas
7.    Boys
8.    Coonhounds
9.    Facebook
10.  Writing group
11.  Good books
12.  Sunday New York Times
13.  Coffee
14.  Half ‘n half
15.  Hot baths
16.  Understanding husband
17.  Yoga
18.  Olives
19.  New music
20.  Mad Men
21.  Cool neighbors
22.  Streams
23.  NYC
24.  Vegas
25.  Laughter
26.  Kisses
27.  Winks
28.  High fives
29.  Jeans
30.  Birkenstocks
31.  Cats
32.  Hedgehogs
33.  Clean sheets
34.  Harvest moon
35.  Picnics
36.  Snow
37.  Napping
38.  Moms
39.  Ithaca
40.  Sweet skin
41.  Breezes
42.  Birthday cake!