I was out and about with Iz, err, in my costume. At one house, a girl said, "OMG, that's such a great costume." I asked, "Do you know who I am?" She said, "Lady Gaga!!!!!!" LOL! I said, "You need to think 15 years earlier. I'm Madonna!" (Which only proves in fashion and in music, history repeats itself!) I saw her three houses later, and she said, "Hello, Madonna!" When she gets home, she will probably have to ask her Mom who Madonna is.
When Iz and I arrived at another house, one woman said, "God, I love your costume." I walked into the light. She said, "You're Madonna. That's such a good costume!!" Jeez, I'm glad there are some people out there who still remember the 80s! ♥
October 30th, IT is so near. Only one more day left for Iz to ask, “Is Halloween here?”
We ventured up to the attic. It was no easy trick. The view wasn’t pretty. But we found our trick-or-treat basket, Hello Kitty!
Iz grabbed her green and black polish, A manicure and a pedicure promised would not be abolished! “Mumma, we need to do my fingers!” Off to Golden Nails. There was no time to linger!
Upon arrival home, we were totally in the Halloween zone. Iz ran to find her Green Glamour Witch. Preparing your costume, the only way to scratch the Halloween itch!
I hung up my black crinoline skirt, Then pulled out my bustier thinking, “God, that’s so gonna hurt!” But, if it all came together at the right time, I just hoped it would look like I could sing, “Borderline.”
Candy corn, cob webs, and Frankenstein, Iz and I looked at each other thinking, “Wow, our ensembles are so fine!” Green Glamour Witch and Madonna, the 80s Pop Queen, Iz then asked, “Mom, aren’t you excited? It’s almost Halloween!”
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Update on the Job Interview Note: I heard from the Documentation Manager today. I didn’t get the job; they’re continuing to look at other candidates. I replied to him with my thanks for considering me; and you have got to think a lot of a person who responds with “I’m really sorry to bear bad news.”
Anyway, you’d think for a phone screen, a first interview, and a second interview, you should at least get a t-shirt! Err, perhaps something like this? :-)
Today, I picked up Iz early from school. She didn’t have a doctor’s appointment or anything like that; she just wanted to accompany me when I got my hair cut. I knew it was partially because she wanted to be with me and partially because she loves Donna’s dog, Kimchi, and her cat, Diva! I picked Iz up at 2pm, which was later than I wanted to, but I had chatted unexpectedly with Nancy, Sarah, and Brenda in the parking lot of Bertucci’s after having lunch.
As we were driving to Donna’s, we were stopped by a policeman. Being late, though I had called Donna to tell her so, I couldn’t understand why traffic was halted and down to one lane.
I said, “Jeez, why are we stopped? Iz said, “Beep at the dude, Mom!” I said, “Err, he’s a policeman; I don’t think I will beep at him.” When we got the “Go” signal, I realized that there was a huge pile of dirt in the opposite lane of the road that I couldn’t see. Iz said, “Mom, you should have beeped at the dude!”
On the way there, Iz asked, “Where’s Canobie Lake? I answered, “It’s in NH.” Iz said, “Then why do they have a ride called the Boston Tea Party?” I said, “Well, um, err, ah, because NH is near Boston where the tea party happened and…so, Iz, cafeteria or home tomorrow for lunch?!”
Iz has “Crazy Hair” day tomorrow at school. So, when we got to Donna’s, I asked Donna for crazy hair day solutions. She said she had pink hair gel. I told Iz that we could put pink streaks in her hair with the gel.
Iz said, “No, I want to dye my hair pink.” Donna frowned and said, “No, that would be permanent.” I tried to explain it to Iz. Iz said, “You just don’t get it, Mom!” Ouch!
While I sat under the dryer, Donna proceeded to put the pink hair gel on Iz’s hair. And, Iz really liked it.
At that point, an older Korean woman came in, and Donna said to me, “She only speaks Korean.” For about 10 minutes, they exchanged conversation. After she left, I said to Donna, “Jeez, I needed subtitles for that.” Donna laughed.
I said, “I got ‘flu shot’ and CVS.” Donna laughed again. I asked, “Doesn’t ‘flu shot” translate?” She answered, “No, ‘flu shot’ is flu shot.”
I told her that I also heard “Kuganen” a lot. She said it was “Because of that….” This woman spoke no English and drove 40 minutes just to ask Donna about flu shots. At that point, I wanted to embrace that woman, because even though she was 70 years old, she and Iz shared a lot. They were both trying to make their way in a world where they didn’t really know the language well yet.
After Iz and I left, we went to a local pharmacy and purchased some green hair paint. Iz said, “Well, we can use that tomorrow.” I said, “I think the pink hair gel is enough for tomorrow; I meant we can use the green for Halloween.” Iz said, "Oh, my bad!"
I needed to buy groceries for dinner, so we went to a local market called “Shaw’s.” Iz said, “Sh, Shaw’s, shhhhh. It’s just like Fundations, Mom!” I said, “What?” Iz said, “Wh, whistle, wh; sh, ship, sh; ck, sock kh.”
I started to write in my book then. Iz said, “Are you writing this down?” I said, “Err, yes.” Iz said, “Did you get all of it?”
It’s funny, because just then, she reminded me of most of my friends. When you have a blog, and you speak or ask a question, most friends say…
1) Yes, I read that on your blog. OR 2) Will what I say go on your blog?!”
We went through the grocery store, Iz was doing some strange tap/hip-hop dance, which was bit annoying. I told her to stop, and I grabbed for her. Iz said, “Do you want a piece of me?” It was all I could do to not laugh out loud when she said that.
We finally arrived home after four hours out and about. Iz said, “Mumma, I need to tell you something.” And then in turn, I told her, “Yes, I’ll listen to you in a minute, but I need to pee first!” Iz said, “I’m sorry that you have to pee, M’Lady.” WHERE does she get this stuff from?!
When I was working full-time, I was so overloaded that when I finally got to see her at 5:30, my attention span was limited, and I barely heard her say, “Hi, Mom.”
I heard that when a person becomes blind, they’re hearing becomes heightened. In my experience, when a person becomes unemployed, they’re hearing becomes heightened, too. And now that I get to spend hours with her, I am captivated by her every movement, word, and thought, even though sometimes she still drives me crazy. ♥
“Technology makes it possible for people to gain control over everything, except over technology.”
I went to the Apple store with Tunabreath yesterday. She had just bought a new cell phone, an iPhone, at the AT&T store a few days ago. She started to have problems with it shortly after she purchased it. When she called me, I’d hear her voice for about 5 seconds, and then I’d hear this loud MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP sound. It was not unlike the sound used by the Emergency Broadcasting System, and when I heard it the first time, it had me thinking for just a moment, "OMG, Tunabreath is under attack by aliens!"
So, she brought her iPhone back to the AT&T store, and they promptly told her she had to bring it to the Apple store. So, she trekked over the Apple store from the AT&T store. Apple gave her a new phone, and off she went.
Once again, problems occurred, and she called Apple and began to get a little steamed on the phone. This was her second phone in a matter of a few days, and unlike me, who used my phone to send pictures of myself, my cats, and my dog to friends, check my email desperately hoping for “We went to interview you” messages, and annoy people with text messages, she needed her phone for her livelihood.
Once again, she had to go back to the Apple store. Oh, and this is where I come in. I went to the mall with her to do this errand, but not before we greatly pimped out my black blazer, which will be part of my great Madonna Halloween ensemble. Note: Nothing says 80s pop star like gold glitter!
At 2:10pm, the Apple “genius” was ready to troubleshoot her issue. He was a young kid named “Eric,” or was it “Ethan,” or perhaps it was “Einstein?” After all, the kid was supposed to be a genius. We sat down at the genius bar; I wanted to order a martini, but they only thing they were serving here was “extensive knowledge of Apple products” and guaranteeing that they could “answer all your technical questions.” How boring. Where’s my Mojito?!
Tunabreath began to explain her issue to her genius. Every time she mentioned an issue, I’d say, “It’s you!” After I said, “It’s you!” for the third time, the genius said, “I like you.” Err, he must have liked that fact that I, unlike everyone else who probably came in the store, knew full well that it’s never the technology, oh, no; it’s always the user’s fault! Of course, I knew it was most likely the phone; however, I think it was refreshing for the genius to have someone come in "pretending" it wasn’t the phone, and someone like Tunabreath, who was not threatening to fling the phone down on the floor while shouting obscenities.
The genius listened to all the details, and then took some little card out of Tunabreath’s phone, took the little card out of his phone, and then put his little card into Tunabreath’s phone. I felt like asking, “Hey, can’t her phone get some kind of disease from your phone like that?” But, I kept my mouth shut, because at that point, I knew I was there only to provide moral phone support and thought to myself instead, “Come on little iPhone, you think you can, you think you can, you think you can make phone calls for Tunabreath.”
The genius made a phone call from the store’s landline to Tunabreath’s phone. At this point, I became captivated by all the people who appeared to be “hanging out” in the store and the Apple store employees. There was definitely a pattern to the clientele and staff. It was fleur-de-lis with a touch of paisley and a hint houndstooth. Yes, I love fleur-de-lis, paisley, and houndstooth, and the iPhone was looking really cool after my first up-close-and-personal vicarious experience with it via Tunabreath.
So, after either hearing the MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP sound or not (again, I was in full-on people mode watching by then), the genius deemed that Tunabreath needed a new and THIRD phone. He got her phone up and running, and then he tested a call. All okay. We left very happy, until about 50 yards out of the store, Tunabreath’s voice mail requested a password. Whaaaaaaaaaaaaat? So, back to the store she went, and she waved me on to Teavana, the tea store.
After a side trip to purchase peppermint patties to erase the garlic after-taste from lunch, I went to Teavana. Twenty minutes later, there was still no Tunabreath to be found. So, I walked back down to the Apple store. There she was with a non-genius-regular-Apple-person who seemed to be solving her password problem for her. In about two minutes, he said she was all set, and off we went.
When at the Apple store, Tunabreath said something like, “To think there was a day when we did it all without cell phones.” Technology means "more" today in so many ways, especially when you’ve got an iPhone (that works!) and those cool apps to boot. But, certainly there are still times when less technology can be more; and is there an app for that?!?! ♥
Update to my “The Importance of Doing Nothing” Blog from Yesterday Note:
To those of you who told me that you’d feel guilty doing nothing for a day (err, like Dee!), I have only one thing to say to you.
Do the math.
Okay, I hate doing math, but I like doing my math, because the equations always seem to work out in my favor and support my logic! Amazing how that happens, isn’t it?
Anyway, this is how I calculate there should be NO guilt factor whatsoever for one day of doing nothing. First equation:
Your age x 365 = How Many Days You’ve Been Living, Breathing, and Roaming the Face of Ye Old Earth
I’ll use mine for an example.
365 x 47 = 17155
Now, the way I figure it, you could probably subtract the days of your first six months, because before you learned to crawl or walk, you were basically, what I liked to call, a “baby blob.” You can’t really be too busy during that stage of your life.
So, 17155 – 182.5 = 16925.5
Looking back, I think that during those 16925.5 days, I was probably pretty busy most of the time and doing stuff, like playing with rocks and sticks in the yard, teasing my sister, doing homework, running on the track team, riding a bike, working, taking care of pets and kids, and so on.
Now, it would seem that even if I took one “Nothing” day each month every year, that’s approximately 564 “Nothing” days out of a total 16925.5 days thus far. So, really, you have absolutely nothing to feel guilty about when looking at those busy versus nothing statistics!!!!!!
Okay, on to our Feature Blog…
Given that I’ve been unemployed for 8 months now, you’d think that I would have accomplished a lot. Well, I haven’t. Okay, I’ve done wonderful things like be a full-time Mom and cycle my butt off; however, I had this list of things to do, and on it, it said, "Clean the attic." Of course, over the months, this list has actually morphed into the “to do-to don’t” list.
But, last week, I actually cleaned out one small corner of the attic. See!
And, it took me about 2 hours to do that. Well, in my defense, I get stuck in my attic.
No, there’s no gruesome animated doll named Chuckie holding me captive up there nor is there some skeleton in a rocking chair that I’m paying homage to; it’s the memories that make me get stuck. I sit down for 5 minutes at 2pm, and before I know it, I've relived half my life by 5pm!
So, last week, I got that corner cleaned. During the process, I binned a TV, a TV/VCR combo, two computers, and a monitor. Nathan’s school had a fund-raising recycling drive, and I was glad to pay $35 to get rid of it all!
I started a small “clean the attic” attempt today. And, here are some of the things I found:
A gun. No, I’m not that desperate (yet) that I’m going to hold up my veterinarian to get out of paying for my next $250 bill for general canine and feline maintenance.
This was my Dad’s gun and powder horn. He was a Minute Man. Okay, I’m not that old! That is, he was a re-enactor back in the 60s. Here’s the group he belonged to.
I found my Mom’s wedding dress, which I wore when I married Nate’s Dad.
And here they are.
Here’s a Marilyn Monroe doll that Bitsy gave me years ago.
Iz saw this and said, “Mom?” “Yes, Iz?” “Can I have that?” “Err, no, Iz. I’m saving it.” “Can I have it when you’re not saving it anymore, Mom?” “Yes, Iz.”
I came across baby clothes. Yes, Suzebabe, those are the pink converse high-tops you gave her, and I so hope I live to see the day she's dangling them in the rear view mirror of her first car!
And, then there are my shoes. What? How many pairs do I have? I’m sorry, but I can’t hear you. Whaaaat? La-la-la-la-la!
There are my trophies, plaques, and ribbons from high school and college track and volleyball.
And, I found my yearbooks.
The Brandeis one is not so important; I left Brandeis with the only thing I ever loved about it…Bitsy. But, the high school one, well, I loved my time there and especially with all the Lovelies.
Anyway, the attic…it’s all about baby steps.
And, this is what I have to look forward to weeding out.
And, it will get sorted out sooner or later just like my life.
I am trying to find a job. And, as many of you know, I’m also trying to go beyond a job and find a place where I’ll be happy like I never was before. But, today, I realized that the best things in life, those worth waiting for, are only attainable sometimes one baby step at a time. ♥
Today, I was talking to Tunabreath, and she said, “I think it’s really great that you did nothing yesterday.” Funny, but in the busy world we all seem to live in, I never expected anyone to laud me for doing absolutely nothing in a day.
In the past, I had never ever been a “nothing” supporter. I worked, I grocery shopped, I cooked, and I could barely keep up with the laundry and house cleaning on the weekends. I had no idea what doing “nothing” was, because I felt like I always needed to be doing “something” in order to keep treading water in the Sea of Life.
Yesterday, Iz and I had a Nothing Day. (See http://goddessofallthingslovely.blogspot.com/2009/10/feelin-groovy.html. ) I have a running list of all the things I should do, but yesterday, I said, “F*ck it. We’re doing nothing today.” She played on my computer while I watched TV. I watched a DVD while she watched TV. And, then I said, “Hey, let’s go do nothing outside!” And, we spent 2 hours outside doing “nothing.” Well, it was nothing that was totally something to us then.
I have to confess. I did vacuum for about 20 minutes yesterday; however, the rest of the day was spent watching movies, painting fingernails, showing some love to the kitties, and running around the front yard like maniacs! And, yesterday was one of the best days of my life.
So, if they have life coaches and professional organizers, don’t you think they should have Nothingness Gurus? This would be a person who (and I’m thinking women need this more than men…err, no offense) says, “Hey, you need a day to do nothing. No, you will not drive so-and-so here and there. You will not shop and make dinner. You will not put the wet clothes from the washer into the dryer. And, you will so not pick up his/her mess! This is a day of YOU when it’s not your birthday, which is totally the day of you!”
As of late, I believe that you cannot appreciate “nothing” ‘til you have had the time to realize you have a lot of something and are fortunate enough to do something and “nothing” at the same time.
And, that being said, I’m going to see if my pillow is soft, teach Monty how to bark, and check that my bike has two tires. Yes, I’m trying to find lots of things not to do, and so should you. Well, if not every day, you should strive to do nothing at least once a month. ♥
The Strangest Gym Experience I’ve Had Ever Note: Have you ever run on a treadmill next to a person who sounded like she was having sex...good sex...while running?!?!? And, even more, err, unique was that she was wearing sunglasses while running; thus, was this sex with a treadmill in cognito?!?! All I can tell you is that the next time I go to the gym, I’m so getting on her treadmill!
The Oddest and Funniest Thing I Overhead When Out and About Today Note: I stopped in a small store to buy a bottle of wine. The second salesperson was on the phone. And, when on the phone, I heard her say, “Are you going to the bathroom while you’re talking to me?!?!!?”
My Favorite Nothingness Quote Note and I Have This Next to My Mom’s Picture: “A thing of beauty is a joy for ever. Its loveliness increases; it will never pass into nothingness.” ~John Keats
I truly hope none of us ever passes into “nothingness.” But, I do hope most of us experience “nothingness” turned into "somethingness" just like Iz and I did the other day. ♥
Tonight, I had the Lovelies (Cathy, Anne, Laura, Marcia, and Tunabreath) over for dinner. Iz asked me all day when the party was going to start and who would be coming. She was so excited. Upon arrival, each Lovely got a Hello Kitty sticker from Iz. She showed everyone the cats, quizzed everyone, and was the perfect hostess.
When I went to fetch the pizza, Iz asked if she could be in charge of the party. I told her she could, and she asked me if I could let everyone know that she was in charge before I left. And, so I did. When I came back from getting the pizza, she was parked in the middle of the sofa with a coloring book and crayons amidst all the chatting Lovelies.
They all told me how cute she was. And, I’m so glad they did, because sometimes it’s easy to forget. Like when I’m down in the basement cleaning the cat boxes, and she’s on the second floor yelling, ”Mom? Mom?! Mooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooom?!” And then I yell back, “Just a minute, Iz!” Then I hear her scream back, “What, Mom?!?!?!!? What?!?!”
After Iz went to bed, they said that they wanted to write her a letter that she could read in the morning. So, I got paper, gel pens, and pencils. They passed around the paper and the pens and pencils. And, each Lovely wrote something.
Dear Izzy- Thank you for the Hello Kitty sticker + teaching me the hoot owl song. Have a happy Halloween. I hope you have fun on crazy hair day! ♥ Laura
Isabelle, It was so nice to meet you last night! I LOVE my Hello Kitty sticker – you were very thoughtful to share them with us! You are a very special girl and you are very good at being a party host. Love, Anne
Izzy- Thank you so much for showing me your house + your room. You are a very smart and very sweet girl. I hope to see you very soon! Love, Marcia
Hi Izzy- It was great to meet you! You are a wonderful hostess at the party. Thank you for talking such good care of us while we were visiting at your house. Love, Cathy
Hi Izzy! I hope you had sweet dreams – we were very noisy while you were sleeping…. I always like seeing you and I hope to see you soon! Love, Auntie Melissa
Tunabreath (a.k.a, Auntie Melissa) covered the letter with kitty faces, stars, and rainbows.
When leaving, Anne showed me the letter and said, “I’ll stick it here on the refrigerator.”
I look at it now, and I think how much Iz will love reading her beautiful letter tomorrow from her five lovely new friends; and then I look at the letter again, and I think how much I love reading this beautiful letter to my daughter from my five lovely old friends. ♥
I guess the soundtrack for this blog could have been the song of the same title that was in the Sound of Music, but that would be really boring, wouldn’t it?! And, to tell you the truth, I never really liked that song, even though I love the movie. So, I’ve made the song one that I heard in the car today when driving up to Jaffrey, New Hampshire to -- drum roll, please--hike up freakin’ Mount Monadnock!
A Did You Know Educational Note: “A magnet for hikers, Monadnock is said to be the second most frequently climbed mountain in the world, after Japan's Mt. Fuji.”
A few weeks ago, someone in my little cycling clique decided that it would be “fun” for all of us to hike up the Mount. I thought it was Bill, but today, Bill swore it was Bob. Okay, it didn’t really make a difference whose idea it was today; however, the person whose idea it was neglected to point out that it was not like climbing stairs nor using the Stairmaster; it was more like extreme hiking on Fantasy Island. You know, like you’re set loose in the cold at 9:30am, and you have to find your way up and down a mountain by 5pm or your paramour, who happens to be played by John Davidson, gets snuffed!
Okay, I’m not a “hiker.” I’m a “Mom,” a “cyclist,” a “writer,” a “vintage fashionista,” and many other things, but I would never tell anyone with any great confidence that I was a “hiker.” But, when Bill and I arrived in the parking lot to meet Bob at 9:30, I had every confidence. We stopped to pay our $8 fee, and the ranger bestowed upon us three important bits of hiking knowledge:
It would take us four hours round trip. At the top, it was going to be below freezing. (Of course, some kids walked by just then wearing t-shirts and shorts, and I said, “So, um, they’re underdressed.” He frowned and said, “Yes, very.”) Where there were leaves and water, it would be slippery.
Good advice I thought, but it kind of scared me. Four hours, freezing, and slippery?!?! This was a “hike” not an audition for “Survivor,” was it not?!
We met Bob in the parking lot, where he was putting on all of his orange day-glo finest: vest and hat. (Bill commented to me, somewhat sounding like a teasing younger brother, that Bob looked like Elmer Fudd in his hat. I said that I thought the Elmer Fudd look was very cute and totally in this year! )
After Bob was wrapped in orange from the waist up, Bill then relayed everything the ranger said to us to Bob. And, basically, Bob said, “Bah, humbug.” Finally, Bill told Bob that the ranger suggested we take the White Dot trail up and take the White Cross trail back, but again, Bob said, “Bah, humbug.”
Okay, so Bob doesn’t really say, “Bah, humbug” but whereas Bill’s idea of leadership is “Saving Private Ryan” and leave no man behind, Bob is “take no prisoners” and “every man for himself.”
So, here I am, Confident Wanna Be Hiker Chick before we left the parking lot.
I was wavering then between “Hours and hours, freezing, and slippery, oh my!” and “Jeez, after biking 40 miles, this walk up the Mount will be a piece ‘o cake.” And, before beginning the trek, we decided to stop at the bathroom. When washing my hands, I looked up and saw this sign:
While wiping my hands with a towel, I answered out loud, “No!!!!!” I had no hiking boots on (just my old pink Nike running sneaks), no flashlight (jeez, it was only 9:30 in the morning!), no rain gear, and the only thing I had that was close to a first aid kit was a Hello Kitty band-aid in the Hello Kitty zippered case that was primarily brought along to hold my lip gloss!
I thought, “I can do this. Yes, I can. I bike 40 miles. I gave birth to two kids. Piece o’ cake! ” I went out and met Bill and Bob, and away we went on the White Cross trail. At first, the dirt trail seemed pretty tame. Then I saw this, and I my hiking self-confidence alert level went from high to low in a matter of seconds.
Yes, the trail was comprised of boulders, boulders that went up, up, and up again! I then said to Bill, “Second floor. Ladies Lingerie.” And Bill responded, “Ding! Ding!”
After about 20 minutes, I was hungry. I stopped, dropped my backpack on the ground, and said, “I need a snack.” I pulled out my Macintosh apple, put my backpack back on, and started to walk. Bill then said, “Aw, I left a great banana in the kitchen back at home. I wish I brought that banana.” I offered him my apple, but he didn’t want it; and he continued to lament the banana that was left behind for the next 20 minutes! See, I told you; Bill doesn't like to leave anything behind!
In about 45 minutes, we finally gained enough, um, altitude, I guess, to start feeling like we were above it all.
Of course, at one point, I stopped, pulled out my pad, wrote down a few things, and then put it in my backpack. Bill said, “Jean, you’re taking notes?” I said, “Um, well, I am a writer. There’s a story in everything, Bill.” Bill said he always thought he had a bit of writing talent, and at one point, he hoped to write a story about taking a boat from the Hudson River all the way down to Florida. But, he felt he was too old to do that now. Bob, 75 years old, then chimed in and said he hadn’t written anything since high school.
I told Bill that it wasn’t too late to write his book. He told me that he always liked to say that, “Your dreams should be bigger than your memories,” but he hadn’t adhered to that as well as he wanted. Anyway, I liked that phrase…a lot.
Thereafter, I thought I’d be less conspicuous and use my Blackberry to write notes. Err, yes, I wrote notes as I was hiking up the Mount. I tripped once, and then Bill yelled from behind me, “Stop texting! You’re going to kill yourself.” I said, “I’m not texting! I’m making notes for my story.” I slipped three times during the course of the trip, but it was not while making notes, so there, Bill!
And, look, if you thought Hansel was dropping bread crumbs, you were wrong; the Hansel on this Mount was dropping safety pins.
As we got closer to the top, I found myself sweaty and taking off clothing. And, as Bob said, I was, much to my surprise, searching for crevices to put my hands and feet in. This hiking the Mount thing was certainly not a walk in the park; it was a climb up the side of a building like Spiderman!
When we were almost at the top, Bill and I walked over to a rock ledge and look down. Bill said, “There’s only one way to get down from here without climbing down.” I said, “Med flight?” Bill made a flying motion with his hands and then said, “Air mail!”
When we got to the top, the view was just amazing. And, Bob told us that there was a medallion in the stone that we had to touch. Yes, if we didn’t touch the medallion, the climb was null and void. Bob is the same way about the rail trail; he must touch the pole at the end in Ayer, or it’s not an official ride. Yes, strange but true. So, here’s the medallion.
I had thought there’d be a building at the top, a snack bar, and toilets, but the top comprised solid rock and was about 75 by 75 yards of real estate in total. Even though there was nothing there, I felt like I was Queen of the World.
We sat down, ate our lunch, and then like most others at the top, we had our Kodak moment.
When it came time to leave, Bob, well, he just left without notifying Bill or me. Again, remember, it’s every man for himself with Bob. Bill and I saw him walk off, and I said, “Oh, I guess it’s time to leave now!”
So, against the recommendation of the ranger, who said we should take the White Cross down, Bob said we would take the White Dot trail down. Bob said it was less rocky and easier on the knees. Was it? Um, nope!
When I first saw the trail down and a patch of very smooth rocks, I said to Bill, “That’s it. I’m going down on my butt.” Bill said, “You’re going to go down like a girl.” As he said that, a woman was coming up the trial and said, “Well, she is one, and that’s perfectly okay!” Bill and I both laughed.
As we went down, I couldn’t find the White Dots too well, and then I bitched to Bill, “I think they need to redo the markers, because you can’t tell where the trail goes.” Bill then said, “Jean, we don’t need trail markers; we’re not pussies!” I had to laugh to myself. Again, I was one of the guys.
Most non-hikers would think that going up would be much harder than coming down. But, now that I am a hiker (Look, Ma! No quotes!), I know that going down is A LOT harder. Before we left the parking lot, Bob had given Bill and I these hiking walking stick thingies, and I was so glad I had one.
Going down each step was like a puzzle. I kept thinking over and over again… “Where should I put my foot?” “Where should I place my hiking stick thingy?” “Where should I put my hand?” AND… “How much life insurance do I have, because I think if I slip on this rock now, I’m dead!”
I looked at the rocks, and I thought that getting down without injury was totally impossible until some guy came running down the Mount. Yes, really, and if you don’t believe me, watch this, and yes, Bill shouts “Show off!’ at him as he travels by us, and I was in total awe.
After he passed by, Bill tried to make us both feel better by saying, “Yeah, but can he ride 40 miles on a bike, Jean?” I laughed and said, “No way!”
As we traveled down, it was obvious that Bill and I could go faster than Bob. Bill and I would hike down a bit, and then we’d look back to check and see where Bob was.
I grumbled a bit, because while Bob insisted this trail was easier on the knees and quicker, it was far more treacherous than taking the White Star trail down. I said to Bill, “Sorry, I’m bitching,” and he said, “Well, this is Bob. He did everything opposite from what the ranger said; but the ranger has proved himself now in every other way as knowledgeable!”
I realized then that I had to get down the hill, and the only way was down the White Dot trail; however, while Bill realized that, he also realized he could have fun while doing so. And as we made our way down, he said to those traveling up, who had to pass Bob, “Hey, you’re going to go pass a guy up there who is 100 years old. His name is Bob. And, he loves it when people recognize him. So, when you go buy him say, “Hi, Bob!” I was amazed, because all those people said, “100 years old, really? Okay, yeah, we’ll say ‘Hi’ to him.” I then said to Bill, “You’re so bad!”
It’s funny to be 47, and then watch Bill, who’s 64, act like a little kid trying to “get” to Bob, who is 76. I guess you can take the kid out of grade school, but you can’t take the grade school out of the kid.
Bill and I stopped and waited for Bob once more, because while Bill wanted to bust Bob's chops, he always made sure we had Bob in our sight. Bill was concerned about Bob’s well-being during the whole trip and even said to me that he thought this trip should be Bob’s last.
When Bob caught up with us for the last time, he said to Bill, “Stop telling people I’m 100, even though I feel like I am!” Bob went on to say, “Jeez, all these people know me, and I don’t remember who they are.” Bill laughed. I rolled my eyes. Bill then said, “Bob, you’re a legend. Everyone knows about you here!” Jeez. If women are catty with each other, then guys are definitely ball busters with each other.
Finally, the trail flatten out, and I said, “Ah, flatness!” To which Bill said, “It never looked so good, right?” I had to agree.
My third fall was due to me turning my foot the wrong way. I could feel myself falling, and I started laughing before I hit the ground. Shouldn’t it always be that way? Immediately, Bill ran up behind me and offered me his hand. I was still laughing, when Bob approached.
Bob said, “Did you fall?” I said, “No!!!!!” Bob said, “You’re in denial.” I said, “I was just getting an up-close-and-personal look at the species of flora and fauna here in the park.” He laughed.
And here I am, the Exhausted Confident Wanna Be Hiker Chick !
Shortly thereafter, Bill and I made it to the bathroom. When I came out, Bill told me, that upon arrival, Bob whacked Bill with his stick and said, “What lesson have we learned here?” Before Bill could answer, Bob said, “When you get older, stay on a bike!”
When I came out of the bathroom, I was jotting a few notes down in my notebook. Bob asked me, “Did you finish the story yet?” I said, “No. It’s a work in progress. I’m constantly writing things down.” Then Bill said to Bob, “That’s just what every man wants, a woman who writes everything down!”
We got back to our cars, and Bob said, “You know what I’m having tonight?” I asked, “What?” He said, “A pizza from Sal’s and a bottle of wine.” I said, “That sounds good.” And so, I shall be. ♥
Don’t Go Chasing Waterfalls Suzebabe Note: As I traveled up the Mount, I found a few places where there were waterfalls.
Okay, so these are not like the ones in Hawaii; but, they were mini-me waterfalls!
They were beautiful and made lovely sounds, and they reminded me of you. So, here they are for you, my dear. ♥
Since I avoided “Climb Every Mountain” as my "begin" soundtrack, I felt compelled to include one of my favorite songs from the Sound of Music here. My favorite song is “Edelweiss,” because my Mom loved that. But, this one is my second favorite.
I have the privilege of being the Girl Scout Leader for a fourth grade troop. I have 22 girls in my troop and they are all high spirited and energetic.
Today we ventured to the YMCA in Hopkinton, MA for a High Ropes course. The girls have been waiting to do this for two years! Mother Nature was on our side and she provided us with a beautiful, just the right temperature kind of day. The girls were jumping around, laughing and playing Blob tag as a warm up game.
They then met with the facilitators, Cassie and Daniel, two young enthusiastic experts who were there to run the course. Cassie and Daniel made it clear to the girls that sitting out was not an option. The goal was to have the girls push themselves beyond their comfort zone, even if it meant just climbing to the top of the ladder rather than doing a tightrope walk 100 feet up in the air.
Eagerly, all the girls donned their, what they liked to call “diapers” which in fact were their harnesses. We started with the rock climbing wall. The goal was to make it to the top, give a “whoop” of victory and then the girls were to surrender their descent to the capable hands of Cassie and Daniel at the other end of the safety rope. Every girl did her best. Some made it to the top, some made it only as far as half way up (and that’s nothing to sneeze at!). Every girl pushed herself to do “one more step” above what she felt comfortable with.
The next exercise was a truly terrifying endeavor. The girls were to climb a retractable ladder on the side of a tree up to some large staples that they then continued climbing until they got to a wire, yes a wire hovering 100 feet up! There were two ropes they could hold onto that ran parallel to the wire, and they were supposed to walk from one tree to the anchor tree (about 150 feet long) on this tiny wire. You would NEVER have seen me up there!! But up there they went.
Some girls made it all the way some made it only up to the top of the ladder. A common theme for the girls who only made it part of the way before their survivor instinct took over was “Oh, I want to do it again. I know I can make it this time!!”
Our final exercise, Peony would like (and me, too) simply because it was called “the cat walk.” Again, the girls had to climb a ladder, up to some staples then climb the staples until they got to a wide beam that went from one tree to the next. They weren’t as high in the air this time, but they had nothing to hold onto as they walked across the beam to the other tree. The trickiest part of this exercise was maneuvering from the ladder/staples onto the beam. A great leap of faith came into play as the girls had to hug the tree they were climbing in order to get their bodies up on the beam and facing the right direction. Once they reached the other tree, they were instructed to hug it and give it a kiss!! My Girl Scouts love to be thought of as environmentalists!
Anyway, some girls went all the way up and across then flew downward with trusty Daniel on the other end of the line, and some girls only made it to the first staple. Two girls stood out in my mind. One was a thoughtful, natural leader who was terrified of the whole thing. She didn’t really want to participate in any of the activities; she was just too scared. And when she did try, she insisted no one cheer for her, and we all had to turn away and not look.
Well, she cut the line waiting to climb because the wait was making her too nervous. She started climbing the ladder. Two steps from the top, she yelled to Daniel that she didn’t want to go any further. He urged her on, saying “Are you sure? Can you take just one more step up?” And guess what. Not only did she take one more step up, she took another and got to the top of the ladder. We all thought that was it; she had done more than she or we thought she would do.
Then she listened to Daniel, dug deep within herself and got onto the staples. This might not seem like a big deal to you, but to her it was an accomplishment of epic proportions. Her face as she repelled down was indescribable. If you had asked her before the meeting if she thought she could have done that, she would likely have laughed in your face!
The other little girl, my little girl, started climbing like a squirrel. She got up the ladder, then the staples, then got her right foot on the beam. But then something happened. She started to think, and then she became afraid. Luckily, the YMCA hires some really great people. Daniel coaxed and coaxed her to hug the tree and get her left leg on the beam. And after what seemed like a really long time and with legs shaking, she did it!
Her original goal was to go half way down the beam before repelling down. She started scooching along, slowly but surely, keeping her head high and aimed at the opposite tree. She got to the halfway mark; everyone was cheering. She made it to the opposite tree, gave it a hug and a kiss, and then started back on the beam to where Daniel had them go to repel down. As she turned to make it to the jumping off place, you could see her legs shaking! Yet there she was 50 feet up, trying her best to complete the exercise. With a leap of faith, she followed Daniel’s directions, let go of the safety of the beam, and flew to the ground to rousing cheers from all the girls who were watching.
Now, some of the girls did these tasks with ease; it was great fun to see them, and when they came down from their exercises, some told me they flapped like chickens, some kicked their legs, and some pretended to be graceful birds. But for many of those girls, this was a huge stretch for them.
I believe they all came away with a renewed respect for their own ability to tackle and accomplish a goal and something that was hard for them. As for me, I was amazed and proud of every single girl; I knew watching them, that the future looked bright for this world with these courageous girls as our future leaders.
Guest Blogger Note: If you would like to be a guest blogger, contact me @ nantucket.alaska@gmail.com. You can remain anonymous if you are in the witness protection program or are just plain shy. ♥
When out and about the other day, I came across this.
Who knew that duct tape (or in this case duck tape) came in colors like pink and purple. I wanted to buy some just because it would be cool to have pink duck tape, but for $4.99, I knew I didn’t need pink duck tape.
What? How did the second job interview go? You’ll have to wait, because there are more important things to discuss first!
I biked with Bill today for the first time in about 2 weeks. He had gone out to Seattle for his stepson’s wedding, and then after his arrival home, there was too much going on in my life to get out for a ride. It looked like yesterday would be the day for a ride, but then Iz needed her sick day.
Anyway, this morning, Bill texted me saying, “I know you u have your interview today but do u have any time to ride?.” I wrote him back and told him that I would when I got back, but that wouldn’t be until noon. He texted back and said, “That’s fine. Let me know when u r rolling if u want some company. Good luck on your interview!!” I think Bill missed me, but you know what? I missed Bill, too.
What? The interview? Yes, well, I’m getting to that.
So, when I got home from my interview, I texted Bill and told him that I’d meet him at noon on the rail trail; however, when I went to get my bike out of the garage, I noticed that my front tire was very, err, squishy (i.e., it needed to be pumped up). BUT, since I broke the stem off the tube over a month ago, it was impossible to inflate said tube. Yes, I was cycling on borrowed time, and I so knew it.
When I met Bill at the rail trail, he was chatting with Richard. I said, “Err, I have a technical difficulty.” I explained it all to him, and then I said, “Well, why don’t you chat with Richard, and I’ll go bring my bike over to the bike store and have him fix it.” Bill said, “You’re not going to pay that jackass $20 to change that tire when we can ride to my house, and I can change it for you.” (Obviously, Bill doesn’t think a lot of the guy at the bike repair store!)
So, even though I told Bill that he should bike without me, he had the “Saving Private Ryan” ‘tude. Which, by the way, is a very loving ‘tude. And Bill said, “Let’s go to my house, and I’ll change that for you.” So, off we went to Bill’s house.
When we got there, he opened the door to the garage, walked in, opened another door, and said, “Welcome to my workshop.” We tipped my bike upside down, he took off my front wheel, and then I sat on the floor and held my bike up while he changed the tube.
I asked him about the wedding, and he told me all about it. And, then I told him about my interview. Even though I was eager to ride, it was really nice sitting there on Bill’s basement floor telling him about my interview and all that happened in my life while he was gone.
He said “It’s been so long since I’ve seen you, I was afraid I wouldn’t recognize you when we met on the rail trail!” It was so nice to be missed, but it was even nicer to have someone who wanted to listen to me in a way that my father never did.
This is a short blog tonight, because I’m exhausted. (Okay, I always think “short” blog, and then it never turns out that way!) And, how can an unemployed person be exhausted?
Well, I was up at 4am, because I was nervous about my interview. Then at 4:30, Iz climbed into bed with me. When she came in, I asked, “Are you okay?” She said she was. I asked, “Why don’t you want to stay in your bed?” She said, “Because Liam is not there.” I had to move Liam to bring her into bed, because he was sleeping next to me. She got in, began to snore, and I never went back to sleep!
The job interview? Gawd, you people are persistent!
After the interview, I called Tunabreath, and she said, "Well, you know you did your best, and if you don't get it, it's because there's a better job for you out there." And, today, that is my story, and I'm sticking to it!
I think it went well, but who knows? I do know that whatever will be will be; and, whatever that is, I’m okay with it, so there. ♥
You Know You Really Love Your Cat When... Note: You kiss his nose, and it’s wet and smells like cat food. Then you remember, oh, there’s some regurgitated cat food on the floor in the basement that I have to clean up after I feed the kids, make school lunches, clean the litter boxes, and so on. Did he get there before I did? So, I got a tid (congegation of "tad", remember!) grossed out, and then I said to myself, “Oh, what the hell!” because God only knows what worse stuff (lice, flu, strep, and so on), I'm going to get from first grade this year!
Where’s the Beef Note: Thanks to Tunabreath and Tomas for always asking me, “Where’s the blog?”
In the course of the school year, as a parent, you encounter vacation days, holidays, snow days, and the sick day. Today, when Iz woke up she told me she had a “bad” cough; of course, after this complaint, I immediately got a performance of the proof-of-sickness coughing fit for about 20 seconds. Her cough had a bit of a rattle, but I felt her forehead, and it didn’t seem like she was running a temperature.
“Iz, I think you should go to school.” “But, Mommy, I have a frog in my throat, too.” Hmmm, the dreaded Amphibian Flu!
The thing that made me believe that she wasn’t feeling well was that she loves school; unlike Nathan, a good student, who complains about how much he doesn’t like school. In fact, Iz likes school so much that she actually plays school a lot in her room.
Upon opening the door once, I saw her on one end of the bed, and Liam on the other. She was reading one of her picture books; each time she read a page, she would, probably just like her teacher did, turn the book around to show the picture on the page to her half-perturbed and half-asleep captive feline student.
I sighed. I had planned a bike ride with Bill (the first in about 2 weeks), and I was hoping to spend some quality time preparing for the second interview tomorrow. Again, Iz gave me a good long dose of the proof-of-sickness cough. I said, “Okay. You can stay home then.”
So, I got my coffee and sat down on the couch with her.
After 30 minutes, I got up to do a few things around the house, and when I came back, she had moved to the floor; later on, I would reflect on this moment and bestow upon her the Academy Award for Best Performance of a Sick Sleeping Girl!
Shortly thereafter, she felt well enough to take Barbie for a ride on her steed. Hmmm.
Within 15 minutes, she asked, “Mommy, can I play on http://www.lpso.com/.” Hmmm.
I said, “Okay, let me catch up on my email first.” “Mommy, I need a hamster!” I said, “No, hamsters. We have enough pets!” “No, Mommy. I need to get a hamster on lpso.com!” “Oh. You can have all the virtual pets you want.”
After getting her fill of Little Pet Shop online, she decided it was time to organize all my gel pens by color. Hmmm.
After she did that, it was time to try on all my shoes. Hmmm.
I was then given a “quiz” by a very serious and no-nonsense Brenda Starr. Hmmm. What was my favorite sport? What was my favorite drink? What was my favorite color? Who was my favorite cat? What was my favorite dessert?
It was then time to craft a Great Work of Gel Pen Art for Halloween. Hmmm.
After I sewed up a hole in my sweater, it was time for her to run all around the upstairs while dragging a piece of yarn with Liam following closely behind. Hmmm.
After she had exhausted Liam, she got dressed and then asked me if she could be my “assistant” for the day. Hmmm.
She then asked if we could put cobwebs on the shrubs, and we did. Hmmm.
Yes, at this point, I knew this whole sick day was a ruse, especially when I was asked, “Mommy, can we go to the mall?” Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!
I guess that even a first grader needs a break periodically from learning words with the digraphs ch, sh, th, or ck, working with addition and subtraction number models, and trying to understand a map of the world and its different temperatures. Most importantly, I think today was all about a little extra love and attention; and couldn’t we all use that kind of “sick day” every now and then? ♥
With yesterday’s miserable weather (snow! ☃) in our metrological past, Rover asked to go out this morning. Even though it was a bit cool, I let her out because it was sunny. After telling her to say "Hi" to Harold, Eileen, Barbara, and Rob for me, I made my way up to my desk, sat down with my cup of coffee in my front of my laptop, and I then glanced out the window.
I saw Rover making her way across the street to Harold and Eileen’s.
She waddled by the mailbox, up the steep driveway, and then I saw her round the large bush and disappear behind it. I didn’t recognize the car in the driveway; I assumed it must belong to a nurse. A few minutes later, Rover appeared from behind the bush and waddled back down the driveway and into the yard.
A few minutes passed, and again, I saw Rover waddle across the street, repeat her journey up the driveway, stopping to rest at one point this time, and again disappear behind the large bush. Obviously, the person at home did not know that Rover was a daytime resident, because minutes later, a, probably by now, weary Rover waddled back down the driveway, across the street, and back into the yard.
I was just about ready to go downstairs and bring her in when Rob’s car pulled in the driveway. And, it was as if Rob had called her on her cell phone to tell let her know that he was now at the house. Within moments of his arrival, Rover crossed the street a third time, waddled up the driveway, disappeared behind the bush, and I haven’t seen her since. ☀
This morning, Rover reminds me how important it is to persevere in order to always find yourself in a place where love flows unconditionally. ♥
Do you know what's great about being a writer? And, you really don't have to be a writer to do this. Yes, all you non-writers at home can do this, too. The great thing I like about words in general is being able to make them up!
See “soundscents” above. It kind of sounds like “nonsense,” and that was on purpose, mind you. To me, "soundscents" is the music and smells that create the roadmap to my life.
Even if your words are not recognized by Webster's, you can still plan, create, and deploy your own words. Yes, you can! Between the 17 of us, we should be able to find one word and put enough pressure on Webster’s to make it part of their dictionary next year! So, what word will it be? Suggestions are welcome.
When my sister and I were little, we made up a lot of words. I think they say twins have their own language; well, she and I were only 16 months apart, but we had a language; “Meenymophers” were the white socks we wore, and “Mocklit” was the result of too many bubbles generated when we would take a bath together.
Anyway, never mind the words, soundscents means a lot to me in the scent way. In May, there are lilacs and lily of the valley; it smells like Spring in May. What does Spring smell like? Wet earth, flowers, and a cool breeze. In October, it’s burning wood and the smell of dried leaves.
Post-it-note-to-self: Contact Yankee Candle and request May and October candle scents! Does March reek in some way? Does September stink? Yes, I thought not; thus, I deem May and October the smelliest months of the year.
To go back to sounds, the song in my blog soundtrack has always reminded me of Fall in a simpler time. I remember playing in back yard with rocks and sticks; there was no internet, Wii, or Nick Jr. then.
At this point, yes, you can envision me going into a “When I was little, I walked to school 10 miles, my feet wrapped in bread bags (of course, because they hadn’t invented women’s size 11 shoes yet!) carrying my sister on my back whilst having to do her Algebra homework. Okay, we all know that’s a lie, because I took the bus to school, wore size 10s then, and I could never carry my sister, and she always did her own homework.
Well, there was that one time when she was at Northeastern and I had to write a Shakespeare paper for her. She came into my room (I was still living at home) and told me about the paper in a way that my only response could be, “Okay, I’ll write it for you!”
I remember coming home from work one day, and as I rounded the corner of the kitchen, Julie popped out, and she was followed shortly by my mother. Julie said, whilst sporting the best I-want-to-kill-you-bitch expression, “I got my Shakespeare paper back today.” And, I saw my Mom’s “OMG. I can’t believe we sent you to Brandeis and you totally failed this Northeastern paper” look. Then Julie smiled and said, “I got an A-!” That was all very ironic, given that I had only received a B- in my Shakespeare class at Brandeis.
There is a point to all this, though, remember, it’s Sunday; no one should have to have a point on Sunday, because it’s a day of rest after all, even though I did all the laundry, cleaned the whole house, and ran 3.5 miles on the treadmill at the gym!
The song in my soundtrack reminds me of my youth. Just like, and she probably never knew this before, “Cars” by Gary Newman reminds me of Marcia and I dropping her Dad off at the airport and heading back on the Mass Pike. After dropping him off, Marcia got her Dad’s car for as long as he was gone. I remember going through a toll booth and hearing this song playing on the radio.
In regard to the scents, Jean Nate has always reminded me of my Mom, and Estee Lauder "Pleasures" has always reminded me of my friend, Bitsy. After Bitsy died, I could never wear that scent again, BUT whenever I hear any Tubes songs, I always think about her.
Um, before Wednesday, I vow to know this book inside and out.
NOT!
I will review it, BUT… I am who I am, and when the time comes, I will be who I am. <3 Cats are Most Often Road Blocks and Not Personal Assistants as You Go Along in Life But Strangely You Love Them Anyway Note:
I pulled out a drawer to tidy it a bit and immediately in climbed Liam.
I tried to retrieve a stray sock. I don’t know about you, but this kind of thing reminds me of a Jacques Cousteau special where the divers are poking at a man-eating (okay, there isn’t such a thing, but just look at this cat!) eel in a cave.
I Remember Jim Croce Well and I Feel Lonely Too Because I Miss Them Terribly Like You Do Too Note:
Iz had her first cheerleading competition today. It appeared most of the week that she less than enthused about the competition and more excited about the bus ride. “Mommy, guess what? I get to go on a bus. On the highway! I’m sitting with Mindy. And, we’re going to play “Skunk in the barnyard.” She then started singing the song, which goes something like, “Skunk in the barnyard, pee you! Somebody ate it, that’s you!”
This morning, we began the grueling pre-competition prep. Getting dressed wasn’t the issue; it was abiding by all the cheerleader laws that made for a difficult 30 minutes. And, the way that went, I had a feeling that sitting through hours of cheerleading routines would make for one l-o-n-g day.
According to cheerleader law, Iz needed her hair in a ponytail (quite a feat when it’s so short!) with the sides slicked back along with her bangs. Though first, we had to remove the pink and gold glitter nail polish, because cheerleading just says “No!” to nail polish.
Once I got her hair back in a pony tail, and it was all I could do to capture a small clump in the supplied ponytail holder with its attached purple and white ribbons, I got out my “super glue” gel. Redken’s Hardwear is a “super strong gel.” I’m pretty certain that you could also use it in a pinch if you happened to be short a glue stick!
I put a few barrettes on either side of Iz's head, slicked back the stray hairs that the barrettes would not grasp, and then I slicked back her bangs. She has such a cute haircut that I almost felt like I was committing blasphemy against Vidal Sassoon by turning her adorable little do into a non-descript and voluntary helmet head!
After I completed, I think grimace on my face might have given me away a tad. Iz asked, “Do I look geeky, Mommy!” I reassured her. “No. You look great, Iz!” She then started whimpering. I quickly searched the “Motherhood 101” textbook portion of my frontal lobe for something better, and all I could come up with was, “Everyone will have their hair like this Iz!” Yes, I need an updated version of that textbook for sure. She perked up a bit, because she said, completely switching gears, “Mom, we get to do a pyramid!” and then she was happily off on the bus to the Tsongas arena.
Upon arrival inside the arena, I was instantly greeted by people selling flowers, t-shirts, and, of course, cheerleader bears. And, what sporting event would be complete without the scent of nacho chips, fried dough, and soft pretzels? Err, after a diet Pepsi and plate of nacho chips, which smelled strangely like bleach, with a cheese sauce, which had the consistency of pudding, were purchased, it was time to find a seat.
As I walked down the stairs, I could see that this was no small competition. There were several hundred people, and across the arena, there were several hundred more cheerleaders dressed in blue, purple, black, pink, red, green, and orange, resembling a picture that someone might have created with a Lite-Brite.
When I sat down, a group of older girls were just starting their routine. The emcee introduced them, they ran onto the large mat, and then the music started. An intense boom, boom, boom was the beat for all the music, which pretty much all sounded like remixed video game music when it wasn’t hip hop or 80s tunes. At first, it was hard to get used to, but after a while, it kind of grew on me, as I sat there shaking my head back and forth to the beat. And, as I watched the routine, I thought, “This cheerleading stuff is tons of fun!”
And, fun was exactly what it was all about there. Now, I’m sure there is tons of competition behind that fun, but cheerleading seemed to be one of the few sports where it looked like the participants were actually having an enjoyable time while competing. For example, I can’t remember ever seeing a runner smiling while paticipating in the Boston Marathon! AND, I’m pretty sure that after the 30th mile of many of my 50-mile bike rides that I look mildly annoyed.
Right before Iz’s group of “Tiny Mites,” when on, I headed down the stairs with my camera. They paraded onto the floor and then all went into their “cheer stance.” Yes, really, there is a cheer stance, see!
After they were announced, they all ran onto the mat and assembled, some of them glancing at the others to remember exactly what they were supposed to be doing. Once the music started and I saw Iz tumbling, jumping up and down, and screaming at the top of her lungs (a.k.a., cheer voice), I started to get all choked up.
I had been to several dance recitals and graduations the last four years, but I had never felt this exact way before. Seeing her out there in front of hundreds of people doing her thing made me happy and the slightest bit sad all at once. Happy in that I was so proud of her, and that at only 6 she had the courage to go out there in front of such a huge crowd; and oddly it was a bit sad as I thought, what if a day came when I couldn’t see her anymore? Life is about moments like that one, and it was yet another moment in my life when I realized how very, very, very much I love my girl.
Anyway, their performance was wonderful, complete with their adorable finale pyramid. Actually, all the routines were great, especially since amidst the back flips, round offs, cart wheels, tumbling, and pyramids, there was this huge energy; it was girls just wanting to have fun making the competition seem secondary most of the afternoon.
At the very end of the competition, the emcee invited all of the girls back out onto the floor before the awards presentation. As the girls swarmed onto the floor, the music started, and they all began to move to the music, creating the biggest dance party I’d ever seen. As one person commented, it was actually more fun watching them all dance together at the end than it was to watch the competition.
Side-to side…
Up and down…
Ring around the rosie…
And, the conga line!
It seemed to be something you’d only see at the end of a Disney musical, but here it was right in the Tsongas arena – a happy ending in joyous motion. And, I think half the people in the audience would have joined in if they had been invited to do so. I certainly would have, though we all know I am a card-carrying party animal!
After about 20 minutes, the awards were given out among cheers and screams. And, if the Siamese cat has the loudest meow of all cat breeds, then girls ages 6-15 have the loudest screams among the entire female population!
2. Rover resting comfortably and totally snoozed in Monty’s dog bed.
1. Getting my daughter off the bus. ♥
“When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has been opened for us.”
I am a devoted mother of two wonderful children, a writer (technical by day and creative by night), an avid baker and crock pot goddess (♥ Sucra), a runner and a cyclist, a rescuer of pets, a vintage fashionista, and a dispenser of social glue.
