Avocation and Vocation

My all time favorite teacher, who happened to be both of my children's kindergarten teacher, used to share with me, often, that she was the luckiest person ever as her avocation was the same as her vocation. She loved, loved, loved her job, and she loved, loved, loved those kiddos and everything about them! At the time I was so appreciative and in awe of her but also thought, "Gosh, you need a hobby!" I can't claim to anywhere near her amazing league, but I do get it now. There is something so incredibly amazing about the wonder of young kiddos. Their enthusiasm is contagious! And while I definitely do have hobbies, I can't resist a conversation with a 3 or 4 year old when the opportunity comes up. Actually I love talking to kids of all ages, they simply amaze me. Babies? Not so much my thing...it's OK, Dave's totally into babies (and puppies), so I let him cover me there. So, I'm very lucky to get paid to do what I do, which is, basically, having conversations with 3 and 4 year olds all day long! I get to pepper it with 5-11 year old chats sporadically, too, which rocks! At the end of the week I feel a bit like the flower I painted...it's a tiring gig, ya know. But it is so very wonderful and I almost cried today when one of my students did something simply amazing. Give me a weekend to recharge with my family, friends, and painting, and I've got all new petals and am ready to rock.

Man Cave Envy

I have some serious Man Cave envy going tonight. We've got one here, and, admittedly, it also serves as Dave's office, but it's so fine! I go there every time I need to scan my paintings and I just don't want to leave. It's not plush, by any means, but it's SO quiet, the hum of the A/C is gently soothing, the chair is really comfy, and, best of all, the only hormones in the joint are mine. Sometimes I sit out there extra long and wonder when someone might notice. Yeah, no one ends up missing me, but they do notice they're hungry which cues them to go lookin' for mama.

So, yes, it's fabulous out there, but if I had my druthers, I really I think I'd rather have a Woman Table. I like being in the middle of the action. I like to have my stuff all spread out. Mostly I'd love to leave my projects out when I'm in the middle of them. I kind of even like being available if someone needs me...kind of.

A girl can dream....

Thank you, Steve Jobs

It takes a particular kind of vision to see that beauty truly is important in our lives. The beauty that inspires us to be more creative, to be more passionate, to love what we are doing even more deeply. I think of so many of the tools I use each day...knives, flashlights, ovens, phones, computers.... I know that when I use a knife that has a certain shape to its handle that is the perfect blend of functionality and beauty, I'm inspired to prepare something amazing. When I type on my MacBook Pro, I'm inspired to write more, and I have so much fun doing it. I even love doing laundry because my machine is so darn pretty! Seriously, there's just something about it. I think about when I see ancient tools from an archeological find that are amazing and lovely and so carefully designed and constructed. I'm quite sure the act of creating and using these tools brought these ancient peoples closer to their gods. Our culture forgets this in so many areas and I think it's a loss to us as a whole. I feel really lucky to have had Apples and Macs in my life since I was a child. I think my family or I have owned virtually every product that Steve Jobs ever helped design and develop...including the NeXT computer. I'm hugely thankful for the beauty and inspiration he brought to this world. A true visionary.

Hello, can you see me?

Went to a middle school football game tonight, and thank ya lordy, there was no pressure to watch the game because my kid was playing in the band tonight. Hooray for me! While I'm incapable of watching a football game for more than a second or two, I have super powers when it comes to watching the band play. Eyes on the musicians, foot tapping, saying "Hey!" during the "Hey Song", stomping at the right time during "We will Rock You". As I left the game I walked up to my kid to tell him we were leaving and he acted like I was wearing a clown hat and a shirt with his photo on it proclaiming myself to be his mom (a threat I've often made). He managed to totally disregard me, say "bye" under his breath as he waved me off, and rolled his eyes way beyond the top of his head. Yeah, next time I'm definitely going to wear an outfit that will make him notice me because clearly he didn't see me.

Bangs

So, I'm growing out my bangs. Actually, it's taking up most of my spare time these days. As I lack basic girliness skills, I have utterly no idea what to do with the mess gracing my forehead these days. This evening I tried a cute bobby pin clip to hold them back. After making dinner and then a HUGE batch of cookies, Dave asks me about my new "hair style", his forehead crinkled, nose squinched, lip clearly revealing repulsion.

"What?" I ask, "I thought it was cute." I walk over to the mirror to see what what so ghastly, and, ugh! Yeah, really, really bad. I looked straight-up crazy, my pigtails cockeyed, bangs rebelling, escaping the clip in frizzy tufts. My look "improved" by my use of reading glasses to more clearly examine my reflection. Hmmmm...Halloween costume idea is starting to form as tickles in the back of my mind. I tuck some of the loose strands back in the clip and reassure Dave that, "THIS is what I meant to have it look like." He nods, a little nervous, face askew, and walks away.

Me? I'm beaming on the inside...and fully aware that come morning I'll experiment with some hair do-dad, and will, once again, never make it out of the house with it in. Instead I'll opt for the same bangs-covering-my-eyes look I embraced in high school.

The Middle

Sometimes the only way to make peace between two boys is to be the meat in the middle of the sandwich. OK, being me, not meat, perhaps jelly or cheese. Anyway, a six-foot long couch isn't enough room if your surging with testosterone and have a serious case of the wiggles. Insert mom in the middle and suddenly it's a snuggle fest, leaning in to me, unconsciously caressing my arm. Delicious. Until...one of them realizes that I'm typing this blog entry...about them! Fingers reaching toward the delete key, hands grabbing at me as I make my escape. Jeepers!

A Disturbance in the Force

The carts at IKEA kind of freak me out. There's something about the wheel action that always makes me feel like I'm drifting around the store, holding tightly to the bar, fighting for control, never quite able to get it. And, gee, everyone else pushing those carts around looks calm and composed. Must be a personal issue.

Most days I'm able to keep my dumb blondness in check, but I think the IKEA carts cause a disturbance in the force. I consider myself to be of average intelligence, certainly bright enough, able to problem solve on the fly, but yeesh, those blond roots, when my brain's force field is compromised, will tangle and intertwine with the gray matter, their grip tight. As I worked my way around the store I almost ran in to an older gentleman with a walker, I texted a friend when I meant to text my husband, I accidentally put my phone in the back of my car when I was unloading stuff...and proceeded to have a mini-Kali-style freakout about "losing my phone"...drove all the way back around and through the parking lot (IKEA does not make that easy) to check the crazy-evil cart I had used to see if I had left it in there, then found it in my car and worked my way out to the highway again. Somewhere in all that I dumped the contents of my purse out on the passenger seat in a way I remember seeing my mom do a lot when she was searching for something.  Oy, messy!

The further I got from IKEA and their wacky carts, the disturbance in the force abated, the dumb blond roots loosened their grip. Whew!

Luckily the effects had totally worn off by the time I arrived at a friend's housewarming party...they had no idea what chaos they had narrowly escaped.

I painted this for my friend's game closet in her brand new home...

the most amazingly organized game closet ever!