I've Been Released By the Kidnappers! (You're not buying that, are you?)

I know, I know, first I post a video about shame and humiliation, then I fall off the side of the earth for two weeks! What’s up with that? Well, would you believe I was kidnapped by the Standards and Practices Police for YouTube? No? Yeah, because their acronym would be SAPPY, and that’s just too cute for words. Bordering on the precious, isn’t it?

So the truth is, I was hijacked by the arrival of our son (from Boston) and his 2 1/2 year-old, who spent a lovely week with us! We were blessed with wonderful weather, so we covered some of the town’s high spots together: the local pumpkin farm (same one we took our kids to before they invented grandchildren), the world-famous St. Louis Zoo, and the amazing Museum of Transportation. Photos galore, all right here for your dining and dancing pleasure!

Just as that visit was drawing to a close, we skipped town and drove up to Chicago for a fabulous wedding! Don’t you worry—I have photos of that, too, so you don’t have to miss a moment of my life from the past couple of weeks. I didn’t mean to go AWOL on you—it just sort of worked out that way.



Who doesn't love a Magna-Doodle?

Riding the Zoo Train!  Chugga-choo-choo!

Petting the goats with Aunt Jaime!



"I thought I was the pumpkin!"

This is what 'happy' looks like!





What a great day we had!







  

Walking with Daddy at the Museum of Transportation.

Cousin, Me, Cousin, Cousin, Cousin!
Margaret, Leah, Lee, Carol, Edye!
I'm loving this group-- thanks for a great time!



Bum Rap for Grandma

So my last post was about the twelve Opinion Shapers named for the coming year meeting at our community newspaper’s offices. One of the contributors, a lovely woman I recognize from years past, sat down next to me. We hadn’t really spoken previously—these meetings somehow haven’t exactly lent themselves to that. This year, our new editor established an entirely different tone, and most of us were more chatty.


Anyway, in our round-robin of “who-I-am-and-what-I-do”, I learned that this woman is a retired physician—a pediatric cardiologist, in fact. Now she tutors in Latin and French, and writes these columns… Did I mention that she managed to raise seven children? I want to be her when I grow up. Oh wait—I forgot to become a doctor. Or to have more children. Well, I shall just have to bask in her glow, and settle for who I am.

Back to my point, and I DO have a point.

Dr. Wonderful (her newly-minted alias) mentioned that she can always tell which children are being raised by their grandmothers. Without hesitation, I said, “Because they have good manners?” She turned to me, smiling, bemused, and said, “Precisely. Because they have good manners.”

So score some points for the grandmothers, and their willingness to model and teach good manners. Of course, most moms and dads do this, too, but I’m claiming a bit of credit for the grandmothers to offset the bum rap we (as a class) got in the news this week.

In case you missed it, an article by Jeannine Stein of the Los Angeles Times a few days ago was headlined

“Do grandparents make kids fat?”

Stein cites a study in the International Journal of Obesity (I swear, I am not making this up) that found that kids cared for by grandparents full-time had a 34% increase in “risk of being overweight.” The part-timers showed a 15% increase. (So were they actually overweight, because I don’t really get what the ‘risk of’ means, otherwise.)

So maybe grandparents are handing out too many cookies and snacks, or maybe they are reading more with the kids, and doing puzzles and homework and other sedentary activities with them. Speaking for myself, I love to take the little ones to the park, but I’m not out there playing tag, throwing the ball, and generally chasing them around the yard like their moms and dads do. Which side of the equation is causing this, assuming it’s true?

I’m a believer in healthy eating, but all things in moderation. So, Jeannine Stein of the L.A. Times, if the kids raised by their grandmothers turn out to be at high risk for obesity (whatever that means) at least they will say, “Will you please pass the cupcakes?” rather than, “Yo, send them cupcakes over here!”

Things I Want Thursday

Because Sass over at The Life of Sass had a great idea for today, I’m participating in “Things I Want Thursday”. Here goes…



1. I want people to stop fighting. The people in government, the people in the media, the people in my life. Stop. It feels good to stop fighting. Nuh-nuh-nuh—none of that, “But they—“. Just stop.

2. I want people to stop preaching tolerance and start preaching respect. Tolerance connotes some teeth-clenching and some resistance. Let’s all acknowledge that everyone is just as entitled to a spot on the earth as everyone else. No more we vs. they—life is not a bridge tournament, though it would be a lot more civilized if it were.

3. I want an end to the name-calling. If people are going to bandy about terms like socialist, fascist, communist and the like, they ought to at least know what the words mean, and from some of the rhetoric I’ve read, it’s apparent that they don’t know. It's like in "The Princess Bride" when Vizzini keeps using the word 'inconceivable', and finally Inigo points out, "I think you do not know what that word means."

4. I want to remember to live in the moment. I’m always thinking of the other things I should be doing, instead of ‘being present’ where I am. I have read a lot about this, and I’m trying to do better. It’s a widespread problem, but that doesn’t make me feel any better about myself. I’m working on it.

5. I want fall weather! We seem to have jumped right into winter, with really cold temperatures and two tons of rain. Autumn is my favorite season, and unless things do a major 180 here soon, we’re going to have missed it entirely.

6. I want to learn to manage on four hours of sleep a night. I know I have said this before, but I’m not getting enough done. Come on, people, there are books to be read, blogs to be read and commented on, and fabric just crying out to be quilted. Plus I need to get back to exercising.

7. I want to take better care of myself. Yeah, I eat properly, but I need to (see #6) exercise. I know it, but am currently on hiatus with no good excuse…
8. I want to see my grandchildren more. With one in Boston and one in Sacramento this is hard. But it’s so awesome to have the little people around!

9. I want my kids to have a better life than I had. I certainly was fortunate enough to do better than my parents did, but this economy is making it tough for young couples to get ahead… I worry about their future, not just in terms of the economy, but also in terms of climate change and political stability.

10. I want a lot more than I thought I did when I started this!

11. I want a world where brains trump beauty, where manners trump crude, where sense trumps yelling. Oh, and of course where funny trumps young.

Is this too much to ask? What do you want?

I'm a Kreative Blogger! Who Knew?

Today I owe a debt of gratitude to the lovely Judi at Lines Composed for the “Kreative Blogger” award she bestowed upon me Sunday! I’m quite excited and delighted. (Relax, the poetry ends here.)

So Judi states the rules as these:

1. Thank the person who gave you the award. (check)
2. Link to that person’s blog. (check)
3. Copy the logo to your blog. (any minute now)
4. List seven things about yourself that your readers might not know. Hm...
5. Nominate seven new recipients of the award. (Easy.)
6. Post links to their sites.
7. Leave comments so they know they’ve won.

Okay, I can do this, so here come seven things you might not know about me.

1. I am short. Not just a little short, or medium short, but really short, like 5’ 1”. I used to be 5’ 2 ¾”, but I am shrinking, like most women “of a certain age”. When my husband says we’re going to live into our 90s, I say, “If we do, I’ll be three and a half feet tall!” This becomes more significant if I let you know that the hub is 6’ 4”. Yeah. A redwood.

2. Unlike most of my compadres, I love to cook. I’m addicted to America’s Test Kitchen (the PBS cooking show) and their magazine Cooks Illustrated. I have a season pass for ATK on my Tivo, and still buy the books and the DVDs. Is there a 12-step program for this? I’ve never made anything from their cookbooks or website that was anything short of spectacular. Seriously, it took me almost two hours to put together their meatloaf the first time I made it, but it was totally worth it. I know. Meatloaf. But really! I would not steer you wrong—you are my peeps.

3. I have a custom embroidery business. Yes, for the past ten years (“Since October 1999”) I’ve been the proud proprietor of a home-based operation that stitches corporate logos, club logos, or school mascots on shirts, bags, jackets, aprons, blankets, etc. I do a great job, if my customers aren’t just pulling my leg, and I love doing it. When I started, I was still employed full-time outside the home, and gradually built it up. Now I have two industrial-strength machines, and am my own third-world nation. I love all things related to stitching, so this is a natural for me.

4. In my previous incarnation I worked in healthcare. I did reimbursement analysis for a major hospital (850 beds), clinical department management at a major medical school, and worked the business side of more than one private practice. It was always interesting, often frustrating (ask me how I feel about insurance companies) and a pretty decent way to earn a living. I got to work with—and for—a lot of nice people. Also, a couple of total cretins who would have sold their own grandmothers to look good on any given occasion. (You know who you are!)

5. I am a news junkie, and get very emotionally involved in politics and world affairs. I’m keeping that out of my blog, because I want FITNY to be a place to go without a we/they yes/no black/white dividing line. I want us all to laugh together and enjoy our common ground.

6. I’m a remarried mother of two, step-mother of two. Together we have two sons and two daughters, all of whom are off on their own. Two married, two spoken-for. A 2 ½ year-old grandson who is the apple of my eye, and a nineteen-month old granddaughter who is the apple of my other eye! And I look forward to the new apples yet to come. (When I secure parental permission, you will see photos, hear names…) Our first marriages lasted 19 and 25 years, respectively, and we’ve been together for 14 now, so this is not the Brady Bunch. Only the youngest ever lived with the two of us. They are all great kids (not unbiased, but not untrue) who have paired off with other great kids!

7. I love coffee, chocolate and fresh peaches. I hate coffee that’s cold, weak or sweetened. I can’t tolerate cigarette smoke in any quantity, in any setting. But sometimes when I catch a little whiff on my way to the non-smoking section, I get a flashback to my parents. It’s like my madeleine… but don’t get me started on Proust.

I think I overwrote this, but tough nuggies, it’s my blog, and I can’t be stopped. I’m mad with power, apparently-- Bwah-hah-hah!

Now, on to the seven new recipients of the Kreative Blogger award!

1. Cate at show my face. Always puts a smile on my face—she has a great way with words!
2. Kellydiels.com Because when you want authentic—there she is. I’m stalking her, wish we could go for coffee together.
3. Greg at telling dad. Greg has it all together and isn’t afraid to share. I love reading Greg. He’s a cool (and responsible) dad and blogger!
4. Amanda at Confessions from household 6. It’s great reading about her family and her experiences on the military post; I feel like I know all of them.
5. Missy at Is It Just Me? Her banner alone is enough to make you love her. Check out her pithy subtitles!
6. Jess at I was told there would be bacon. Jess combines the edginess and the hilarity I’m always a sucker for. And there’s bacon, too—right?
7. Shana at Three Men and a Little Lady A dentist surrounded by the men in her family, fighting for her sanity. Or was it insanity? Or does it matter? She’s great.

So thanks again to Judi, and thanks to all these creative (now Kreative) bloggers who make it so much fun to read what they have to say!

So this is my opportunity to speak my piece, put it out there, let you get to know me. In for a dime, in for a dollar, they used to say, so here we go. I think of myself as a humorist, but perhaps I'm kidding myself. I actually come from a long line of kidders. My mother's people were Kidders. Well, no, they weren't.

If you ask me if I'm a poet, I'd say iamb. I'm a freelance writer who has been intimidated by the blogging format, despite my enjoyment of reading others' blogs. Now that (I think) I have this medium in my grasp, I'll be posting regularly. I'd like this to be a conversation with you, so your comments will be welcome. Come-- let us blog together.

I'm a baby-boomer, married to an engineer (slide rule, not choo choo), mother of four (two mine, two his), and grandmother of two. My husband and I are celebrating fifty years of marriage: twenty-five for him, seventeen for me, and eight together. He's semi-retired, working from home. I've established my solidarity with the sage words of Rosalyn Carter (former First Lady, if you're under 40), "For better or for worse, but not for lunch." Yeah, riiiiiight.