WTF Wednesday: Who is in charge of this show anyway??

Ariel is the boss at our house. obviously.  The Princess of Everything. But Sophia the first new upstart is fast gaining traction.  Let me update you after the Daughter Numero Duo gets her birthday castle and I will tell you if Ariel takes a dive.

the Friday Haiku, a day late, a dollar short, personal review

Did I forget to
to thank you, for soup you brought me
after the funeral?

My manners so suck!
Alas, I am still crazy,
no note will follow.

Next time a person
dies and you want to give gifts
to the kids, please don't.

Instead of soft toys
give them your time and presence.
Those things don't pile up.

Daughters! Sugar, spice, and everything nice!

I have two.  Just got online, looked at my stats, and found that someone was looking at a post from four years ago, a Friday Haiku for Claire the Magnificent.  Four years ago!! 2009!  Before a number of things made me come unglued altogether . . . and so here she is, still Magnificent.

Not only Magnificent but wonderful altogether, and keeping me grounded and happy.  Here's to Claire, who is almost a second grader with the ability to read "Middle Grade" books and the wisdom to know how much she enjoys that ability. My mini-me in all the very best ways. And brave, and strong, and true.  My hero!

Who is miserable now?

So while I was away from this space, the physical space around me was altered by maturing and growing children.  Hannah is headed to Kindergarten soon, totally mainstream. Claire now wears clothes sized nearly to her age, Hannah, though still stick figure skinny, could actually get out of the big toddler car seat and into a 35 pound rated booster . . . but worse than that, is the vocabulary growth.  Claire made a witty joke about the womb when she heard Hannah morph the r in room.  Granted she is all for a low grade knock-knock joke as well, but when I recently offered her a bit of my cheese toast, she, observing my fruit salad topped with whip-its delight said "my eyes are on the cream." WTF? When first she said "what the heck is going on?" I blamed her environment and heaved more than one sigh of relief that the phrase came from a wretched popular children's movie.  Last week I promptly lost all my helicopter parent cred by showing her YouTube shorts of songs from Les Mis, which she now begs for daily.  Mommy can we watch Red and Black? And then Do You Hear the People Sing? Sure I say, until I hit upon a making of the movie clip, and got stuck when the costume director explained the color choices for prostitutes coordinating with the imprisoned slaves.  Oh yeah, Mommy, nicely played.  Now explain prostitutes, slavery and metaphor.  When I told Claire that Fantine sold her body I said she sold her hair and her . . . teeth.  True!  She did!  And some other stuff.  And then I had to decide that I wasn't ready to show them Les Mis yet. I don't know which character she would emulate (Javert?) but I don't want to find out.

Um . . .Hello!

Hey gang. Sorry to go AWOL on you that way.  Blogging took a back seat after a bit and eventually got pushed right off my radar altogether as I tried to keep myself from falling apart, and ultimately failed.  Short recap: my mom indeed did die, shortly after my last post; my head got seriously mixed up (more on that later); marriage got worse; ultimately I was widowed (more on that later too) about 4 months ago, and I am now getting back on my feet and right side up (barely, more on that later also).  If you are still here, shout out and say so.  I loved you all before and I still do. It totally cracks me up that I am getting traffic here having been absent so long.  You will be rewarded but first I must find my funny and poignant keyboard for blogging, instead of the wistful hindsight is 20/20 keyboard.

Gas Food Lodging will be resurrected as I still have kids who require gas, food, and lodging and a whole lot more, and I will likely blog elsewhere too but am still setting that one up.  My daughters are doing fabulously for those who want to know - growing like weeds and full of fun - and are coping with things far better than I, since they have that eternal magical zen quality of living primarily in the now.  Be patient with me, I'll be back.

WTF Wednesday: If she could see or use her hands she might kill me for this

My aging mother is aging out, and on an exit plan now, I am afraid.  She won't be with us much longer.  I was tucking her in at the nursing home and as she slept I noticed this heart shaped age spot.  Like everyone she had good fortune and bad in her 83 years, but I think this is proof positive that her life was marked by love - she was madly in love with my father, and after a few years of painful loneliness when she was widowed with three young children, she had the great good luck to have met my stepfather, who has loved her well for what will be 40 years come July, if that anniversary comes.  Not everyone gets one great love, but my mom got two.  Love leaves it mark, always and indelibly. 

WTF Wednesday: How Will I Know if the Flavor is Authentic?