Ok, not enough we need a "bateau" in New Orleans, or a fire hose in LA, now Vicky needs to batten down the hatches as Noel heads for Florida. Here's the latest from NOAA:
...NOEL LINGERING ALONG THE CUBAN COAST...TROPICAL STORM WATCHISSUED FOR THE SOUTHEAST FLORIDA COAST...AT 5PM EDT...2100Z...A TROPICAL STORM WATCH IS IN EFFECT FROM NORTHOF OCEAN REEF TO JUPITER INLET FLORIDA. A TROPICAL STORM WATCHMEANS THAT TROPICAL STORM CONDITIONS ARE POSSIBLE WITHIN THE WATCHAREA.
We live exciting lives...
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Sunday, October 28, 2007
Mini notes to all
Allison, the flooding looks awful. How can 'new' pumps be so unreliable. Did the rain come that much faster than usual? When you spoke of writing and reading poetry you asked if any of us had read, HD. Who is that? Does anyone want to read the book Allison lent me while we were on Mercer Island? It is called 1 Dead in The Attic and it is a newspaper man's emotional and very personal account of Katrina. Let me know and I will send it on.
Mimi, I see you have a draft going today but I can't read much of it. Hopefully you will post soon. I heard through the grapevien that you have some wonderful news to share. You are famous now and as I told Cecilia , the closest I can get to fame is through my daughters. I will copy and past Cathyrn's most recent shout out at the bottom of this so you can all see why I am bursting with pride!
Cindy, I love Sardines and when ever I eat them they bring back memories of our honeymoon in Spain; for some reason it was the one thing we could find in the grocery that was easy to take to the beach with us. I still eat them for lunch out of a can on occasion as they are loaded with stuff that is supposed to be good for us.Victoria, thank you soooo much for the photo. I was so happy to get it and will soon get the photos of California visit to all of you. Cathryn said she will show me how to send them in a folder; wish I could pass on the actual slideshow but we don't know how to do that. Mimi, you are the keeper of the first video in RI. I know you are busy but as long as we know you have it someday we can get it out to the group. If you send to me on a DVD I can have John copy it. Betsy, let us know how the east coast visit went. I want to bring Courtney to Mercer Island in the spring!Lisa, you are right I never knew which house had TP but it did always feel like home. Glad you have found a routine that works and that you are so in love. Remember we need lots of time to plan for the wedding 'cuz we all MUST be there to make it official at some point! No pressure! Miss you all. Maybe Boston in February in addition to New Orleans in May?????xxxxxxxxxxxxooooooooooooooooooColleen
Here is Cat's article.
Harvard-Westlake outlasts Flintridge Sacred Heart in girls' volleyball
BY ERIK BOAL, Special to the Daily News
Article Last Updated: 10/25/2007 11:02:36 PM PDT
LA CANADA FLINTRIDGE -- Like any team navigating its way up the steep, windy hill to reach Flintridge Sacred Heart's campus, the Harvard-Westlake of Studio City girls' volleyball team faced an uphill battle Thursday night.
After 2 1/2 hours of grueling competition, the Wolverines, namely their seniors, had climbed a huge mountain in the quest for the Mission League title.
Princeton-bound middle blocker Cathryn Quinn helped Harvard-Westlake accomplish something that no Wolverines team had done since her sister, Kristin, did so in 2002 by recording a league victory at Flintridge Sacred Heart.
Quinn had 13 kills and seven blocks and sophomore outside hitter Megan Norton matched her career-high with 26 kills to lead the Wolverines to a 27-25, 22-25, 24-26, 25-16, 15-10 triumph, clinching at least a share of the league crown after sharing the championship with their rival last year.
"It was awesome," Quinn said. "We knew this was for league, this was it for our seniors. It was necessary that we do this. There wasn't going to be any more co-champs."
Following the match's conclusion, Quinn embraced a tearful Flintridge Sacred Heart senior setter Samantha Orlandini, her club teammate at Sports Shack. Orlandini, one of two four-year varsity players in program history, had never lost a home league match in her career until Thursday.
But despite her 42 assists and 22 digs and 39 digs from her junior sister, Jenna Orlandini, the Tologs
Advertisement
(18-4, 6-2) couldn't protect a two-to-one lead and a 3-0 advantage to open the fourth game, suffering their first season sweep against the Wolverines (19-4, 8-0) since 2002.
"We came back (from an 18-12 deficit) in the second game, but you're not going to be able to consistently get down six or seven points against them and come back," said Tologs coach Shelli Orlandini, who received a career-high 13 kills from Megan Meyers. "When you're playing a good team like that, you have to play sideout volleyball."
Norton had 11 kills in the final two games to lead the Wolverines' comeback, recording their third victory in four five-game matches.
"I wanted to do my part, but I was also trying to do it for (our seniors)," Norton said. "We didn't want to share (the league title) anymore."
Said Harvard-Westlake coach Adam Black: "You can always tell how much it means to people by how hard they fight. We knew it was going to be challenge coming up the mountain. But the girls played tough and I'm very proud of them."
Westlake defeats Moorpark: Michelle Ketter and Dena Galucci led Westlake with 23 kills and 43 assists respectively, as the Warriors defeated the visiting Musketeers 25-13, 24-26, 18-25, 25-12, 15-10.
Westlake improved to 17-4 and 9-2 in league and kept a firm grip on second place behind undefeated league leader Thousand Oaks.
- Jacob H. Pollon
Mimi, I see you have a draft going today but I can't read much of it. Hopefully you will post soon. I heard through the grapevien that you have some wonderful news to share. You are famous now and as I told Cecilia , the closest I can get to fame is through my daughters. I will copy and past Cathyrn's most recent shout out at the bottom of this so you can all see why I am bursting with pride!
Cindy, I love Sardines and when ever I eat them they bring back memories of our honeymoon in Spain; for some reason it was the one thing we could find in the grocery that was easy to take to the beach with us. I still eat them for lunch out of a can on occasion as they are loaded with stuff that is supposed to be good for us.Victoria, thank you soooo much for the photo. I was so happy to get it and will soon get the photos of California visit to all of you. Cathryn said she will show me how to send them in a folder; wish I could pass on the actual slideshow but we don't know how to do that. Mimi, you are the keeper of the first video in RI. I know you are busy but as long as we know you have it someday we can get it out to the group. If you send to me on a DVD I can have John copy it. Betsy, let us know how the east coast visit went. I want to bring Courtney to Mercer Island in the spring!Lisa, you are right I never knew which house had TP but it did always feel like home. Glad you have found a routine that works and that you are so in love. Remember we need lots of time to plan for the wedding 'cuz we all MUST be there to make it official at some point! No pressure! Miss you all. Maybe Boston in February in addition to New Orleans in May?????xxxxxxxxxxxxooooooooooooooooooColleen
Here is Cat's article.
Harvard-Westlake outlasts Flintridge Sacred Heart in girls' volleyball
BY ERIK BOAL, Special to the Daily News
Article Last Updated: 10/25/2007 11:02:36 PM PDT
LA CANADA FLINTRIDGE -- Like any team navigating its way up the steep, windy hill to reach Flintridge Sacred Heart's campus, the Harvard-Westlake of Studio City girls' volleyball team faced an uphill battle Thursday night.
After 2 1/2 hours of grueling competition, the Wolverines, namely their seniors, had climbed a huge mountain in the quest for the Mission League title.
Princeton-bound middle blocker Cathryn Quinn helped Harvard-Westlake accomplish something that no Wolverines team had done since her sister, Kristin, did so in 2002 by recording a league victory at Flintridge Sacred Heart.
Quinn had 13 kills and seven blocks and sophomore outside hitter Megan Norton matched her career-high with 26 kills to lead the Wolverines to a 27-25, 22-25, 24-26, 25-16, 15-10 triumph, clinching at least a share of the league crown after sharing the championship with their rival last year.
"It was awesome," Quinn said. "We knew this was for league, this was it for our seniors. It was necessary that we do this. There wasn't going to be any more co-champs."
Following the match's conclusion, Quinn embraced a tearful Flintridge Sacred Heart senior setter Samantha Orlandini, her club teammate at Sports Shack. Orlandini, one of two four-year varsity players in program history, had never lost a home league match in her career until Thursday.
But despite her 42 assists and 22 digs and 39 digs from her junior sister, Jenna Orlandini, the Tologs
Advertisement
(18-4, 6-2) couldn't protect a two-to-one lead and a 3-0 advantage to open the fourth game, suffering their first season sweep against the Wolverines (19-4, 8-0) since 2002.
"We came back (from an 18-12 deficit) in the second game, but you're not going to be able to consistently get down six or seven points against them and come back," said Tologs coach Shelli Orlandini, who received a career-high 13 kills from Megan Meyers. "When you're playing a good team like that, you have to play sideout volleyball."
Norton had 11 kills in the final two games to lead the Wolverines' comeback, recording their third victory in four five-game matches.
"I wanted to do my part, but I was also trying to do it for (our seniors)," Norton said. "We didn't want to share (the league title) anymore."
Said Harvard-Westlake coach Adam Black: "You can always tell how much it means to people by how hard they fight. We knew it was going to be challenge coming up the mountain. But the girls played tough and I'm very proud of them."
Westlake defeats Moorpark: Michelle Ketter and Dena Galucci led Westlake with 23 kills and 43 assists respectively, as the Warriors defeated the visiting Musketeers 25-13, 24-26, 18-25, 25-12, 15-10.
Westlake improved to 17-4 and 9-2 in league and kept a firm grip on second place behind undefeated league leader Thousand Oaks.
- Jacob H. Pollon
Smoldering In California
Thanks Cindy, for asking about how the fire was affecting us. Allison and Cecilia checked in too. I know it is even hard for me to understand how we can live this close to Malibu and not be on fire ourselves. The mountains and canyons provide barriers to the actual fire but the smoke and ashes make their way here. This is the first morning in almost a week that we awoke to beautiful clear blues skies. It is quite a relief but so sad to see so many suffering. The temperature was uncomfortably warm all week too and kept me in from all my usual outside sports. Living with the threat of fire seems to just part of the deal here in California; odd still to someone who grew up on the east coast but as we all know each region seems to have its own unique challenges!
Anyway we are all fine and trying to find ways of helping others. Courtney's boyfriend, Steven, who has been recuperating from an injury while playing for the Bears, has been living with us and exited briefly to help his parents in Orange County pack for evacuation. Thankfully in the end they did not have to leave their house but it was close! Steven has pretty much decided to
move on from the NFL and try to find a job in the 'real' world. We are doing our best with various introductions but if any of you have ideas it would be great to hear about. One of the downsides of a liberal arts education, he is a UCLA grad, is that it really doesn't help define a careeer path. Right now he is looking at the financial services area but I would love to have him chat with people in all sorts of industries to get a more diverse mix.
I had not looked at the blog in a while so it was good to catch up on y'all! I will write more soon.
Anyway we are all fine and trying to find ways of helping others. Courtney's boyfriend, Steven, who has been recuperating from an injury while playing for the Bears, has been living with us and exited briefly to help his parents in Orange County pack for evacuation. Thankfully in the end they did not have to leave their house but it was close! Steven has pretty much decided to
move on from the NFL and try to find a job in the 'real' world. We are doing our best with various introductions but if any of you have ideas it would be great to hear about. One of the downsides of a liberal arts education, he is a UCLA grad, is that it really doesn't help define a careeer path. Right now he is looking at the financial services area but I would love to have him chat with people in all sorts of industries to get a more diverse mix.
I had not looked at the blog in a while so it was good to catch up on y'all! I will write more soon.
Friday, October 26, 2007
The long distance relationship
I am at Terry's. Terry is headed north to Humboldt State with his son Greg for Admission Day. They will be back tomorrow. You would think I might resent flying here yesterday only to be left alone in the house today, but that is not the way it works. I have two homes and two normal lives. They are just 2,000 miles apart and completely different. No matter where I land, SFO or IND, I feel like I am coming home. When I leave, I feel like I am going home. When I am here, I have a surrogate son (who will be great someday but hates me now as I am the easiest target). When I am in Bloomington, I have Ned (who is amazing and loves me more than I deserve). There is symmetry in sons, if not in the attendant emotions.
When I am in Bloomington, I cling to my women friends: Mimi of course, and two others. Rebecca lives two houses down from me, is a stay-at-home mom with a phd in theater history writing a book on Jewish theater during the Third Reich. Diane is a colleague at IU, a neuroscientist who examines the effects of endocrine disrupters (dioxin, pcbs) on birds. They both have daughters; I have decided that it is much, much easier to have teenage sons, even if they hate you. When I am in California, I know Allison is within reach, and I have some professional contacts in the city, but I haven't made new women friends.
One phenomenon is olfactory. When you live somewhere, you get used to the way it smells. You don't notice it much except when the weather or season changes. I notice it whenever I come to either home. They are entirely different. Marin smells like pine and eucalyptus. Bloomington smells like lawn. In each case, you have a strong positive association with the smell, because it means you are home.
Terry says it would make him crazy to live like this. It is true that I get confused when I go grocery shopping. Am I out of basil in Indiana or California? What is the laundry situation? There is the challenge of ensuring a balance of seasonally appropriate clothes for two different climates across the year. As I have written before, there are vast political and cultural differences. And Bloomington is a fishbowl - no matter where I go, someone will know me or there will be at best one degree of separation. Marin is anonymous; I get no sense of community, but I still have a sense of home. I know my way around and I have grocery stores, medical care, a dry cleaner, favorite bars, bookstores, coffee shops, and drug stores. I guess it is not really that much different from when Colleen and John had the apartment in NYC and the house in Pawling: two different places but both home.
When I am in Bloomington, I cling to my women friends: Mimi of course, and two others. Rebecca lives two houses down from me, is a stay-at-home mom with a phd in theater history writing a book on Jewish theater during the Third Reich. Diane is a colleague at IU, a neuroscientist who examines the effects of endocrine disrupters (dioxin, pcbs) on birds. They both have daughters; I have decided that it is much, much easier to have teenage sons, even if they hate you. When I am in California, I know Allison is within reach, and I have some professional contacts in the city, but I haven't made new women friends.
One phenomenon is olfactory. When you live somewhere, you get used to the way it smells. You don't notice it much except when the weather or season changes. I notice it whenever I come to either home. They are entirely different. Marin smells like pine and eucalyptus. Bloomington smells like lawn. In each case, you have a strong positive association with the smell, because it means you are home.
Terry says it would make him crazy to live like this. It is true that I get confused when I go grocery shopping. Am I out of basil in Indiana or California? What is the laundry situation? There is the challenge of ensuring a balance of seasonally appropriate clothes for two different climates across the year. As I have written before, there are vast political and cultural differences. And Bloomington is a fishbowl - no matter where I go, someone will know me or there will be at best one degree of separation. Marin is anonymous; I get no sense of community, but I still have a sense of home. I know my way around and I have grocery stores, medical care, a dry cleaner, favorite bars, bookstores, coffee shops, and drug stores. I guess it is not really that much different from when Colleen and John had the apartment in NYC and the house in Pawling: two different places but both home.
New Orleans Monday
We had little rain storm on Monday -- 6 inches in a few hours and then another 4-5 and the "new" pumps couldn't keep up.
This is right in front of our house on Panola Street, mid afternoon on Monday, October 22nd.
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Monday, October 22, 2007
postings, politics and pouring rain
I am sitting in my living room in New Orleans into about the 6th hour of a storm and constant rain. I have to sit close to the front door so I can piggyback on someone else's wireless connection because I can't get the dial up to work. I refuse to pay for internet connection here (another monthly bill)...
I havent posted because I've had the cold thing for two weeks (cough still a pain in the ass), slammed at work per usual and trying to finish my book so all else goes to the wayside. I had this trip planned because it's my friend Jack's 87th birthday and I wasn't going to miss that. (The idea being that we would show up for his funeral so if you're not going to show up for his birthday while he's alive...what kind of friend are you?)
We celebrated here yesterday, house full of people, Debra cooked for us (you will all taste her fabulous creole food) and we drank a lot of champagne. Yesterday and the day before were gorgeous, clear crisp, then it started getting muggy and we knew the storm was approaching. I hear thunder as I type.
I am happy to talk politics as I did a bit when we were at Betsy's. I am sick of politics that points fingers, that accuses opponents of being disloyal or terrorist or whatever. Debate is what made this country and we need to be able to get back to the debate table and talk about difficult subjects without resorting to name calling, accusations and passive aggressive politics. We need to believe that compromise is a good thing, and consensus -- no matter how difficult, brings the surest solution (my book is about this).
Thus, my candidate is Obama because he is trying and I think succeeding in promoting an open discussion without belittling anyone. I read his books, I gave him the max contribution, I have met him several times, and I think he's a rock star. For the first time in years, and maybe in my life, I found someone I can stand up and cheer for, who makes me excited about the system again and about being involved.
That said, I also know Edwards and met him the last time around. I'm a lawyer so I have already a certain pigeon hole I put him in (he's a plaintiffs' trial attorney and I'm usually defense)...I think he's a good guy but lost his crediblity last time and like McCain, is having a hard time regaining it.
For the conservatives, Huckabee is the guy trying to make it happen -- and in my mind he's also a more concilatory politican, although I don't agree with his stance in many ways, I just want more debate. I feel oppressed by the current atmosphere of people refusing to discuss because the sides are at each other and too far away. My entire law firm are Hillarites -- mainly because one of my partners is married to Harold Ickes, if you anything about insider politics...he's running Hillary's campaign. Another partner is a national chair...I smile politely with them but they all know I'm a die hard Obama fan.
Lastly, the book is nearly completion -- I think over thanksgiving I'll have enough time to finish and get it out to my first round of readers (the cops, the FBI agent, etc.) for veracity. What I really want to do -- and I've been going through all my writing in my garrett because we're renovating the house and I need to move everything -- is finish my poetry book. Been writing little, but reading others more with huge envy for the loveliness of the writing. Anybody out there ever read any HD?
There's a night program for an MFA in poetry...am considering it...sounds crazy, doesn't it?
In the meantime, I am planning new Orleans...don't get discouraged by the hotel situation as that is as it always is. There will be b&b's, and other places...keep looking. Try quikbook.com and other sites. Also, some people rent out their homes for fest so look on the nojazzfest.com site as well or craig's list. We'll get everyone a place to sleep. It may be a mad slumber party (even with the husbands) at our house if need be. I am very excited about showing everyone around and we're going to do some incredible dinners...more to follow.
So wanderings, musing and all...want to find a way to stay in New Orleans and not to have to work anymore. Just want to write. Seem to get too tangled into life to break free of what those responsibilities are that hold me back.
Sabbatical in three years. Will I last until then?
I havent posted because I've had the cold thing for two weeks (cough still a pain in the ass), slammed at work per usual and trying to finish my book so all else goes to the wayside. I had this trip planned because it's my friend Jack's 87th birthday and I wasn't going to miss that. (The idea being that we would show up for his funeral so if you're not going to show up for his birthday while he's alive...what kind of friend are you?)
We celebrated here yesterday, house full of people, Debra cooked for us (you will all taste her fabulous creole food) and we drank a lot of champagne. Yesterday and the day before were gorgeous, clear crisp, then it started getting muggy and we knew the storm was approaching. I hear thunder as I type.
I am happy to talk politics as I did a bit when we were at Betsy's. I am sick of politics that points fingers, that accuses opponents of being disloyal or terrorist or whatever. Debate is what made this country and we need to be able to get back to the debate table and talk about difficult subjects without resorting to name calling, accusations and passive aggressive politics. We need to believe that compromise is a good thing, and consensus -- no matter how difficult, brings the surest solution (my book is about this).
Thus, my candidate is Obama because he is trying and I think succeeding in promoting an open discussion without belittling anyone. I read his books, I gave him the max contribution, I have met him several times, and I think he's a rock star. For the first time in years, and maybe in my life, I found someone I can stand up and cheer for, who makes me excited about the system again and about being involved.
That said, I also know Edwards and met him the last time around. I'm a lawyer so I have already a certain pigeon hole I put him in (he's a plaintiffs' trial attorney and I'm usually defense)...I think he's a good guy but lost his crediblity last time and like McCain, is having a hard time regaining it.
For the conservatives, Huckabee is the guy trying to make it happen -- and in my mind he's also a more concilatory politican, although I don't agree with his stance in many ways, I just want more debate. I feel oppressed by the current atmosphere of people refusing to discuss because the sides are at each other and too far away. My entire law firm are Hillarites -- mainly because one of my partners is married to Harold Ickes, if you anything about insider politics...he's running Hillary's campaign. Another partner is a national chair...I smile politely with them but they all know I'm a die hard Obama fan.
Lastly, the book is nearly completion -- I think over thanksgiving I'll have enough time to finish and get it out to my first round of readers (the cops, the FBI agent, etc.) for veracity. What I really want to do -- and I've been going through all my writing in my garrett because we're renovating the house and I need to move everything -- is finish my poetry book. Been writing little, but reading others more with huge envy for the loveliness of the writing. Anybody out there ever read any HD?
There's a night program for an MFA in poetry...am considering it...sounds crazy, doesn't it?
In the meantime, I am planning new Orleans...don't get discouraged by the hotel situation as that is as it always is. There will be b&b's, and other places...keep looking. Try quikbook.com and other sites. Also, some people rent out their homes for fest so look on the nojazzfest.com site as well or craig's list. We'll get everyone a place to sleep. It may be a mad slumber party (even with the husbands) at our house if need be. I am very excited about showing everyone around and we're going to do some incredible dinners...more to follow.
So wanderings, musing and all...want to find a way to stay in New Orleans and not to have to work anymore. Just want to write. Seem to get too tangled into life to break free of what those responsibilities are that hold me back.
Sabbatical in three years. Will I last until then?
Sunday, October 21, 2007
Who are we thinking about voting for?
The blog seems to go a long time between postings. So, at the risk of breaking Emily Post's rules about avoiding politics and religion in polite conversation, I want to know what all of you are thinking about the presidential election. I am ready personally to endorse Edwards. There, I have broken the ice.
Sunday, October 14, 2007
the sardine festival
Bert & I did something fun yesterday...we went to the Aberdeen Sardine Festival. I thought it might be a serious thing, but it was all tongue-in-cheek. The Sardine Queen rode in on a fire truck. If you wanted food, you could get sardines (of course), RC colas and moon pies (famous southern delicacies). They also had a local history museum and a petting zoo on the grounds. The whole thing was so silly it was a riot! Getting ready to watch our Panthers, who are pretty bad since our QB Jake Delhomme is injured.
Love Cindy
Love Cindy
Saturday, October 6, 2007
Farmers Market
Mimi and I went to the farmers market this morning - our Saturday tradition from May to November when we are both in town. It was loaded with heavy vegetables today - giant zucchini, pumpkins, butternut, broccoli heads, and a motherlode of tomatoes, peppers, cukes, and onions. This time of year, you can arrive late and not miss anything, unlike April and May, when you have to be early to get the asparagus. We never fight over the last of anything; for one thing, she is fast and strategic, and for another, I am not as driven. She is better at picking out the best stand for things - finding the sweetest cherry tomatoes or tenderest beans. I generally look for the cheapest organic stuff.
A wonderful part of the tradition is coffee and conversation afterward. We used to go to local indigenous coffee shops like the Daily Grind or Runcible Spoon, but we have devolved to Starbucks - both because it has driven out others and because her kids like it. She routinely brings home a tray full of elaborate drinks for the boys. Mine drink tea that I import mail order through British Express.
Today, she observed that our fifties are like our twenties in some ways. She said we look around and are more open, exploring the world and our place in it. In our twenties, we think about how we will make our mark; in our fifties, we think about whether we have and if there is still time to. This seemed to connect to Victoria's last post.
My own time line had the premature focus on law school and law practice in my twenties and thirties. I did explore things in my late thirties when we moved here, and Mimi is right about my experience of our fifties. Part of the pattern may be the enforced focus on children for those of us who have them. As they leave, we are free again to think more about ourselves as agents in the world and less as serving needs at home. Her metaphor was head down contrasted with head up, and that also feels right.
Love, Lisa
A wonderful part of the tradition is coffee and conversation afterward. We used to go to local indigenous coffee shops like the Daily Grind or Runcible Spoon, but we have devolved to Starbucks - both because it has driven out others and because her kids like it. She routinely brings home a tray full of elaborate drinks for the boys. Mine drink tea that I import mail order through British Express.
Today, she observed that our fifties are like our twenties in some ways. She said we look around and are more open, exploring the world and our place in it. In our twenties, we think about how we will make our mark; in our fifties, we think about whether we have and if there is still time to. This seemed to connect to Victoria's last post.
My own time line had the premature focus on law school and law practice in my twenties and thirties. I did explore things in my late thirties when we moved here, and Mimi is right about my experience of our fifties. Part of the pattern may be the enforced focus on children for those of us who have them. As they leave, we are free again to think more about ourselves as agents in the world and less as serving needs at home. Her metaphor was head down contrasted with head up, and that also feels right.
Love, Lisa
Friday, October 5, 2007
Morosely Menopausal
After 2 bumpy months I'm kinda blinking at the sunlight. As some of you knowlate this summer one of my boys struggled through a mess involving some buddies of his and some, uh, let's just say "hot" merchandise....there was a near miss with the law, angry parents, shame and not a little retribution on John's part. Immediately after that my oldest son, Joe, had an ugly and embarrassing break-up with his finacee, which caused me a few buckets of tears. So I've put off running for Mother-of-the-Year.....again.
On the upside (thank God there's always an upside) we settled John in at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton and, though he still lands here on weekends, he is making his way as a freshman. Zach started his sophomore year at Jupiter Christian School, taking honors stuff, including microbiology, (which he is ace-ing, the kid's scary-smart). He splits his time between his web-life, volunteering at a wildlife sanctuary, an independent science project on the effects of household disinfectants on pseudanomas originosa (something that can actually croak you)...I thought Mimi would be amused by that one.
Arnie is toiling away at his job with little relish, wishing that he could retire. But thanks to my spending habits for the last 28 years, that ain't going to happen. He's still good at what he does, but he, like anybody our age, has realized that time is getting a little shorter and there's other stuff he wishes he could do. Go figure. However, we are solvent and the house is paid off, so life is not bleak. But I need to get a grip or at least contribute....neither prospect seems appetizing to an inveterate (i.e, spoiled) homemaker.
Joe is starting to recover from his hall-of-shame breakup with Katie and has thrown himself into his job with Enterprise Rent-a-car (where he was already doing mad hours). As a result he's still the darling of his district, bagged yet another promotion and plans to work himself slap to death through the holidays. After bunking with us for a month he's now sharing a townhouse with two buddies and I think they are exploring their tiki-bar decorating options. After all, girls, this is Florida.
So now there's me, drifting along the pitching currents of menopause (hot flash, anyone?) and a virtually empty nest - a woman without a country and reeealllly tired of rearranging my furniture. I have been hanging out with a relatively new set of girlfriends who have been kicking my ass to do something with myself now that I "have the time" to act on some of my more creative impulses. Evidently they think that I am funny and could do something reasonably professional about it. So I have begun writing small stuff for my christian buddies to see if I can get them to snort with laughter. If not, I hear there are openings al Wal-Mart.
It's taken a long time to get over just being "Doug Kenney's sister". But, armed with a load of prayer and a few hits of caffeine I'm about to stick my toe in the water.
On the upside (thank God there's always an upside) we settled John in at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton and, though he still lands here on weekends, he is making his way as a freshman. Zach started his sophomore year at Jupiter Christian School, taking honors stuff, including microbiology, (which he is ace-ing, the kid's scary-smart). He splits his time between his web-life, volunteering at a wildlife sanctuary, an independent science project on the effects of household disinfectants on pseudanomas originosa (something that can actually croak you)...I thought Mimi would be amused by that one.
Arnie is toiling away at his job with little relish, wishing that he could retire. But thanks to my spending habits for the last 28 years, that ain't going to happen. He's still good at what he does, but he, like anybody our age, has realized that time is getting a little shorter and there's other stuff he wishes he could do. Go figure. However, we are solvent and the house is paid off, so life is not bleak. But I need to get a grip or at least contribute....neither prospect seems appetizing to an inveterate (i.e, spoiled) homemaker.
Joe is starting to recover from his hall-of-shame breakup with Katie and has thrown himself into his job with Enterprise Rent-a-car (where he was already doing mad hours). As a result he's still the darling of his district, bagged yet another promotion and plans to work himself slap to death through the holidays. After bunking with us for a month he's now sharing a townhouse with two buddies and I think they are exploring their tiki-bar decorating options. After all, girls, this is Florida.
So now there's me, drifting along the pitching currents of menopause (hot flash, anyone?) and a virtually empty nest - a woman without a country and reeealllly tired of rearranging my furniture. I have been hanging out with a relatively new set of girlfriends who have been kicking my ass to do something with myself now that I "have the time" to act on some of my more creative impulses. Evidently they think that I am funny and could do something reasonably professional about it. So I have begun writing small stuff for my christian buddies to see if I can get them to snort with laughter. If not, I hear there are openings al Wal-Mart.
It's taken a long time to get over just being "Doug Kenney's sister". But, armed with a load of prayer and a few hits of caffeine I'm about to stick my toe in the water.
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