BRAIN, n. An apparatus with which we think that we think.
~Ambrose Bierce, The Devil's Dictionary

Sometimes a thought just gets into my head or something happens that makes me go, “Hmmmm!”

So I’m putting laundry away and see a pair of my daughter’s socks. They both have holes in them! Garbage! Then I wonder, does anyone darn socks anymore? Will my young readers know that “darn” is something other than a mild euphemism? Hmmmm.

One day my daughter was playing cards and one fell out of her hands. It landed on its edge right between the space of the wood floor! Had she wanted to do that on purpose would it have happened? Hmmmm.

I’m sleeping and dreaming, dreaming that I need to go to the bathroom. I’m using different restrooms but I still have the feeling that I need to go, no matter how many restrooms I go to. Then I wake up really having to use the restroom. Am I the only one dreaming such things? Hmmmm!

I know I’m not the only one to whom this happens but, why do I find things I am not looking for when I do not need them but cannot find something when I do need it? And when I find the thing I was not looking for at the time I did not need it, but days later I do need it, where is it? Hmmmm!

It happens all the time I start to wash dishes; my hands are wet and soapy and all of a sudden my nose starts to itch! Allergies? Someone’s idea of a practical joke? A spell? A sign that I should tell my husband to do the dishes? Hmmmm!

I was chopping onions one day and the knife slipped out of my hand and fell. It landed with its tip embedded on the floor ...right next to my bare foot! I believe things happen for a reason but the point of this was? (Pardon the pun!) Hmmmm!

“No, no, you're not thinking, you're just being logical.”
~Niels (Henrik David) Bohr

 
I only know one song that the Dixie Chicks sing and I don’t like it that much: Landslide. As a matter of fact, when it plays on the radio I switch stations. However, that is my choice. “I” don’t like the song so “I” decide to listen to another station. I would not want for the radio station to make that choice for me and at this moment I am glad I don’t live in Texas.

So the Dixie Chicks stated “an opinion,” in a concert in London, that they were ashamed that our president was from Texas. After that comment from the female group, many radio stations in the Lone Star state decided not to play any more of the Dixie Chicks’ music! It seems that in Texas you are not allowed to be anti-Bush.

The irony seems to escape these people! How is banning a group’s music because you are offended by their comment, in a country that is supposed to encourage free speech, different than, say, a dictator saying no one is allowed to oppose his way of thinking? Dissent being unpatriotic is exactly what Hussein is all about and the reason we are there! That comment against Saddam would have resulted in death. In Texas? When did Texas become its own country and abolish the First Amendment?

I have a couple of friends that are Bush fans. I am not one and I opposed this country attacking Iraq. With one of them I know not to talk politics, with the other we have great talks and yet we never get riled up or feel offended. However, I seriously doubt that my friendship with these people depends on how many anti-Bush comments I can chalk up or keep to myself.

Had the radio stations not played the Dixie Chicks music from the beginning would have been “free speech” but to ban the music for a political comment made is not. This is my blog and this is my opinion!

"To announce that there must be no criticism of the president, or that we are to stand by the president, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public."
~Theodore Roosevelt

 
My daughter is very lucky. She has many friends and they are all wonderful people. I care for all of them, but she has one friend that is her special best friend, Alicia. Alicia is the sweetest, most loving, and caring friend and I love her very much, so much that I consider her my second daughter.

They met when they were six years old and in first grade. They have been very close since and their friendship deepens year after year. Alicia has the most wonderful sense of humor. She brightens up the room when she enters it with her contagious smile. She is also my daughter’s most bouncy friend. Yes, Alicia can be very hyper. She is my Tigger. That is who she is and how she is loved.

I cannot write about special memories and not have plenty of stories of my other daughter. I will start with the famous “Jello” story.

I used to take care of her after school. I would let the girls have a snack that would not interfere with dinner. I thought Jello was a safe snack so I decided to buy some because I could not make it in time for when she got home from school. I bought every child’s favorite... cherry.

I should have realized that with Alicia safe is relative, and Jello is also a..... toy! Why did I give her a spoon? Eating Jello with their fingers must have been funny because my girls were having a wonderful time laughing and bouncing on the chairs. I also learned that day that Jello is stubborn. It refused to stay in the container and refused to be eaten by her. It kept falling on the table. It fell on the chair. It fell onto her clothes. It fell on the floor.

The next day I noticed specks of red on my white walls. What was that? A closer look proved to be.... Jello. That spunky, wiggly dessert found its way onto the wall!

A week later, the light was flickering. I looked up to give it the evil eye. What was that mark next to the light fixture? On the ceiling? No! Could it be? Yes, yes it was.

Last month Alicia told me, “You know, I've noticed that you haven’t served me Jello ever since I was seven.”

Sweetie, next time you come over the Jello will be waiting. You can paint my ceiling in specks of red anytime!

“...... and it suddenly turned into Tigger; a Friendly Tigger, a Grand Tigger, a Large and Helpful Tigger, a Tigger who bounced, if he bounced at all, in just the beautiful way a Tigger ought to bounce.”
~The House at Pooh Corner

 
There was a nip in the air this morning when I drove my husband to the train station. I am not complaining. It is just that we had beautiful spring weather this week and I liked it. So I was wondering what happened to spring? It came and the warm breezes seemed to kiss me and embrace me, and like a greedy lover I want more!

Don’t get me wrong, I love winter. I love coming home after being out in the cold. I love the warmth and coziness of blankets and the idea of hearty meals you can only have in winter, like stews. But this winter was exceedingly cold and snowy. We mostly had temperatures in the teens and single digits. We had a lot of snow, which I love, but it had been so much for our part of the world that it was lingering even after the warm temperatures of this past week. As a matter of fact, it has been so cold I thought I saw polar bears wondering the streets of Long Island! A beluga and a narwhal whale were swimming in our pool! Honest! It was that cold this season!

So, yes, I am ready for warmer weather. I am ready for verdure. I am ready for daffodils and lilies and the fragrance of flowering gardens. I am ready for the gentle breezes to blow my curtains through open windows. I am ready for the first mowing of the lawn and the smell of freshly cut grass. I am ready for the smell of cement when it gets wet from the sprinklers. I am ready to wear only a light sweater. I am ready to start grilling. And yes, I am ready to start swatting pesky mosquitoes!

"Just living is not enough," said the butterfly, "One must have sunshine, freedom, and a little flower."
~Hans Christian Andersen

 
Some of the most amazing moments in my life have involved birds. Something as simple as going with my daughter and feeding ducks to scenes that I can never forget and have left me with awe.

One of those times was when we were living in Australia. Our friends invited us to go for a drive along the Great Ocean Road in Victoria. The views from this curvaceous road were amazing. My daughter, just turned one, was getting motion sickness so we pulled over at an over-look area. I couldn’t believe the beautiful sight. We were looking over some forest area. All of a sudden my little girl points towards the trees and I look up in time to see a flock of cockatoos in flight. There were a couple dozen white beings with yellow crested heads flying across the horizon. I could not believe that we were in Australia to begin with and then this! Amazing!

Another moment was here in the United States, in Ohio, to be exact. My daughter, ten at this time, was (still is) into birds of prey. While living in Indiana, we were told of a pair of nesting bald eagles in a small town in Ohio called Florida, just outside another small town called Defiance. We drove the hour from Fort Wayne to Defiance and drove to the area were the nest was. It wasn’t hard to find because there were about four other cars parked and the people were standing around looking towards a tree and pointing. There it was! The largest nest I have ever seen! And on it were the two bald eagles! We weren’t there more than five minutes when the male took flight and circled the nest. Wow! To see my daughter’s favorite raptor was an incredible feeling! We kept watching the male until he was out of sight and then we looked at the nest. The female was there with her two fledglings! What a blessing! Amazing!

A funny moment with a bird involved a seagull. We were at a beach barbecue with some friends. As many of you know, these birds have a keen sense of knowing where there is food and the beach is a great place for them to find something to eat. Well, this time was no exception.

Our friend Ricky was grilling salmon steaks on one side of the grill and hotdogs on the other. He turned his back to the grill for one second and down swoops a gull and carries away a hotdog! All the kids were laughing. Ricky shoos the gulls away and turns his back on the grill once more. Down flies the same gull and this time swipes a salmon steak! Now the adults join in the laughter. But are we laughing at the gull’s cleverness or at Ricky’s misfortune! Amazing!

I have plenty of memories involving birds. From watching a bluejay mom teach her young one to fly in our backyard, to actually seeing a kestral attack a sparrow in mid-flight, to having a Northern flicker wake us up at four in the morning with his “brrrrrrrrrp brrrrrrrrrrrrp, brrrrrrrrrrrrp,” and putting indentations on the vinyl siding of our house.

I love birds. We have two as pets, a cockatiel, Guy, and a canary, Wu. Our backyard is home to cardinals, a woodpecker, bluejays, nuthatches, mourning doves, chicadees, and others. Soon we will have the robins eating worms from our lawn. I look forward to seeing them, especially after a very cold, snowy winter.

Now if someone can let me know if flicker induced holes in vinyl are covered under our home insurance policy!

“I hope you love birds too. It is economical. It saves going to heaven.”
~Emily Dickinson

 
Yesterday I decided to sleep in late so I got up at eight in the morning. I took an extra long shower in very warm water. I decided to let my daughter sleep late. She woke up at 9:30. There was no rush to start our day. I had decided it would be like that.

At 2pm I drove her to her music lessons, one hour of piano and one hour of flute. At 4pm I picked her up and drove her to her Tae Kwon Do school where she helped the instructor until 8pm and then took her lesson.

While she was at TKD I went to buy toothpaste, tissues, and cold medicine.

At 9:15 my daughter came home and had a small dinner. She proceeded to get on the computer to "Instant Message" with her friends. She also wrote a couple of lines of her story.

I called my sister to wish her a happy birthday and we chatted for close to an hour.

At 11pm we were all in bed. I opened the book I’m reading, Twenty Years After, the sequel to The Three Musketeers and read for an hour.

At midnight, as when I woke up, I said a prayer for the innocent people in Iraq and apologized for what our country is doing to them and their country.

See, for us, there was no interruption of our daily lives.

“One is left with the horrible feeling now that war settles nothing; that to win a war is as disastrous as to lose one.”
~Agatha Christie

 
A while back, I can’t remember exactly when, my mother was feeling a little blue. She was reminiscing about the time we were all little girls. Her thoughts wandered to a time when she loved making our clothing, cooking for us, taking us to the park or the beach, and just taking care of us. She was so nostalgic and soon a couple of tears rolled down her cheeks. She made me wish I could turn back time just for her. My sisters and I love our lives and she is happy for us, but one of us is in Texas, another in upstate New York, two hours away from me, in Long Island. I couldn’t help thinking that day how orca whales always have their offspring with them... for life.

So I thought and wished, with love only, that in her next life she could come back as an orca whale. And that is how I started the “next life” wishes. Here are some I have thought of. I will write about other people in my life as they come up.

~My mother: As I mentioned, an orca, for the reasons stated above.

~My husband: A platypus. It is his favorite animal and I believe he is as silly and remarkable as this Australian monotrene, an egg laying mammal. (there are only two in the world, the other being the Echidna, also Australian.)

~Louie, my brother-in-law (my husband’s brother): A seahorse. He is a wonderful father dedicated to his two girls. I believe he is more of a mother to them than their mother. The girls want to be with him and it is a great thing he has custody of them. I wish for him to give birth to his young which the male seahorse does.

~Connie, my sister: An African termite. She has a great love of children and would have had as many as she could have. These termites give birth to 30,000,000 “babies” a year and also play an important ecological role, recycling nutrients from dead wood and improving soil fertility. She would be a great mother to them all!

I would like to take this opportunity today to wish her a VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

~David, my nephew: A cheetah. When he was younger, he imagined he could run as fast as a cheetah, the fastest land animal in the world. (A peregrine falcon is faster reaching speeds of 200 miles an hour diving or stooping.) I can hear him now: “Nyah, nyah, you can’t catch me.”

~Diane, my niece: An American Pit Bull Terrier. She loves dogs and especially loves these. She knows how to care for them and knows they really are misunderstood and can be a good family pet. But I’d like her to be a bull terrier in a home with someone who cares and loves them as much as she does. Please visit her and her husband’s website: Canine-Comrade, Inc.

~Daniel and Angela: Siamese kittens. These two siblings are so close. They have so much energy and are extremely playful. I cannot see them separated in the next life so in my wish they won’t be. They can be as naughty, playful, and adorable as Siamese kittens.

"God generates beings, and sends them back over and over again, till they return to Him."
~Koran

 
Today I will write about some of my friends.

Liz: I’ll start with her, not for any particular reason except that she may pout if she is not the first I mention.

We personally met Liz at the Star Wars convention in Indianapolis last May. My daughter had already met her on the internet, like I mentioned in yesterday’s blog. We were to recognize her by her short, blond hair and a red top she was wearing. Yup, that narrowed it down to a few thousand! We were to find out about her hilarious, quirky sense of humor as we got to know her. Her personality is as sunny as her hair color. We all took to her instantly so we invited her to visit us in New York.

She stayed with us for three weeks and we had the best time getting to know her while she got to tour the city. She is an ardent musical lover and got to see a few Broadway shows. We accompanied her and saw the Lion King and Thoroughly Modern Millie in one week. She saw others. She kept us laughing with her way of being and would spontaneously entertain us singing songs with her lovely voice. I don’t know her parents personally, but I can say that “my Jim and Judy” are the nicest people I have not met... yet! No wonder Liz is such a great person!

Liz enjoyed New York and toyed with the idea of moving here but, alas, she went back to her home in itty, bitty, Muncie, Indiana.

McCourts: The other day, Friday the 14th, to be exact, my husband and I received a sad e-mail. Our dear friends, the McCourt’s, are selling their home and moving to Florida. While we are happy for them, we are sad because they are a part of our lives and we will miss having them within a 20 minute driving distance. Looking on the bright side of this situation, maybe we can vacation with them in the future and spend another memorable holiday season with them. I usually host Thanksgiving dinner but this past year I opted not to and accepted the McCourt’s invitation to spend Thanksgiving and a traditional Italian fish dinner on Christmas Eve with them. Annette is of Italian descent, in case you were wondering about the last name. I am so glad to have done so. We had one of the most wonderful times with them. I will miss our barbecue dinners and our brunches. I will miss John’s wonderful sense of humor and Annette’s tenderness and kindness.

Maria: She and I met because our daughters (only children, as a matter of fact) became friends when they were attending the same pre-school when they were both three years old. Our daughters are best friends and my husband and I are close friends with her and her husband, John. We have wonderful times just talking about everything. We share the same political views which make for great conversations. Her father is also a wonderful friend. We have seen our daughters grow from being adorable little pre-schoolers to fantastic thirteen year old girls. We have not missed any of our girls’ birthday parties. Maria, John, and Teresa are wonderful people and we are lucky to know them and count them as our dear friends. God willing, we will attend our girls’ graduations, weddings, and the baptism of their children.

“Some people come into our lives and quickly go. Some stay for a while and leave footprints on our hearts. And we are never, ever the same.”
~Anonymous

 
If you ask my “Princess Leia” what the highlight of her life has been so far, she will probably say it was meeting Anthony Daniels, C3P0, in person, twice, but especially in Indiana. I have a picture of him with my daughter taken at the Brooklyn Museum of Art, and another taken at the Star Wars convention in Indianapolis.

The trip to Indianapolis was wonderful. My daughter was not told of the trip until the day we were to leave. She had to play her flute for a judge that same day and we felt that had she known in advance, she would not have performed well out of sheer excitedness. My niece was with us and my daughter believed she was there for moral support since she had experience performing at NYSSMA, (New York State School Music Association). This was my daughter’s first time. While they were gone, I packed the car. My niece had known of the trip for months. How she did not burst from not telling is beyond explanation. When my daughter was told, and after she stopped crying, we all scrambled into the car, zeroed the odometer, put on the Star Wars soundtrack, noted the time, off we went.

The level of euphoria from the back seat was contagious, a natural high. Armed with printed schedules of the activities to be enjoyed at the convention, the girls were planning how we would make the most of our three days there. They were properly dressed with their Star Wars T-shirts, caps, and lightsabers. What self-respecting Jedi would leave home without one?

I had prepared sandwiches and drinks, plus we had bags of chips that had Star Wars characters on them; we also had yogurt packaged in glow-in-the-dark tubes made to resemble a lightsaber. The only thing missing to complete this most healthy fare was blue milk from Tatooine.

My husband did not want to make the twelve-hour trip to Indianapolis all at once so we stopped overnight in Ohio. It was easy getting the girls up early the next day considering they could hardly sleep with excitement.

Our road trip continued. The girls kept a diary of the mileage, the times we stopped and where, and the cities and towns we drove through. We drove through six states. They kept busy by reciting the movies; singing along to both Weird Al’s spoofs of the movies and my husband’s parody of NSync’s “It’s Gonna Be Me.” They were practicing their “Ewokese” and “Klingon”... oh, wait... wrong movie!

They were also very excited because they were going to meet a couple of friends that they made on a Star Wars site that were also going to the convention. They could not have been any more excited had they been set loose in a toy store/candy store and told to choose anything they wanted for free.

Being at the convention, after waiting hours on line in order to get into the center, was thrilling. Many people went in costume. It was impossible to see and do everything, but we managed to see and do most of it. The line to buy the special “convention only” Jorg Sacul figure would make any Disney visitor cringe in fear. We managed to get ours after a three-hour wait. Yes, it was worth it. Everyone was in high spirits and many friendships were made just by waiting on line with fellow Star Wars fanatics.

The concert by the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra was incredible. It was amazing to listen to the Star Wars music live! There was a show, “The Star Wars Trilogy in 30 Minutes,” that was hilarious and superbly done. The words of the movies weren’t changed but the pace and how it was performed was superb!

We did not get to see Carrie Fisher but we did have the honor of seeing Anthony Daniels again. He decided to walk up and down the line of people waiting to get inside. What a wonderful, funny guy!

We left Indianapolis with dozens of pictures, souvenirs, and memories. We even met one of the girls’ internet friends and made a lifetime friend in Liz, whom I have since “adopted” as my daughter.

The trip back home was just as exciting. The girls had even more to talk about. My daughter started to write a Star Wars book. By the time we arrived home, she had written fifteen pages of which she has 87 pages to date. What a way to end a wonderful five-day adventure!

“The world is a book, and those who do not travel, read only a page.”
~Saint Augustine

 
One day, when I was 14, I found a four-leaf clover. Wow! How lucky could I be? How much luckier would I get? I gently plucked it and carefully carried it home, not taking my eyes off it. I didn’t trip or fall so its luckiness must’ve been working, I thought. I arrived home safely. I gently placed it on a tissue and neatly folded it. I placed it in a safe place; under my lamp on my night stand. The next day it was going to be pressed and framed.

All excited, in the morning, I took the tissue and carefully opened it. Empty! No four-leaf clover! Only a tiny bit of soil from the roots! Humph! Some lucky clover! Was the lucky part finding it in the first place?

I hadn’t given that clover a second thought until today, it being St. Patrick’s Day. But as I write this, I can’t help believing how lucky my life has been. I have a wonderful husband and a precious daughter. I have the respect of those friends whom I love and respect in turn. The nice home and endless photographs of my travels pale with knowing everyone I care about and love is safe. I have a deep faith and trust in God. Oh, wait....

I haven’t found another one since. Four-leaf clovers? Who needs them?

“Good luck is often with the man who doesn't include it in his plans.”
~Anonymous

 
I have a picture of my husband from our wedding day. He is all decked out in a handsome looking black tuxedo, shiny new shoes, and a black cape looking so... like Darth Vader! He actually put on a mask he owned. He didn’t wear it to the church or to the reception, but I wish he had. It would’ve added one more charming detail to an already perfect, perfect day.

My husband has been a Star Wars fan since ‘77. We would watch the movies and he would recite the scripts word for word. He was such a big fan, of the first two movies to be precise, that I suggested that if we ever had any children we could name them Luke or Leia.

Now my daughter, not named Leia, much to her chagrin, is an avid Star Wars fan as well. She calls herself Leia and her friends do too. She left her dad in the dust in her knowledge of all things Star Wars! She can also recite the movie scripts verbatim. For years my husband had been trying to get her to enjoy the movies but it wasn’t until 1999 that she finally became a convert when my niece, Cristina, gave her a Star Wars book to read. Her world now is the Star Wars universe. She has a myriad of toys and figurines. Her bedroom could pass for a mini Star Wars museum. She has read about 85 of the books and is also on the last chapters of a book she is writing; Star Wars, of course.

I enjoy the movies but am not obsessed with them, but the memories because of the saga are some of my favorites. I have enjoyed watching my husband and daughter play with the figures, making up the story as they went along, the soundtrack playing in the background. When she giggled and laughed along with her dad, I engraved the moments in my heart. I love listening to them have discussions about everything Star Wars. I love watching them sit next to each other and play video games. I love listening to her play the music on her instruments.

The wealth and fame of the movies have probably exceeded George Lucas’ wildest imaginations. What he didn’t know was how his creation would affect many people. So to Mr. Lucas I say, thanks for all the memories!

“The Force will be with you.... always!”
~Obi-Wan Kenobi, A New Hope

 
peeve, n.
1. A vexation; a grievance or source of aggravation
2. A resentful mood.

I haven’t had one of those “I’m gonna scream my head off!” moments in a while, mostly because I don’t watch television and I don’t get to hear our president talk. My peeves are few, but the ones I have make me want to scream my head off or better yet, scream until someone’s head falls off.

Have you ever walked into a movie theater and sat down only to have someone come and sit right NEXT to you? It’s not like there aren’t any more seats available! For crying out loud, the theater is 90% empty! Argh!

When I see people flinging cigarette butts out of their car window or tossing empty gum wrappers on the floor, I want to zap them into oblivion. What is that all about? Do these minuscule pieces of garbage really weigh too much to carry to the nearest trash can? Argh!

Commercials. Enough said. Then people wonder why our family doesn’t watch television. We won’t even go near the topic of the quality of shows. Argh!

People who chew gum with their mouths open annoy me. Do we really need to see and hear them? Maybe Singapore has the right idea by outlawing gum. Argh!

My next peeve will probably bother my dear friend, Liz, because she actually likes Bush. The way I feel about our (cough, cough) leader is separate from my feelings about her. I will end this peeve by noting a few “Bushisms” as my ending quotes. Dubya! Argh!

"I am mindful not only of preserving executive powers for myself, but for predecessors as well."
~Washington, D.C., Jan. 29, 2001

"I think the American people — I hope the American — I don't think, let me — I hope the American people trust me."
~Washington, D.C., Dec. 18, 2002

"I'm hopeful. I know there is a lot of ambition in Washington, obviously. But I hope the ambitious realize that they are more likely to succeed with success as opposed to failure."
~January 23, 2001

"It's amazing I won. I was running against peace, prosperity, and incumbency."
~June 14, 2001

“Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former.”
~Albert Einstein

 
I was just wondering..... When is Mel Gibson going to realize that he is madly in love with me and come to me? He is so lucky I am a very patient person.

Come to think of it, when are the following going to admit to being in love with me too: Andy Garcia; Tyler Florence; Bill Pullman; Jon Bon Jovi; and Ralph Fiennes.

"I am extraordinarily patient provided I get my own way in the end."
~Margaret Thatcher

 
Today I will continue and introduce the rest of my nieces and nephews; again, in age order from the oldest to the youngest. I will mention here that my sister, Connie, owns 50% of my nieces and nephews. I have three sisters, two of them have a boy and girl each; Connie has two of each.... fifty percent! I like to tease her about it. She knows I refer to her kids as the “gaggle”. She also knows I love them very much.
Julie is the mother of the two oldest kids, Diane and Reynaldo. Connie is the mother of Cristina, David, Willie, and Emily. Phew! Bertha is the mother of Daniel and Angela. Like I said, I love them all!

David: The words to describe him would be helpful and caring. He proved himself to be a gallant young man a couple of months ago. His sister, Cristina, was in very hot water with their mom (I must admit that part of it was my fault, but that is another story) and was grounded from using the computer indefinitely, a very big deal when you’re a teen. Knight-in-shining-armor David to the rescue! Now, I have to say, I personally didn’t witness this but everyone has confirmed its validity and I must tell the story. David approached his mother and advocated for his sister, thereby gaining her a pardon and the prized computer/internet privileges. This was very gallant and admirable in my eyes for he could have said nothing. The punishment would not have affected him in any way. Way to go, Dave!

Daniel: Happy-go-lucky little boy. Always has an impish smile and a gleam in his eyes. This story was told to me by my sister and is one to cherish.
My sister related that while she was in her bedroom, Daniel, seven at the time, ran in and explained that he knew when we, the world, were going to die. Knowing Daniel, she simply rolled her eyes but he was insistent. She stopped what she was doing to follow him into his bedroom for the proof of his reasoning.....the calendar. He turned the pages to December and pointed to the 31st.
“See, Mom, the last day! No more days after that. After that we will die.” When my sister told me this, it took a few minutes for me to stop laughing.

Angela: This little girl, with a heart of gold for everyone, especially her brother, will be a different child when Daniel starts dating. Daniel has been her playmate since she was born and they are very close. She loves him dearly and I have seen how she has suffered watching him play with someone other than herself. The time I’m thinking about was when all the cousins were at my house for a summer. Daniel, as well as all the other kids, was playing outside and having a great time. Angela sat inside, on the staircase, looking so forlorn, refusing to join in the play because Daniel was playing with Willie.

Looking into my crystal ball I can see that any girls Daniel dates will probably pass inspection with his parents. Angela’s inspection? Good luck, Daniel!

Willie: I didn’t have too much luck with the three youngest children of my sister, Connie, in that they did not want anyone looking at them, much less carrying them. Willie was no exception. Here was this adorable pudgy little baby that needed for me to hold and kiss him but I had no such luck. Until he was two and one-half! That was a memorable day for me.

I met my sister at the Museum of Natural History in the city. She with her gaggle, I with my Limited Edition. Willie was fascinated by the dinosaur bones as long as he was a very safe distance from them, and everyone else.

The timing must’ve been written in the stars because he was alone in his stroller as the other kids were viewing the bones from the second floor mezzanine. Willie wanted to see them as well so I cautiously approached him. When he didn’t cry, I reached for him. To my surprise, he raised his arms so I could pick him up! Wow! Not only did he let me carry him and talk to him, he didn’t even say a word when I planted a big smooch on his pudgy cheek!

Emily: She is definitely a little lady well aware of how much she is loved. My favorite moments with her are when her family stays at my house. I love when she asks me to feed her “beksis” (breakfast) or when she wants to help clean the canary’s cage. But I cherish the moments that she spends time standing on the sofa while my husband sits there and she grooms him with her play scissors and brush. To me she is Emi-ly, who is only one plus three!

“Children are living jewels dropped unsustained from heaven.”
~ Robert Pollok

 
This is my blog and I want to write about a Christmas story in the middle of March. I think we are always ready for a good Christmas story so here goes...

Once upon a time there was this adorable, dimpled, little four-year old girl. Her mother needed paper good supplies and off they went to K-Mart. At that time of year, even K-Mart was festive in all the red, green, and gold of the holiday season. Holiday lawn ornaments were neatly displayed in order to entice the shopper to imagine how lovely the fixtures would look in their yards and hopefully purchase them.
After selecting the items for purchase, the girl and her mother waited on line. Without saying a word, the little girl walked away from her mother towards the nativity sets. The mother, not wanting to lose her place on line decided that she’d keep an eye on her daughter. The other people on line all looked towards her as well. The little girl skipped over to the Christ child and knelt in front of it. She put her little hands together and bowed her little head. The mother looked on at her with a knot forming in her throat. The lady behind her had a tear running down her cheek. The other customers bowed their heads as well. Those that were passing by stopped and bowed their heads as well.

After a couple of minutes, the little girl got up, skipped back to her mother and proudly announced that she had prayed to baby Jesus. She then hugged her mother. The mother, speechless, as were the rest of the people, just hugged her daughter in return.

On that day, even if for a moment, the innocence of a little four-year old girl reminded those of us lucky enough to witness this event, the true meaning of Christmas.

“Blessed is the season which engages the whole world in a conspiracy of love.”
~Hamilton Wright Mabi

 
Want to know what makes me feel old? I’ll tell you... Drew Barrymore, and For Better or For Worse, the comic strip. Celebrating another birthday every year and seeing my daughter growing into a lovely young teen hasn’t done it quite as those two.

Imagine going to the movies twenty years ago and seeing E.T. There she is, cute little Drew Barrymore making us laugh when she screams upon seeing ET. Fast forward a few years and there she is, getting married in The Wedding Singer! Hold on now!!! Not that much time has passed, has it? Even though I have a thirteen year old daughter?

I’ve been reading the comics since I was a little girl. Peanuts, Blondie, Family Circus, etc. The characters are the same ages now as when I was reading them as a girl. But along comes Lynn Johnston and her strip, For Better or For Worse. I first started reading it when the Patterson’s children, Michael and Elizabeth, were small kids. Now Elizabeth is in college and Michael is a father! Sigh!

Today, I share my love of comics with my daughter and one day she will remember that April Patterson and she are only ten months apart. She’ll probably realize how time has passed when April is having a child of her own. Drew Barrymore will shock her in the same way my generation is shocked that the Von Trapp children are in their sixties today!

I’m really not complaining. I have had a great life so far and am blessed with a loving family. My daughter keeps me feeling young and young at heart. And hey, I still enjoy reading the comics!

"Wrinkles should merely indicate where the smiles have been."
~ Mark Twain

 
I had my first potluck party on Saturday. It was a party for no specific reason except to enjoy the company of dear friends. Everyone brought a dish and all the food was delicious! I had a bit of everything. Ralph outdid himself with the trifle! Not to mention his Waldorf salad... and pasta dish! Oh, yum! Gordon and Christina’s jambalaya was out of this world! Lani’s vegetarian pasta was excellent! Maria’s Hawaiian chicken was absolutely delish! My mother’s chicken and mushroom dish is a favorite of mine. Danielle’s and Pete’s contribution, stuffed cabbage, her grandmother’s recipe, was so tasty! Angela’s broccoli bake and Jeannette's sweet and sour chicken.... I gotta get those recipes!

All the food and drink were great, but the company of over 40 friends was the highlight of the evening. A couple of friends arrived after dinner was enjoyed but the point was that they made it! Can we ask for more? Some friends were unable to attend due to the fact that they live in another state, like Indiana and Texas. Another friend, Mark, was interviewing schools in California for his doctorate.

We all had a great time. We have to do this again soon. With all of the leftover food we could have a couple more parties!

“I am thankful for the mess to clean after a party because it means I have been surrounded by friends.”
~Nancie J. Carmody

 
Who’da thunk it! I still can’t believe it! I am still in shock! Why? Well, tonight Carlos is going to a Knicks game at Madison Square Garden! Shocking!

Carlos was in the city today when his best friend, Ricky, called to invite him to the game. I told Ricky he should call him on the cell phone. Then I wished him good luck because I didn’t think Carlos would accept the invitation. Later, Carlos called me to say he would go to the game tonight. Imagine my shock and surprise!

I would love to be able to see what he is going to do at the game. Unfortunately, he has a backpack full of new tech books he just got today. From past experience with Carlos and professional sports, the game loses. The last time he was at a game was about 16 years ago when we went to a Yankees game. We were sitting four rows behind the Yankees’ dugout and it was thrilling being there so close to the players. But did my husband even notice? No! He was very engrossed in his book.

Same thing happened at a Mets game. The score thus far: Books-2, Games-0.

"There are really only two plays; Romeo and Juliet, and, Put the darn ball in the basket."
~ Abe Lemons

 
If it is 11pm on a Sunday and you want to go to bed, don’t ask Carlos about Einstein’s Theory of Relativity, black holes, or time travel. Sorry, it won’t put you to sleep! Be prepared to listen to him explain how there really isn’t any pull or force of gravity but a warping, or curvature, of the spacetime fabric of space caused by the presence of matter. Huh?
My husband can lose track of time once he gets started on any topic of physics, genetics, or space science. He is like a little kid in a toy store; his eyes get this gleam. He speaks so animatedly and you’re transfixed, hooked. You even find yourself asking questions! By this time it’s probably 12am and you find out that this curvature affects the movement of matter through space, and we perceive this as gravity. This leads the talk to black holes and it is probably 12:30am. The last thing you want to know at this time of night....morning, is that black holes were once large stars that go through a supernova explosion then collapse and that they have so much concentrated mass that even light can’t escape it’s “gravitational pull”?

Wait a minute!!

But by this time it’s 1am and you’re tempted to ask one more question so you do.... Does anyone realize what time it is?

“I never teach my pupils; I only attempt to provide the conditions in which they can learn.”
~ Albert Einstein

 
I have managed to distract my daughter, temporarily, I’m sure, from the Star Wars movies. I am quite thrilled, actually. She has now become a big fan of my favorite action adventure/comedy films, the Lethal Weapon movies!

It hasn’t been easy to get her to love movies I like since I prefer romantic comedies. Oh, she enjoys them and we do have “chick flick” times, but what I was looking for was for her to “want” to watch a favorite movie of mine and ask me to sit and watch them with her. I have succeeded!

“I’m getting too old for this s***!”
~Roger Murtaugh