A Hidden Well

anyone?

Anyone interested in attending a coffee house / open mic with me on Friday night?  Normally I would drag Jack along with me, but he's opted to spend his Friday night at school with the Junior Classical League.  (As far as I can tell that's just a fancy name for "Latin Club".)  If I'm feeling brave I might actually read some of my poetry, which would be a first for me.  And there will be good music.  And coffee, tea, and snacks.  Any takers?

The cream makes the coffee

Today's Quote: "If I have learned anything, it is that life forms no logical patterns. It is haphazard and full of beauties which I try to catch as they fly by, for who knows whether any of them will ever return?" — Margot Fonteyn

I have 25 minutes before I need to get back in the car and go pick up Chloe from karate -- I swear I spend my life in that car -- so I'm going to attempt a quick update.  I am drinking a coffee from Dunkin Donuts as I type this, and it tastes heavenly.  It is my first coffee in ages, as I have largely given up coffee.  It's actually not the caffeine I'm trying to avoid, but the cream.  The fattening but oh so delicious cream.  I can't drink coffee black.  In fact, I can't drink it with milk either.  I can't drink it with anything other than cream.  The cream makes the coffee.  I've even tried fat free half and half, which does the job in a cup of tea, but just doesn't cut it in coffee.  In any case, I put in a major work out this morning (meaning I broke a sweat), so I figured I'd indulge. 

Working out . . . that leads me to the first item on the list from my previous post.  After talking about it for many months, we finally decided to join the Mansfield Community Center.  Glenn and I were looking for a place where we could exercise without having to rely on the cooperation of the weather.  I especially wanted to find a place that offers child care so that I can go in the mornings and bring Casey along with me.  And the kids wanted to be able to swim.  The Community Center met our criteria, so we took out a membership.  We're really enjoying it so far.  I love the indoor walking track, Casey enjoys going to the "play room", and the kids (especially Chloe, our mermaid child) love the pool.  I've yet to actually go swimming because that would require me to don a bathing suit, which is something I avoid if at all possible.  But I have to admit that it's tempting.  There is a warm therapy pool (heated to 92 degrees), which appeals to me a lot.  So who knows.  Maybe I'll bring my suit one of these days.

Let's see, what was next on the list?  Oh yes . . . FINALLY!  As in, I FINALLY did it!  I FINALLY did the thing I've been talking about (some might even say obsessing over) for years.  I FINALLY got my nose pierced.  I did it several weeks ago, on February 9th, a few days shy of my birthday.  I was just ready.  I was tired of thinking about it and researching it and writing about it and blah, blah, blah.  I decided that my wanting it was clearly more than just a passing fancy.  I'd wanted it done for years, and the only thing stopping me was worrying what others might think, and that's a pretty lousy reason to not do something.  So I chose a place to have it done, wrote the date on the calendar, and brought Suzanne along with me for support.  (I wasn't actually scared or nervous, but I was excited, and it just felt like the kind of thing that you should do in the company of a friend.)  Shelly was supposed to come, too, but unfortunately she was home sick with laryngitis.  For the record, it hardly hurt at all.  I have a little pink stud, and I really, really like it.  Oddly enough, as concerned as I was about what people would think of it, most people don't even seem to notice it.  And when they do, it's pretty much a non-issue.  I can't believe I lost years of sleep contemplating the significance of putting a tiny hole in my nostril.  Geez.  Next time I act like that will somebody please tell me to get a life?

I'm running short on time, so here are quick explanations of the remaining two items on my list.  Cello.  I've wanted to play the cello since about the age of 12.  I played the flute in a youth orchestra, but I always wished that I could be sitting in the strings section with a cello balanced between my knees.  (This may have had something to do with the fact that on the tv series Fame there was a character named Julie who played the cello. I loved that show, and I loved that the actress who played Julie, Lori Singer, actually played the cello in real life, and had in fact graduated from the Julliard School of Music.  In any case, my interest in the cello stuck.)  I've been trying to take better care of myself -- both physically and emotionally -- so, with some encouragement from Glenn, I decided it was time to pursue cello lessons.  Of course, I don't own a cello, so I'm renting one.  I have my first lesson tomorrow night.  (I've never even touched a cello, so other than the fact that I can read music, I will truly be a beginner.  Yikes.)

Last on the list, camp.  This one's easy to explain.  Suzanne asked if I'd be interested in leading a few camp programs this summer, and I agreed.  Actually, it's just two weeks.  The first week is a camp called Art Works.  It's held at the Y and is designed for kids in grades K - 3.  It's an ideal program for me, one I would have loved to attend as a kid, because basically we get to do arts and crafts all day every day.  We'll be making masks, sewing puppets, doing tye dye, creating nature books, all kinds of fun stuff.  Chloe will be attending, as well.  The other camp is an animal themed camp.  While I like animals, I'm hardly an expert.  But this camp involves taking field trips to three different zoos, and I can certainly handle field trips.  Although Chloe is crazy about animals, she won't be attending this one because there's another camp the same week that she doesn't want to miss -- Detective Camp.  I can't say as I blame her.  Detective Camp does sound like fun!  I love that the Y offers so many interesting and varied specialty camps.  (Jack's going to Star Wars Camp.)

Okay, time's up.  Gotta run.  Peace out.

I never claimed to be an expert on Czechoslovakian screenwriters

Today's Quote:  "I thnk age is a very high price to pay for maturity." - Tom Stoppard

Yes, Tom Stoppard, I couldn't agree more.  (Who is Tom Stoppard anyway?  Should I know?)  Okay, I just looked him up on Wikipedia.  This is who Tom Stoppard is.  So I don't feel completely foolish for not recognizing the name.  I never claimed to an expert on Czechoslovakian screenwriters, even those who are apparently famous and award winning.  As you may have already surmised, I don't really have much of anything to say.  Actually, there are some things I want to share.  But not right now.  It's late and I'm tired and I'm making an attempt to go to bed at a reasonable hour these days -- although it's already half past midnight which isn't all that reasonable.  Nevertheless, I'm going to put those thoughts on hold until I have more time to post an actual update, which as far as I can tell won't be until Sunday. Just to whet your curiosity, here is a list of (very vague) highlights:

• community center
• cello
• FINALLY!
• camp

Now if that's not a list that'll keep you eagerly checking back for more, then I don't know what is.  Ha.

Another thing I like about February . . .

making Valentines!

a poem by Mary Oliver

The Uses of Sorrow
By Mary Oliver
(In my sleep I dreamed this poem)

Someone I loved once gave me
A box full of darkness.

It took me years to understand
That this, too, was a gift.

Why I like February

Today's Quote: "Establishing lasting peace is the work of education; all politics can do is keep us out of war."  - Maria Montessori

• I didn't vote in today's primary because I am registered Independent, thus not allowed to vote Democrat or Republican. If I'd thought ahead I could have changed to Democrat, but of course I didn't.  In any case, if I could have voted, my vote would have gone to Hillary.  I really believe that she is the right person for the job -- and not just because she's a woman.  However, I'll happily support Obama, as well.  You've no idea how happy I will be when we can finally send George W. back to Texas.

• Here are three things I like about the month of February:  1.)  It is a short month.  (I'm not sure why that appeals to me, but it does.)  2.) My birthday is in the month of February.  Unlike some people who dread their birthdays as they get older, I still love to celebrate mine.  I may be older, but I'm still pretty darn happy to be here.  3.)  All the camp brochures come out during the month of February, and there's nothing I enjoy more than deciding where I'm going to ship my kids off to during the summer!  I'm kidding.  I do love perusing the camp brochures, but not because I can't wait to get the kids out of the house.  I just love camp myself, and so it's fun to look at all the different camp opportunities available.  It always makes me wish I could go back to camp.

• Last night I helped out at a phone-a-thon for the Y's annual Strong Kids Campaign.  Michelle asked if I'd be willing to help with some organizational components, and I happily agreed to that.  As long as I don't have to pick up the phone and ask people for money, then I'm more than willing to help.  Jack came along with me, and before long he had his own stack of pledge cards and was on the phone making cold calls.  The child is far braver than his cowardly mother.  I wasn't in the same room as him, so I couldn't actually hear him on the phone, but Suzanne tells me that he did an excellent job.  And he did manage to secure several pledges.  Not bad for a 12 year old kid.
• Tonight Glenn and I attended an Open House at the Montessori Magnet School.  We've put Casey's name in the lottery, and we're really hoping he gets in, but it's not likely.  There are approximately 340 applicants, and only about 40 openings.  Of the forty, only twenty are available to suburban students.  So yeah, I'm trying not to get my hopes up.  But after attending the open house, touring the school, and listening to a presentation given by the principal, I want Casey there more than ever.  The thing is, if your child doesn't get in the program at age three, then you're basically out of luck.  You have to begin the program at three years of age.  The only way a child might get in at an older age is if he is transferring from another Montessori School.  We'll know March 12th.

 

• Now I'm off to iTunes if I can download some acoustic Jacson Browne.  Tonight on the radio I heard an acoustic recording of him singing For a Dancer, and I decided I've got to get me some more Jackson Browne.

Is this not the cutest face you've ever seen?

I have to tell you, though, that I don't find him nearly as cute at 2 AM, and 2:30 AM, and 3:00 AM when he's wailing from his crib "I want mommy's bed!"