Saturday, October 30, 2010

Today was a good family day, including a ride with Liam and Ruth on a little train with a Halloween themed tunnel. It is newish, an engine named Sophie, not far from the house. We all enjoyed the short hill country ride in the open train on a mild bright fall afternoon. KK has all homework done so she won't have to think about it on Halloween. Bob is a little better each day with regard to his sinus infection. I wish it would be gone already.

Friday, October 29, 2010

the local "Boo Zoo" Halloween event with young family friends and K.K. with her daddy for the night. KK is so big! I remember when she, then each of her brothers, was the baby or toddler we took to "Boo Zoo" I felt a little sad being out of the "Boo" loop, but this morning KK and I had fun dressing not quite in costume but in Halloweeny clothes for the last pre-spooky woek/school day. I love it that she wore one orange earring and one black. I love her sense of style. I love it even more that she thinks its fun to dress up with me. I feel more than a little sad that I won't see Danny, Zachary, and Andrea this Halloweenbut have enough perspective to know how fortunate I am to have had them right here so long and close still. In the costumey trend, My friend Beth and I made fall crowns for ourselves today, feathers, beads, stones set on elastic covered with ribbons. They really turned out pretty. I'm wearing mine as I type.

My mood is obviously better than the last couple of days, though Bob's job is still tough and he is in the midst of a sinus infection. He is a little better today and had a less terrible school day. I am feeling the shabbat freshness more than last week and am putting the concerns of making enough enough .

My life trucks along in the midst of an Internationaal Terror alert with some
antiSemites in Ymen mailing explosives to synagogues - deeply distresskubg,

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

I keep falling behind with this blog, and I hate it. This is a crazy fall, ups and downs. I worry about Bob in his school, such a tough placement for him and such tough lives for the many of his students- toughness resulting in toughness, pain being used to pass on pain. I worry about our world, so much self-centeredness of so many kinds. It seems like there is so little I can do to make life better for anybody, and yet each little action is an action.

Friday, October 15, 2010

it's been a hard week, work frustrations for Bob and sadness over a friend in trouble for KK. It's odd how much I write about Shabbat on this blog, but truth is it's an anchor for me, especially tough weeks. Tonight Bob and I were the only ones at the table at sunset and we decided to light the candles and make the blessings anyway, and it did geel good, like peace descended. I should sleep now and hopefully write more that makes more sense tomorrow.

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

I'm having a terrible time just sitting down to blog here and I hate it, so much is going on. It's time to resort to bullets again, I think. Let's see what I can do in fifteen minutes befre my first client arrives.

- Living in a multiple generation household continues to be glorious for me. I wish more families would try it without economic necessity or the sense of anybody having failed. It just feels so much more connected for me than the nuclear family every generation to itself way. There is more work (dishes, laundry, logistic decisions, but also more hands and minds to apply to everything), more points of view, not to mention the joy of the kids, the huggles and snuggles from Liam, the chance to see KK bloom academically, personally, and as a dancer. I love being part of a household in which I can be helpful and receive help. Maybe it's the antidote to my happy enough but somewhat isolated years as an only child.

- KK is living in her little house, though the inside is not finished. She adores it and adore spending time out there with her doing homework, organizing, or just chatting - very peaceful. Chris is working on the wiring today and completion is seeming part of the near, not distant future. It is working out great for KK to have her beloved cat Dinah with her in the little house.

- The magnet arts academy at McCallum had an open house last week and KK, Bob , and I were all drop dead impressed. The kid has to audition, but they are still building the dance thread and looking for dancers, so she should get in easily. Her pre-audition workshop is in a couple of weeks.

-Bob has a tough class, especially his afternoon group, and is tired and sometimes discouraged by both their out of control behavior and the lack of interest in learning, but he's hanging in. I help out in the class on Monday afternoons and tutor the refugee students, which is getting easier and more fun.

- KK very generously is sharing the coupons on the backs of old ballet tickets so I can go to Zumba class with her FREE at least once a week. I adore Zumba. I don't jump as high or move as fast as the younger dancers but I have every bit as much fun, even when I still get left and right feet mixed up. Getting to the gym is hard since I can only go as Bob's guest and he's so worn out he doesn't go much. We will get that back, but I will try to keep Zumba, which is a huge joy, with the lively international rythyms and the chance to just bust out and move.

- I'm having fun with the online poetry world, getting acquainted with the work of other poets and hearing their impressions of my work - feels good. If you are interested in this part of my life, check the And Now Poems blog.

- Visiting Joanna's family in their new home and celebrating her birthday was great. The house is small and simple and missing some amenities I have come to take for granted, like a dish washer, but it works for them. Jo has done a good job pf making it homey fast. The boys look and sound great. Danny especially likes his math and science teacher. Andrea is utterly darling and seems to remember me, or at least is very generous with kisses. She takes after her mother and wants the same books read over and over and OVER AND OVER. Joanna says it's payback.

- Time for clients now, but I think I did pretty well for 15 minutes. More later.


-


Wednesday, October 06, 2010

Picture perfect almost fall weather here. As mornings progress toward noon I can feel the heat of sunlight from the east and the cool breeze from the west at the same moment - a lovely between sensation. K.K. is between too. Last night she and Bob and I attended the open house at the performing arts high school she will probably attend - seems great with a real dance major. The high school students in the arts academy performed beautifully and also were pelasant to talk to, grown up. it reminded me of my old California high school in attitude and excitement. K.K. felt it too, and was happy to see several of her Ballet Austin and school friends in attendance. This afternoon Ruth and Liam and I went to a pumpkin patch which has been held for years by a neighborhood church. I was taken by the varaiety of pumpkins - not only traditional orange in many sizes from tennis ball to doll house, but bright red bumpy, and orange and white striped pumpkins and some green and slightly flattened. There were also gorgeous swan gourds, which are new to me and truly resemble that bird in a number of positions -(various from gourd to gourd). Liam delighted in the pumpkins, found the discipline not to climb the piles or use them as balls. Ruth taught him to "place" the pumpkins gently back down after holding them, and with a little practice that took. We let Liam buy one little fifty cent pumpkin for himself . I gave him two quarters and he took his quarters and his pumkin to the table where a sweet church gentleman negotiated the sale, which he and Liam sealed with a handshike. I love watching the civilization of the children, the ways they learn the rules and traditions of our culture.

Monday, October 04, 2010

My life feels like I'm working triple shifts, with home and family life, work, and personal writing and reading and being. It leaves me late with blogging, but I am still really happy with the way it feels. I feel fifteen years younger because my life, with kids in the house, is fifteen years younger. It's great, but I don't always notice the passage of days. I respect Mommy bloggers who keep up the pattern of regular blogging - can't be easy. At this moment I'm about to go off to Bob's school to tutor the refugee children, which is going well buit stretches my ability to think of images and draw them (how do you draw a river in ten seconds and get the meaning across?) Happy item is that Bob, KK, and I visited Joanna and her family in San Antonio yesterday, and I feel good about the way they are pulling life togetehr there in the new house - small, but liveable. Fresh fall weather is very much upon us, and Ruth and Chris did three wonderful meals in the sukkah. (I do know the holiday is over but the season isn't and we are continuing to enjoy our lovely sukkoah. The instructions on the kit joked that it is required to be down relatively soon which some people interpret as "by Channukah". We'll beat that deadline, but we're still enjoying our little shelter under the stars.)