Is Life worth It?

This was the question of the day.  She, talking about her dead grandfather and her mother pondering...

Here is a quote from Kate Braestrup, the  tail end of a blessing she wrote:

"Let the shadows flee, let that miraculous moment breathe, let the joy rise up you like the flowers of flame from the sacred earth on which you stand"

and here is Willie Nelson, singing: "Gravedigger" Sorry about the annoying ad that plays, but the video and song are worth a listen.

Mom has Cancer

Here are my two nephews, running around and having a super fun time on Thanksgiving. I noticed they were anxious when they weren't rambunctiously playing every time they noticed their mom wasn't in plain sight. They would scream and cry out "mommmmmmm", when they noticed she wasn't around.

I feel the same way now that my mom has cancer. I went for years just seeing her every so often, knowing she was fine, and just "running around" living my life. Now I see her, struggling with cancer and the treatments and it makes me feel a little like these kids....

"Mom! ......."

Napping

I just read a sweet article by

Cathleen Schine 

about napping which reminded me of so many things. I was recently napping on a summer afternoon, and thinking of being a child napping on a summer afternoon, with the lawn mower and the smell of grass and gasoline exhaust coming in the window, and cool cotton sheets. You can read the article here

The Boundaries of a Breakup

Facebook and how to get or lose your "friends"...interesting article. Ok, it's an old article, but I just found my note on a scrap of paper, and wanted to share it here in November....so here it is!

College and Quidditch

Really, I heard that there was a "sports" team at the local high school that plays this imaginary Harry Potter game, kids running with their (flying) broomsticks between their legs. The girls that made the announcements in the morning were scolded for giggling when announcing this sport and their practice times.

Now, I am reading the New York Times and this article from Lauren Edelson, from Portland, Oregon, mentions the disturbing phenomenon.

Shopping and Real Beauty

This is the most wonderful thing I've seen recently. I was in a shop, women looking at sale racks, men rushing past, looking tired, and in the midst of this swirling retail therapy, this little princess was looking at her image in the mirror, adjusting her tiara, and twirling. I recalled my daughters asking when they were this age, "How does the new dress twirl?"

That was the measure of an excellent dress, one that flew all around you when you spun.

Murketing

Rob Walker writes for the New York Times. He writes about marketing that works now. You can hear him interviewed here on a radio show...



Consumers. Identifying with ads, identifying with what we own, buy, desire...interesting thoughts.

Knitting

My mom and my grandmother taught me to knit when I was 6. I remember the metal knitting needles and the red yarn. I knit really tight, so when I pushed the ends of the needles my fingertips soon hurt. I knit a red scarf. I quit knitting until I was a teen, when I knit a sweater, but left in all my mistakes...it was a homely sweater. Fits and starts and many unfinished projects later, I recently knit a baby sweater for my nephew. It was pleasing to make (so small) and cute once I sewed it together. Here is a little photo of Wyatt, propped up on the couch wearing it: