Mom OD

We recently had my daughter's school musical, and both my mother and mother-in-law were staying at my house for a few days. The experience is ... interesting? ... invigorating? ....exhausting? .... frightening? Probably a little of each of these.

Look, I love and respect my mom, but ... it's kind of like the weirdest people you know are your friends. By that, I mean, they aren't really weirder than anyone else, it's just you know them better, so you notice their idiosyncracies. With family, it's like that times ten. There's always a struggle with parents as you get older - they never quite see you as an adult, they never can quite stop parenting. You (or at least I) get annoyed ten times quicker than with anyone else - the old, "crap-I-can-see-where-this-is-going" eyeroll kind of thing. Add to that a huge fear you'll turn out to be everything you hate about your parents and ... well, let's just say that's an awful lot of emotional overhead. And I haven't even mentioned the guilt-wrapper this all comes in.

I just hope I don't make my kids as crazy as my mom makes me - but I'm pretty sure I will. *sigh*

(By the way, my daughter is the wolf in the upper left corner - I'm so proud.)

Things That Make Me Smile

My daughter got me a little figurine for Mother's Day that says "I've found my happy place." (Yes, it's kind of based on the line from Cheers, and yes, that really is a picture of me .... sorry). Anyways, in honor of Mother's Day, here's my immediate list of things that make me happy:

1. A new episode of Lost (yay Tuesdays)
2. My girls winning their soccer game (bonus points if they played well)
3. A cool, fall-like day when all I have to do is read
4. A new book that I get into from page 1
5. Key Lime Pie Martinis from PF Chang's
6. A clean house (somewhat lame, but there you are)
7. A new Doctor Who episode
8. Seeing the curtain rise on a new Broadway show
9. Getting a book signed by one of your favorite authors
10. Introducing a friend to a good book

So what makes you happy?

Shall We Dance ...1-2-3

My older daughter has been going through the trials and tribulations of ballroom dancing in gym class recently. Initially, when I asked her about it, it sounded like things were going great - she seemed to enjoy it and had no problems finding a partner because she took it somewhat seriously, unlike a bunch of the girls who just giggled when they had to it.

I found out today that they are having their test soon, and she's really concerned. Seems as though she's been having trouble finding a partner lately. When I asked what happened, she hemmed and hawed around until she finally admitted it was because she had a nasty habit of leading. Apparently, if the boy is shorter than her (which most of them are - she's 11 and already over 5 ft tall), he takes too small steps which annoys her. The ones that are taller aren't very coordinated and tend to lead her into the bleachers, so she got sick of it and started leading. I have to laugh because she is totally my daughter in this regard. I don't really dance, but letting someone else take the lead because that's what you are supposed to do wouldn't sit well with me either.

The most amusing (to me at least) reason for her taking the lead - she was bored. She finally found one guy who was about her height and not a bad dancer, but she got tired of him leading so she took over. Apparently, they decided to share taking the lead. Now she's worried about what kind of score she'll get on the test - particularly if she starts to lead. Hee. (I know, I know, I'm finding this waaaay too amusing.)

Lit: A Memoir by Mary Karr

I'm slowly working through the books I got last year at Book Expo, and since I panned "Worst Nightmares," I feel I have to take the time to heartily recommend the book "Lit" by Mary Karr. The book is the third in a series of memoirs of her life. I haven't read the first two, but the third stands on its own merits. It relays Mary's turbulent adult years, from alcoholism into faith.

Her new-found in G-d does play a major role in the story, but what I enjoyed was that it was a real faith. So many books that contain elements of faith either mock beliefe as for the weak-minded or make G-d sound like a personal genie who will instantly solve all your troubles. Mary's book takes a stumbling, disbelieving trek towards faith. No, it doesn't immediately make her into Saint Mary (in fact, one of the things I like about the book is that she never gets close to sainthood - she remains a real person, warts and all, throughout the book). But it does have a profound effect on her life, one that any real person should be able to relate to.

Her path is meandering but definitely worth the read.

Winning the Lottery ...

No, I haven't. I've purchased a few tickets and matched a whopping one (count'em one) number once. And yeah, with the lottery around $260 million, I played again. I guess I play once in awhile so I can play the "What if" game - you know, "What if I really did win?" (and before you worry about my sanity, no, I'm not counting on winning.)

Anyway, I was just tossing the idea around in my head. What would you do if money was no object? What if you didn't have to work? What if you could spend as much as you want on whatever you want? How would your life change?

The interesting thing to me is that I don't think my wants are all that outrageous. I'd like to start a small bookstore. I'd love to get name authors in my area so kids could see there are real people behind the books they love. Maybe get one of them to do a writing seminar for tweens and teens. I really do love books and would love to spend the rest of my life around them.

As for anything else? I'm actually pretty happy with the way things are. Sure, it would be nice to not worry about losing my job or how to pay for the kids' schooling (or ok, do a bit more traveling), but on the whole, I'm really just looking to maintain the way things are. Oh, and maybe start an awesome small bookstore that focuses on teens and tweens.