On Finding Fruit
This is the first Thanksgiving morning in many years that I haven't sat, in the wee hours, next to the glow of Christmas lights. Because of our daughter's family living in Florida, they always came early in the month, when flights were cheaper, so I always had to be completely ready to open gifts before my Thanksgiving turkey had fully settled in my belly. But not this year. No. This year, my daughter, and her babies, will join her sister and us on Christmas Eve, after first doing Christmasy things with us all through the season because they live here now. There has been no rush to deck these halls, or send myself into a buying and wrapping frenzy, and because of that, Thanksgiving...
Talent is Talent is Talent
I happen to be an Adele fan. I'm in really good company, as she's a worldwide superstar, and now, with the release of her highly anticipated album "25," she is everywhere, again, to all her fans' delight. With technology, the very best in sound and mixing equipment, the greatest record-making minds on the planet, and the world's finest musicians backing her up, you expect her talent to be refined to its very best. Truly, they can make miracles happen in the studio. But what about when she's performing in front of a live studio audience, being backed by musicians playing preschool instruments? Well, listen for yourself. I'd have to say that talent is talent, no matter what. What if...
More
Yesterday, I was sitting with Lilli on the sofa, while her brother was napping. We were chatting about everything and nothing, when she started to play with my wedding ring. It's a diamond solitaire sandwiched between two bands of smaller diamonds. "Mimmie, can I try on your ring?" Taking it off, I handed it to her, explaining which finger it went on and why. Hand out in front of her, so she could admire it like a newly engaged young woman, she said, "Can I have it, Mimmie?" "No, sweetheart. Mimmie wears that to show that I'm married to Papa. It's part of my promise to love him forever." Still hopeful, she said, "But Mimmie, all I really want is the one in the middle. You can keep...
Full
It's been a really good weekend. So good, in fact, that I realized as I fell in the bed, last night, that I hadn't written a single word in this place yesterday. And you know what? That's okay. Why? Because I lived a lot of words. Saturday, I donned my apron and I hung out in my kitchen from 7:30 in the morning, until 1:00 that afternoon prepping the dishes that would be Maddie's birthday dinner the next day. My babies arrived about then to stay the weekend, so while Brody napped, Lilli and I baked her cake. While all that was happening, Kevin and Maddie greeted a new group of special needs riders at the barn, with all their parents and siblings, for the taping of our first...
29
It seems absolutely impossible to me that 29 years ago today, I showed up at the hospital in the wee hours, and in full makeup, to become a mother. Only 23 myself, it seems I thought it would be a breeze and I wouldn't sweat and cry my makeup off before I needed it to look good for pictures. Now this little bundle has already surpassed that naive young mom (with the mascara under her eyes) by six years?? Crazy. My daughter, Maddie, is more comfortable in her own skin than a lot of young women I know. She is confident and self-assured, knows what she wants and isn't willing to settle for anything less. Introverted by nature, being in the company of her horses and dogs makes her heart...