Family
Let me set the record straight before I begin. I love the whole season from the first breezy, blue day that Fall arrives until Christmas Day. At least I love the idea of what I want those days to be. But something strange happens and time seems to speed up towards the end of the year. I have a calendar and know what to expect, but I was caught by surprise the other day when I walked into a winter wonderland of holiday cheer..the first week in October. Ho, ho, noooo!
I packed up my truck and waved goodbye as I drove back down the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains under a bright blue September sky. The radio was off and a cd was playing, I don’t remember which one, as I was musing about the family I had seen for speech therapy. There were 7 kids, all home schooled by mom, a work at home dad, and a fully stocked basement including 2 generators ,all hidden away on a secluded couple of acres. The kids were incredibly well behaved and polite, and I thought their survivalist lifestyle was a bit odd, but it seemed to work for them. “Why would anyone want to live so far away from civilization?” I wondered. That questions was about to be answered in an unimaginable way. A ringing cell phone brought me out of my thoughts to the sound of my best friend sobbing into the phone. All I could catch were snippets, “planes, crashed, New York, terrible.” Key points telegraphed in a message that I couldn’t understand until much later that day.
After packing and re-packing three times, I was finally down to a reasonable two suitcases for my youngest son and I and a hanging bag stuffed to within an inch of the zipper’s capacity. Which dress makes me look skinnier? Which pants have a looser waistband to wear home? Ah conundrums, how I love you! I shoved in extra strength sunscreen, Tylenol and recounted the cash in my wallet for the adventures that awaited us on the apptly named Dream. Visions of island hopping, fruity drinks with frilly paper parasols and a golden tan danced in my work addled head. We would be cruising with my parents, my brothers, sister in laws, three little boys under six (hence the Tylenol) and my uncle with his long time girlfriend.
Continue reading about Changes in attitude, changes in latitude…
Saturday was miserable in Atlanta. Rain, wind and tornado watches ruined any outdoor activities for the day. So when Sunday dawned with blue skies and sunshine, I knew it was time to head to the great outdoors. My parents, Eric and I drove to downtown Alpharetta after lunch to stroll among the Streetfest booths. Eric, my youngest, was in a cranky mood and the art show didn’t help. He whined that we were walking too slow. He sighed, loudly and often, when my mom and I would stop to look at jewelry for more than five minutes. I don’t think my dad was too happy to be there either, but he was smart enough not to complain out loud.
Today is my birthday. I have been told that I am older than dirt. It started Friday at school when I walked into a teacher’s class at the end of the day. The kids were watching “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang” and snacking on popcorn to celebrate the end of CRCT testing week. One of the little boys brightly told me that Mrs. Robinson, their teacher, had mentioned that her mom loved this movie when she was a little girl. He then went on to say, in a loud voice, that the movie came out four years after Mrs. Robinson’s mom was born, in 1968. Mrs. Robinson’s mom was only four years older than ME???? While I was reeling from that little tidbit, the chatty little boy put the nail in the coffin, “1968! That is really, really old.”
NBC recently launched a series based on one of my favorite 80′s movies, Parenthood. ( http://www.nbc.com/parenthood/) I started watching a few weeks ago and have totally become hooked. The storyline centers around the Braverman family and the siblings,spouses, children and significant others floating in and out of their lives. The dramedy includes intersecting story lines about a child diagnosed with Asperger syndrome, working mom guilt, a single mom with two difficult teenagers and a Peter Pan brother who recently found out he has a child. This newly minted dad was asking his older brother for advice, while cleaning up the mess his son made in his very cool car. “How does this work? What is parenthood about?” he asks searching for the upside of being a dad while wiping up vomit from the leather seats.
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