Since Matilda turned four months I've said to her You know Tills, tomorrow's a big day! We're gonna try your rice cereal! And she says OH MOM! REALLY AND TRULY?!?
And then it is tomorrow. Tomorrow morning fades into afternoon, which drifts into evening, and before you know it I'm throwing people into the bath (Yes I meant throwing! Picture it now!), shooing folks off to bed, and cozying up with the laptop to compose something for posterity. To let my fingers do the talking in all this lovely white blank space before Mitchell invariably becomes jealous of the relationship I'm carrying on with the Internet and I give in to the SHUT IT DOWN chanting. Hugh. You'd think shouting HOW WAS YOUR DAY?!? over the din at the table and a few shoulder shrugs as a response would be enough to sustain our bond as a married couple. Damn. What DOES that man want from me???
Bottom line: even I'm starting to think I look like a big fatso liar.
So I say once more TOMORROW. Tomorrow Matilda, we will try your first solids darling! Tomorrow you graduate from boob juice to boob juice and grains! Num Nom Nom Num. Lip smacking good!
Frankly you all, I don't think our little Miss Scarlett gives a damn about this momentous change to her diet. Either that or she's taken the I'll believe it when I see it attitude pervading this household. Don't lose your faith in me Tillie Billie! Tomorrow's your big day....I think.
Yeah. I'm pretty sure.
~
Last night, I went to bed around 10:30pm expecting 8 + hours sleep and a good start to 2010 but my neighbours across the road decided I should vicariously party with them. They let off fireworks in the street around 11.30 and then continued to party on their front porch until about 4am..... they must have been fairly liquor-lubricated to continue partying in the sub-freezing temperature.
So ... 2009 has closed for business. After taking into account all the credits and debits of my year my balance sheet has finished very solidly on the credit side. I have a job and I got to go home for my first Christmas (and summer!) since 1999 and I witnessed my eldest son's wedding.
I haven't made New Year Resolutions since I was a teenager and realised that few lasted past the middle of January, but I do reflect on the year just passed and think on ways I could make going forward better.
This morning, feeling tired and grumpy, I gave some thought as to how I could ensure I see many more January 1st mornings - strangely, those thoughts turned to conjuring up ways to get rid of the neighbours!
Ah. A new year. I'm sure you expect me to write something about that, correct? The Reinhart 2009 year in review. My reflections, summations, final thoughts. The goods. The bads. How we spent our time ushering in the start to a new decade.
Well shoo, me too. It's only appropriate considering this is New Year's Day. Duh.
Except I wasn't quite sure how to package it all for you. What tantalizing tidbits and whatnots do I throw in your gift basket before sealing, wrapping, and placing a huge bow on the tippy top?
Before addressing it:
To: The Internet
From: Your Bestie, SHR
Before finally pushing SAVE sending this gem on it's merry freaking way?
Most often all it takes for some thoughts to come together is time spent on autopilot in the car. Imagine that. All it takes for me to think is a little quiet. Now, knowing what you know about my life, imagine how much of it is spent NOT thinking...clearly. For better or worse the ideas for this post came about from a trip Leo and I took to Jimmy John's earlier today. Two ideas circled to the forefront. I'd like to say it was three instead of two. People like things coming at them better when in threes, but what can I do? Recreate the sandwich run?
Just keep moving along through this post with me, please. Or don't. It's whatev. I'm in that kind of mood.
First, let me back back back it up a bit. As much as I love all things December, remember? I'm glad to see this one go. Little White Whale is not the place to go into the why of that. I've decided those reasons fall just outside the boundaries for topics of conversation here. Now you're probably like Huh? Sarah you'll openly talk about your boobs, your period, the conceptions of your children... but not why the end of your year flat out sucked?
I know. Shocker of all shocks, I do keep some things private.
Now in doing my best to enter 2010 a happy girl these are the two things that came to mind as mentioned above.
1. My first experience traveling abroad. The summer between my junior and senior year of college I spent the summer in Florence, Italy studying art history and world literature. I will never forget wandering through the busy Tuscan street markets thinking all my life all of this has been going on. Of course I knew it, but to SEE for myself. It's a small world after all is bullshit. I have never felt so unimportant and insignificant as I did then. But in a good way. The world isn't about me, or my family, or Louisville Kentucky or Miami University or what I want to major in--it's about all these people collectively. Talk about eye-opening. My eyeballs should have fallen out then and there. Rolled under a vespa or something. In that instant I shed my mopey, angsty, bulimic college poet persona. I stopped feeling so sorry for poor ol me with my best of everything. Quite frankly, Sylvia Plath and Anne Sexton were my idols no more.
Lesson for 2010: It ain't about you sister. Lest I should forget--I have so much. So f*cking much. Now be thankful.
Then I started thinking about...
2. My great-grandmother Fidelis O'Donnell. That's pronounced Fi DAY lis. A beautiful name for an equally beautiful woman. She died in 2005 at 99 years of age. NINETY-NINE! Quick as a whip and smart as a tack up until her very last day. I enjoyed visiting with her, listening to her stories in those last few years. I marveled at her happiness. I'm not kidding when I say the woman found joy in a cup of hot tea. Here she'd outlived everyone she ever loved--her friends, her husband, both of her daughters--and yet she still wanted to be a part of earth. To read every newspaper known to humanity every day. To pay attention to all the details that make a life special and to remember them decade after decade. I sat with her selfishly hoping a smidge of all that might, of all that perserverance, of all that optimism would transfer to me somehow.
Lesson for 2010: Carry on. Choose to be an active participant in the world. Find happiness in whatever your cup of tea may be.
M'kay?
Oh, and dance, people. DANCE. Dance like you're wearing a chicken suit at a New Year's Eve glow stick party and no one's watching. Even though everyone is watching. And taking lots of pictures.
And as often as possible feel as comfy cozy and at ease as if you're snuggled up in your jammies on a couch with your friends.
Wishing you the very best in 2010.
and I will be in bed before it gets to midnight.
The first of the year will come around whether I am awake or not and I might as well face 2010 well rested.
I'm having my champagne and chocolate now and I'm going to spend the evening sorting through my Australian photos imagining myself back in the warmth of the southern hemisphere.
This is really an answer to the Question of The Day on: How will I be ringing in the New Year which I've seen others post .... but I never seem to find the QoTDs myself.
Anyway, to use an expression I heard a zillion times today, see you next year.....
Once upon a time
a goose drank wine
a monkey chewed tobacco
on a streetcar line
the line broke
the monkey choked
and they all went to heaven
on a billy goat.
For some reason, this little ditty (I Googled it and found out it's a jump rope song from the 60's) knocks Gus flat out for naptime. Could it be the routine of rocking in the glider, rubbing his back, and singing that makes his eyelids go all droopy? Or do you think it's the sweet words themselves? A rhyme that involves drunken disorderly animals tragically meeting their untimely demises?
Yup. That's what I thought too. Gotta be the latter. The monkey and the goose wear me out as well.
What?
Inappropriate? Too silly?
In the end the animals went up instead of down, no? Guster appreciates the message--vices are somewhat tolerated. These two crazy friends probably repented and were saved, yes? What's that... better to ask for forgiveness than permission? So some rowdy fun is allowed. And God is laughing at us more times than with us, I imagine.
**************************************************************************************************************************************
The sweatshirt was a gift from the Goose's Mimi. Mimi is the one who used to sing this song to me. As you can see it stuck. Perhaps Goosey will pass it along to his babe one day.
~
If I don't post these now the New Year will be here... I took these around the Ryde area in Sydney. With so much light around their own homes I wonder if they even notice any New Year's eve fireworks. I can't imagine how annoying it must be to try to sleep next to a house flashing like these - and I'm very glad I don't have to pay any of their electricity bills! (although pretty I am of the opinion that this is quite a waste of power!).
I love the alien Santa in this one:
Happy New Year to all my neighbours who, due to various timezones, will start their year (and hangovers) before I do........
Sometimes I'm overcome by the urge to freeze ordinary moments in time and thus race from room to room trying to locate the camera, which is inevitably stashed very high up (lest it be mistaken for a toy). I return hoping to remain as inconspicuous as is manageable. It's hard though. I'm always spotted rather quickly. I'm told there will come a day when my mere entrance into a room isn't reason enough for my children to celebrate GASP! MOM! You're BACK!
For now, I must say, it's really, really nice.
~
Well, what an attractive bed partner I made last night! Thick, black & aqua striped knee high socks; old lady flannel nightie over the top of two tourist-type tee shirts and snuggled under two quilts. I considered putting a scarf around my neck but thought I might roll over in the night and choke myself.
Bundled up as such I survived the night in a house with no heating - though the morning trip to the bathroom was not pleasant. A lot of hot water was used in a fairly futile attempt to warm up the bathroom before I disrobed. It was in the 30's when I left home this morning with a brutal wind making the "real feel" about 16 F - I think it was about the same inside the house!
The manservant got to stay home and wait for a repairman who arrived at the promised time, took one look and said the electronic ignition system had burnt out and could be repaired for $250. As the manservant does not feel the cold like I do, I half expected him to tell me that he had then contacted another company to come out and give a second quote! Fear for his life was greater than the fear of an overdrawn account and I came home to a lovely cozy house.
It's so hot in here now that I could almost believe it's warm enough outside to have a bbq! Here is my son getting the barbie ready on Christmas Day:
We had fairly good flights in spite of the new airline security arrangements and arrived back in Washington DC late Saturday night. I went to bed pretending that I had just had a big social night hoping that would help me get back into the time zone quicker. I'm not sure it worked as I still needed a big nana-nap yesterday afternoon.
First day back at work today and by 3pm I was wishing for a little lie down. It's a three and a half day week this week as we close early on Thursday - a nice re-introduction to a full week. I was not so thrilled at the bitterly cold winds this morning and I've come home tonight to find that our heater is not working!!!!!!! I'm going to have to go to bed now to stay warm.
Last images of Sydney taken from the plane - a cloudy take-off: (I wanted to also take photos of our arrival in Los Angeles but we were not allowed to have any items in our laps for the last hour)......
While we were in Australia, Washington had a 17" snow fall ...... this was all that was left on our top deck yesterday, one week later:
What happens when your actor brother from the Big Apple comes in town to celebrate the holidays and readily admits I don't know how to relate to children ???
You round them all up of course. Shout GROUP PHOTO WITH UNCLE TOMMY!!! Begin piling them onto the couch beside him. Shove one onto his lap. Try to tuck this one up into his armpit. Quick! Quick! Quick!
I'm not sure who's more freaked. Uncle Tommy. Or any one of my three children. Picture taking is torture, I tell you. Pure torture. I'm going to stop threatening with time outs and instead say, Okay ____________, you do that one more time and it's a portrait session for you!!!
Thanks for being a good sport brother of mine. Safe travels back to NYC. XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX !!!
