this blog is about lots of different things, mostly it is about me- which is as it should be! (self-indulgence is awesome, no?)however, i don't think i need to review my year with you- you've been here all year, you know it's been kind to the mooklettes...
as a universe, i don't think the 00's have been great(unjustified war, torture, subverting the constitution, etc), and this year, in particular, has stolen a great deal of entertainers and others. so, i totally get everyone getting excited about the 10's...
in our little corner of the world, the 10's will bring a great deal of change and it is more than a little unsettling/thrilling. obviously, none of us know what is coming next, but life unfolds in some predictable patterns- sometimes...
by the time this decade is over, i will be turning 50, our kids will have gone to college and c. will be a teenager! along the way, there will be many more changes large and small to cope with.
no matter what comes down the pike, i will try to appreciate it in the moment and be thankful for the many, many blessings that come our way.
so, thank you for traveling this road with me- whether i've met you *for real* or not! i am a lucky girl looking down the long end of a new decade...
peace
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Thursday, December 17, 2009
grape Hi-C, pipes, beer in a goblet, and cribbage
my godfather passed away this week, and while i am joyous for him that he has found the peace that alluded him and that there was no lengthy illness, i just need to take a moment and recognize that a gigantic chapter of my life is closed.
aunt Bette and uncle Don are fixtures in my life. my mom's sis and her husband. my godparents. my faux grandparents, as i didn't really have any. unfortunately aunt bette died almost 20 years ago, and uncle don's passing bring back every bit of the anguish I feel at having lost her, too.
the thought of the house in richfield being empty after so many years makes me weep. it is the only house i have deep attachments to, as we moved homes so many times when i was young. i use to love sneaking out to the kitchen really early in the morning to have breakfast with my uncle.it was the only time i got to have grape hi-c.(the kind out of the metal can) i didn't love getting woken up early for Sunday Mass, but i did love the chocolate chip buckwheat pancakes that aunt bette made after.
then it was out to play in the back yard. if it was winter, they would rubber band bread bags to my feet to keep them dry. in warmer weather, there was a huge apple tree to explore and no fence around the yard to keep me in.
in later years, it was listening to wcco on the radio, playing cribbage and i still liked blowing out their matches from their cigarettes or from his glorious pipe- nothing smelled better than that pipe.
shortly after i started dating my husband, aunt bette passed away, but on my wedding day, i had breakfast with uncle don- just like always and he was there for visits as i started my own family. my kids remember him as the purveyor of lemon drops.
i have my godparents to thank for my love of reading, radio, erma bombeck and games, and a boundless love of a little girl.
that is what i'll remember
peace
aunt Bette and uncle Don are fixtures in my life. my mom's sis and her husband. my godparents. my faux grandparents, as i didn't really have any. unfortunately aunt bette died almost 20 years ago, and uncle don's passing bring back every bit of the anguish I feel at having lost her, too.
the thought of the house in richfield being empty after so many years makes me weep. it is the only house i have deep attachments to, as we moved homes so many times when i was young. i use to love sneaking out to the kitchen really early in the morning to have breakfast with my uncle.it was the only time i got to have grape hi-c.(the kind out of the metal can) i didn't love getting woken up early for Sunday Mass, but i did love the chocolate chip buckwheat pancakes that aunt bette made after.
then it was out to play in the back yard. if it was winter, they would rubber band bread bags to my feet to keep them dry. in warmer weather, there was a huge apple tree to explore and no fence around the yard to keep me in.
in later years, it was listening to wcco on the radio, playing cribbage and i still liked blowing out their matches from their cigarettes or from his glorious pipe- nothing smelled better than that pipe.
shortly after i started dating my husband, aunt bette passed away, but on my wedding day, i had breakfast with uncle don- just like always and he was there for visits as i started my own family. my kids remember him as the purveyor of lemon drops.
i have my godparents to thank for my love of reading, radio, erma bombeck and games, and a boundless love of a little girl.
that is what i'll remember
peace
Monday, December 14, 2009
ode to my running buddy*
...except it won't be a poem...i'm not that creative...
it has been 3 years since, in a fit of frustration at being heavy from having the baby & never having successfully run more than a block, i said i wanted to run a half-marathon.
exactly one person in the universe thought i meant it: kath.
in the time that has passed since, her faith in me has sustained me over thousands (literally) of miles, aches and pains, hitting the wall, and anytime that i lost faith in myself.
for real, she looked at me huffing & puffing away and told me i was awesome, that i could do whatever i wanted as long as just kept getting out there. on race days, she leaves me gu and gatorade, she made her hubby drive 30 mi to find body glide for me.during races, she helps keep my head in the game. when we don't run together, we text each other words of support.
most importantly, she saw in me what i certainly did not see in myself. words can really never repay my gratitude at her willingness to step up.
along the way something wonderful happened: no, it isn't all the weight i lost (i didn't) or the medals i've won (haven't- only finisher medals). it is something worth so much more and yet, invaluable at the same time: we became really good friends. we opened our hearts to each other, have seen each other at our best and worst, and talked through every single problem imaginable and laughed and laughed and laughed.
she is a gift.
- peace
*running buddy: actual person who runs with you, not the euphemism for, well, never mind...
it has been 3 years since, in a fit of frustration at being heavy from having the baby & never having successfully run more than a block, i said i wanted to run a half-marathon.
exactly one person in the universe thought i meant it: kath.
in the time that has passed since, her faith in me has sustained me over thousands (literally) of miles, aches and pains, hitting the wall, and anytime that i lost faith in myself.
for real, she looked at me huffing & puffing away and told me i was awesome, that i could do whatever i wanted as long as just kept getting out there. on race days, she leaves me gu and gatorade, she made her hubby drive 30 mi to find body glide for me.during races, she helps keep my head in the game. when we don't run together, we text each other words of support.
most importantly, she saw in me what i certainly did not see in myself. words can really never repay my gratitude at her willingness to step up.
along the way something wonderful happened: no, it isn't all the weight i lost (i didn't) or the medals i've won (haven't- only finisher medals). it is something worth so much more and yet, invaluable at the same time: we became really good friends. we opened our hearts to each other, have seen each other at our best and worst, and talked through every single problem imaginable and laughed and laughed and laughed.
she is a gift.
- peace
*running buddy: actual person who runs with you, not the euphemism for, well, never mind...
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
erma
"It takes a lot of courage to show your dreams to someone else."
i am not exactly sure why, but this time of year, i find myself thinking of and remembering erma bombeck. for me she is in a pantheon of women that i hold in very high esteem. this might seem odd, as i was never really part of her demographic, but her voice speaks to me, she moves me, she soothes my soul, and most importantly, she makes me laugh out loud.
i think i like her because she was honest about her short comings and wise enough to poke fun at herself before any one else could. she understood the value of getting the right line out there and making people laugh- she understood that it makes one powerful.
i admire her because she had her priorities straight and kept those priorities in order for her whole life. in other words, she did not bullshit. she made her choices, she owned her choices, and when it became crucial- she stood tall for the rights of other women to make their choices.
erma knew that women were made strong because they held the power that could change the world- they raised the next generations. she was wise enough to know that your husband could be a true partner and that raising boys into men counted as much toward equaling the playing field as raising girls to women.
i love her for honoring her marriage, putting her kids first, starting her career at nearly 40, for letting me know that coming up short is just the way it goes sometimes.
do you really know her story? do you know that she joined forces with other women and went on the road to try to get the ERA passed? do you know that she was an amazing daughter right to the end of her life? do you know that when she desperately needed a kidney, and could have used fame or money to secure one, she didn't?
as thanksgiving approaches, one the many things i will be thankful for is women like her who illuminate a path for those of us coming after.
"When I stand before God at the end of my life,I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and I could say,'I used everything you gave me.'"
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
favorite quote
in an effort to post more, and connect more often, just thought i would post one of my favorite quotes...
that puts the biggest damn smile on my face...
-peace
operation self-esteem; day fucking one
- elizabeth gilbert eat, pray, love
that puts the biggest damn smile on my face...
-peace
Saturday, September 12, 2009
this health care thing is making me nuts
our President came to the people and spoke the truth. the right's response? call him a liar. brilliant. why don't they just put their fingers in their ears and stamp their feet?
the fact that there are people elected to represent americans that are against providing those very people who elected them the same health coverage they enjoy is disgusting.
here is what i believe and, more importantly, what i am willing to pay for: health care for every american citizen.
enough said. peace.
the fact that there are people elected to represent americans that are against providing those very people who elected them the same health coverage they enjoy is disgusting.
here is what i believe and, more importantly, what i am willing to pay for: health care for every american citizen.
enough said. peace.
Friday, July 17, 2009
Why I am Troubled by Patrick J. Buchanan
...and you should be, too.
An open letter to Patrick J. Buchanan
Dear Mr. Buchanan:
I'm writing you this letter, which I will forward to MSNBC, because I find your presence on television to be so disturbing that I can no longer be silent. After watching you for too many years to count, whether it was on CNN, McLaughlin Group or currently on MSNBC, I have become increasingly concerned about the hatred you carry for others and freely put on display, as though other people's lives are some sort of esoteric game and the kind of rhetoric you both write and verbalize has no effect.
You, sir, are a Catholic and yet, seem to violate our most basic tenets for sport. The whole "Do onto others as you would have done onto you" concept seems completely lost on you. You, sir, are Jesuit trained. You have been taught to think, to question, to articulate, but also to consider the least of your brothers, to be concerned about social justice and to accept all people as God's own children.
In spite of the exceptional training you received, you seem to have spent your life turning your back on it. I have no quarrel with genuine conservatism, but hatred of others disguised as conservatism is morally bankrupt. Your recent attacks on the ability of Judge Sonia Sotomayor are not based in reason or fact, but are the straw-man you use to decry your perception that white men have somehow gotten the short end of the stick in this country. I am white and I am raising two white men. They see the world as a place where everyone belongs and hard work will be rewarded. They do not think they are somehow cheated from success by the success of others. They learned that from their folks and from our Church.
To decry others as out to get you, to dig up dirt on opponents, to scream or write invective filled arguments designed to malign, to incite others to follow your lead and hate people who do not share your story is to deny that God does, in fact, live in them as well as you.
You have helped to divide us as country for the past 40+ years by demonizing others. I do not decry your right to free speech, but I do lament that you have dedicated so much of your life to squandering the precious gift of that right that was paid for with the blood of others.
An open letter to Patrick J. Buchanan
Dear Mr. Buchanan:
I'm writing you this letter, which I will forward to MSNBC, because I find your presence on television to be so disturbing that I can no longer be silent. After watching you for too many years to count, whether it was on CNN, McLaughlin Group or currently on MSNBC, I have become increasingly concerned about the hatred you carry for others and freely put on display, as though other people's lives are some sort of esoteric game and the kind of rhetoric you both write and verbalize has no effect.
You, sir, are a Catholic and yet, seem to violate our most basic tenets for sport. The whole "Do onto others as you would have done onto you" concept seems completely lost on you. You, sir, are Jesuit trained. You have been taught to think, to question, to articulate, but also to consider the least of your brothers, to be concerned about social justice and to accept all people as God's own children.
In spite of the exceptional training you received, you seem to have spent your life turning your back on it. I have no quarrel with genuine conservatism, but hatred of others disguised as conservatism is morally bankrupt. Your recent attacks on the ability of Judge Sonia Sotomayor are not based in reason or fact, but are the straw-man you use to decry your perception that white men have somehow gotten the short end of the stick in this country. I am white and I am raising two white men. They see the world as a place where everyone belongs and hard work will be rewarded. They do not think they are somehow cheated from success by the success of others. They learned that from their folks and from our Church.
To decry others as out to get you, to dig up dirt on opponents, to scream or write invective filled arguments designed to malign, to incite others to follow your lead and hate people who do not share your story is to deny that God does, in fact, live in them as well as you.
You have helped to divide us as country for the past 40+ years by demonizing others. I do not decry your right to free speech, but I do lament that you have dedicated so much of your life to squandering the precious gift of that right that was paid for with the blood of others.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
A Public Option
well, while i would prefer a "single-payer" health plan for this country, that option is off the table. so, a public option is the next best choice, in my opinion. therefore, i took some time today to write my congress people the following
That's all, just simple and to the point. Please, if you support the public option for health care, feel free to cut and paste this note into an email!
special thank you to @dondrennon & @aliceinthewater(twitter pals) for the text & inspiration!
Dear _______:
I would like a public option even though I have private health insurance.
Insurance companies practice something called “rescission” and have refused to change their policy. This does no one any good.
We need health care for all who inhabit our communities in order to keep our communities safe. Like fire departments & police services, health care for all is necessary to protect everyone in society.
Health care in our country is broken.
We need change. We need a public option.
Thank you for your time,
That's all, just simple and to the point. Please, if you support the public option for health care, feel free to cut and paste this note into an email!
special thank you to @dondrennon & @aliceinthewater(twitter pals) for the text & inspiration!