Going On Vacation...

To Peaks Island, Maine... One of my most favorite places in the world.

Sunglasses

My sunglasses, my refuge
Shield them from seeing
rivulets pour down worn paths
Sniffles here and there
Are you OK?
Yes, it's just my allergies
The ripples settle
And life continues on the surface

Eccentricity, E-ccen-tri-city

Knee high suede boots with pompoms flap as she twirls in her patchwork mini-skirt and faux fur jacket. Not everyone puts clothes together in this combination, only my eccentric little girl. Or is she eccentric? I've seen other children dress as her when allowed, but those occasions are indeed rare. Perhaps we are born eccentric and society breeds the eccentricity out of most of us. "You're not walking out of the house looking that!", "That kind of behavior is not appropriate in public", "Don't scribble on the walls!". I wonder if each of us had been given more freedom as a child, would we be happier today? Would living room walls be covered with amazing works of art created by the owners? Would it be acceptable for a top executive to sport blue hair? Would creativity reign?

(This post is from the writing prompt posted at www.sundayscribblings.blogspot.com. If the program I used had the easy link button I'd put one here... you can click on the link in my sidebar to visit the site and read more eccentric posts!)

Children...

There's really nothing to compare to having your son tell you that the reason he doesn't respect you is because you are worthless, rude, lazy, selfish, greedy, and all you do is clean the house. Please, someone, tell me why I subjected myself to a 36 hour long natural childbirth labor for this child? I never thought I'd become my Mom but clearly I have except I thought I wouldn't cry when I had a teenager tell me nasty things. I was wrong.

As if cleaning the house and doing other mundane tasks are what I always dreamed of doing as an adult.

Gee, thanks.

Peace

(photo by my dear 8 yo)


Is there a song that brings you to a place of peace within moments of it's first chords? Pink Floyd's, "Breathe", slows my heart almost instantaneously the moment the noises from the outside world at the beginning of the song die down and the true opening chords kick in. I close my eyes and exhale. I am no longer standing in the kitchen of a house on Main St. USA but am instead lying on the forest floor looking up at a canopy of dappled emerald sunshine.

Oh yeah.

(And, thanks to my friend Carrie who came up with the expression "dappled emerald sunshine" and said I could use it three years ago when I asked since I was completely enamored by the phrase... now, I have finally worked it in...)

Spicy!

Intense images of deep paprika, burnt orange, and shimmering gold intermingled with olive and mocha skin tones coalesce while the scent of curry wafts through the air. These are the swirling images my mind conjures when embracing the meaning of spicy. Spicy isn't a slutty behind doors affair. Spicy is passion in it's most classic sense of the word. The Paso Doble or Rumba as opposed to disco. Garam Masala rather than barbecue. Spicy has an air of elitism that is lacking in just plain jalapeno hot. Layers of tradition, flavor, and love lend sophistication to spicy that keeps it from merely existing as an all-out sensory attack.

Thursday Thirteen #5 (a day late)

Thirteen Movies That I Like Because of Their Cotton Candy Pop Culture Value (notice I said Cotton Candy!)

1- Better Off Dead- "Buck up little camper, suicide is not the answer" (an early Jon Cusack movie)

2- Sixteen Candles- all of the Jon Hughes movies really

3- Zoolander- Cracks me up just thinking about it... "Merman!"

4- Valley Girls (One of Nicholas Cage's first movies... he played a quirky "punk"... so hot!)

5- When Harry Met Sally (Meg Ryan at her best)

6- Fast Times at Ridgemont High (how everyone thinks people in highschool really act and it was never quite this bad- evah)

7- Singles (cameos by a couple of the different grunge bands of the early 90's that were so popular)

8-

(I need to come back to this list...)

Simple Pleasure #4

Hmmm... This is a day late. My simple pleasure for today is dictionary.com. Really. I love having a dictionary at my fingertips because my vocabulary and memory have deteriorated from having five kids. I'll think of a word I want to use and can easily check to make sure I am using it in the right manner... gotta love it!

Town or Country!

Town or country... either is fine if it's that which is considered a true "town" and true "country". What does that mean? In a true town, you don't have to get in your car to stop in and say high at the local coffee shop or to pick up a gallon of milk. I lived in a true town once. The name of the town was Orange City, Iowa. Unfortunately, I only got to live there for 3rd and 4th grade. I was able to walk to the dime store, which would be considered today's dollar store, to get candy. I could walk to and from school without my Mom accompanying me. In fact, I walked or rode my bike just about everywhere without parental supervision and nothing bad ever happened to me. I didn't spend hour after hour being shuttled from one store to the next or from one practice to the next. Across the street from my house was a park with a public pool and playground. There really is nothing better than being able to wake up on a summer day and run across the street to the pool, unchaperoned, and stay there from opening at 10 am until close at 6 pm.

I love the country, too. Acres upon acres of land to explore. The freedom to run naked without the possibility of exposure to your neighbor's disapproving look unless they happen to be trespassing upon your property. Freedom to let your weeds grow knee high and call it a field instead of a front or backyard. The ability to see the shadows created by clouds passing overhead cross a meadow ever so slowly. Viewing a thunderstorm occuring miles away while basking in the sunshine hitting your own property. Seeing the stars at night, really seeing them. All of these things make me long to live in the country.

I haven't mentioned the interpretation of "town" meaning a city as opposed to Main Street USA but I even find highly likable things about cities. I love being able to walk or take the subway everywhere. Craving hot and sour in the middle of the night and being able to find a hole in the wall open willing to serve it to you is worth millions. No country place or town can offer that kind of availability. Street artists and musician's, little cafe's with outside tables, parks with free entertainment, museums, and a melting pot of people are just a few of my favorite things about cities.

I live in none of these places. I live in the suburbs.

(This writing prompt is from Sunday Scribblings which you will find a link to in my side bar)