Rest in Peace, Michael
I don't mind sharing the limelight with Michael Jackson on my birthday. Really, I don't. I never liked being the center of attention anyway. It's funny to hear the various channels announcing the changes in tv coverage resulting from the preemption...things like Days of Our Lives are being moved around so as not to be missed. Never mind that REAL news has been preempted for the last two weeks in order to cover the MJ story. Not that I'm bitter. It's just an observation. And it's not preempting my birthday because I could turn it off any minute and walk out. Really, I could. I could stop watching if I wanted to.
Hi, my name is Gwynne, and I'm a closet Michael Jackson fan.
Actually, as I sit here watching the memorial, I am truly moved for the first time since his death. Maybe it took nearly two weeks of non-stop coverage for the feelings to finally sink in, or maybe it's the moving tributes offered by some at this service, but I have finally been beaten into submission. Okay, I agree, Michael was a pretty good performer. But honestly, I believe that he is in a better place, at long last, at peace. His work here on earth was done. I believe the 50-concert world tour might have killed him
and his legacy. In his own words (if we are to believe half of what we hear), he was "done" and "better off dead." I don't say that out of hatred, or anger, or meanness. I truly believe that he is in a better place now. His story is at once magical and tragic. It's been a troubling story to watch play out, but one so fascinating that few could look away.
If I disregard the last quarter of his life, I have to admit that I was drawn in possibly as much as anyone who grew up with him. Well, almost. I remember exactly when and where I purchased my first Michael Jackson album, Off The Wall, and feeling like it gave me a certain "street cred" at the time. It was one of the earliest albums I purchased (just to give an idea of how young I really am...either that, or how late I was to the party). I remember owning several 45s by the Jackson Five in my extensive (roughly 10 records) collection. Who can resist those early performances, fronted by Michael as a young boy with an amazing voice, a cute smile and some pretty amazing dance moves even then.
I like that the memorial does in fact feel like a funeral service (even a "revival" as the media seems want to call it), a celebration of family and faith, and not "just" a Michael Jackson concert (anyone else wonder if the casket would be levitated before this show was over?) although there have been some nice tributes sung by the likes of Mariah Carey and Stevie Wonder. But really, after the powerful words of others, we could have done without Brooke Shield's trite narrative of her relationship w/ Michael at the age of 13. Some things are better off left unsaid.
The most poignant words were those spoken by his daughter, Paris, at her first public appearance ever, "Daddy has been the best father you can ever imagine and I just want to say I love him so much." I pray for his children, who are the only real victims in this sad story.
Rest in Peace, Michael Jackson.
Labels: Family and friends, In Memorium, Music
How I Spent My 4th of July
Some people burned firecrackers, bottle rockets and sparklers. I burned up 9 years worth of excessive notes and useless paper from my former day job. I finally hauled home the last of the boxes that were in my old office, knowing that when I did so I would have to go through them and purge a bunch. I tried to save valuable practice aids for my own reference and sent any client pertinent notes back to the office. It was a very cathartic experience. The drawers full of overflowing papers had been bugging me for years. Out of 5 boxes, I managed to squeeze the stuff I wanted into one box (not including actual books and educational course materials which are already in the basement storeroom), and the rest went in the wheelbarrow.
As you can see, I had a cute little helper.
Happy Independence Day!
Labels: An Accountant's Life
I Doubt
On Sunday, while visiting with our daughter (Julian's mother), we went to the Panda Express drive-thru for dinner on our way back to her place. After we finished eating, she was about to throw the bag away and I said, "Wait! There are fortune cookies in there!!" and I reached in and grabbed them both, carelessly handing one to her (normally, we make a point to carefully pick our cookies, making sure we get the right ones). So we open them up and she reads hers:
"Any doubts you may have will disappear early this month."
To which I say, "Oh, that's good!" And she asks, "Why is that?" And I say, "Well, in case you had any doubts about the whole rehab thing, you know." And she says, "I don't have any doubts!"
So then I read mine:
"You will obtain your goal if you maintain your course."
To which I said, "Well, apparently we got the wrong fortunes then, because I don't have any goals."
And we quickly switched fortunes, before anyone could be the wiser.
Labels: Chinese fortunes, Family
Another Birthday?
Today was a very nice day, most of which was spent celebrating Julian's birthday again. Our favorite babysitter wanted to throw him a party and invite several other children that she babysits. It was very sweet and for Julian, a rare encounter with his peers. He likes them. He adapted easily and welcomed the pushing, pulling, giving, grabbing and kissing that began the moment we walked in the door. I, on the other hand, discovered my inner germaphobe and quickly got out the baby wipes. But I particularly love this photo of the 4 of them on the couch together (where else but the Midwest do you get a John Deere tractor throw as the back drop
Which one is not like the other?
We also sat for his one-year portraits today, and I have to say that JC Penneys does a very nice job. I especially like that they allow you to download the (lower resolution) images to share online...we put together a couple of collages that I really like:
Bathing Beauty
Eyelashes
The most fun part was the sitting itself. Sparky is a natural poser. He was very patient throughout the whole thing (unlike the baby that followed him who had to leave early for all his crying) and smiled on cue in this shy little reserved grin:
Cruiser
But the best part of the day was spending it with his mother. She has taken a turn for the better and we are cautiously optimistic (we've been here before). She decided a few weeks ago to pursue in-patient treatment for her addiction. It's been several months now since we evicted her and told her that she was no longer welcome to live with us unless and until she checked into rehab and commited to a lifetime of recovery. Early on, there was no indication that she planned to do this and we were heartbroken that she rarely even called to check in on her son. She seemed to take the eviction as a release of her parenting responsibilities and the ticket to freedom that she wanted. We became his legal guardians with no contest (Guardian Angel 1 and Guardian Angel 2, we call ourselves, all humility aside :-).
Her entry date is July 19. We plan to drive her there ourselves so that she knows she has our love and support. While this is only the first step before she can safely parent her son again, it is the biggest one and she seems very happy for the first time in a long while. We are encouraged and glad that she has chosen this path and more importantly, that she WANTS to spend time with her son. We are prepared to continue parenting Sparky until he is 18 (and beyond) if that is what God wants us to do, but we also know that having his (clean and sober!) mother back is even better. We have no idea what the future holds, but we pray every day that she is released from this sin to live a healthy life with her son. I have absolutely no desire to put him in the middle of a custody battle like his mom went through, at this critical stage of life.
It's days like this that I realize how important it is to spend time with family and friends. God is good.
Labels: Baby Spartacus
And....We Have Crawling!
Let the record show...
At last, Little Spartacus is crawling! And pulling himself up! As of yesterday, I'd say, he is able to crawl across the room without pulling himself on his stomach commando style. Once he realized he could do this, there was no stopping him, kind of like a wind-up toy that's been wound very tightly and finally released. The same with the pulling up. He has his own little "gated community" that he plays in (checking his mail, tending his flower box and vegetable garden, and watching birds...a very cute Little Tykes garage sale find)...the walls are just the right height for holding himself up while kneeling or standing. He also got a new Teddy Bear for his birthday, named Velvet, that he loves very much. Julian would ask for Velvet to join him inside the compound (not with words but with animated commotion), but then he would push him out through the gate. After evicting Velvet, Julian would pull himself up and peer over the wall to see what happened to Velvet. It was very cute. And affirmation that he does in fact have a sense of "object permanence" (a portion of the developmental study he "failed" at the doctor's office because he was more interested in the coffee cup than the little red cube they hid under the cup).
Labels: Baby Spartacus
Simplest Soup Ever!
I can't believe I needed a recipe for this, but doubtful of my own abilities to just whip up a good potato leek soup, I consulted
this book by someone named Crescent Dragonwagon (I've no idea if that is her real name, but I have met her and she's a little out of this world, IYKWIM). Anyway, this is souper simple and very good:
Chop up a pound of potatoes (I used small new red potatoes and left the peels on) and 8 leeks (the recipe says to use only the white part...I only had 3 leeks, and I used all of the tender green parts as well).
Throw these in a stock pot with 4 cups of chicken stock and 4 cups of water, and a couple bay leafs if you want, and a couple tablespoons of butter if you want (who doesn't want butter in their soup?). That's it. No sauteeing first or prepping anything else.
Bring to a boil, then simmer uncovered for an hour until liquid reduces by half. Smash some of the potatoes to give it a thicker consistency and voila! You are finished.
This really is great by itself or it can be a good base for any number of additions...vegetables, meat, and of course, milk or cream. We did try adding a tablespoon of basil pesto to a bowl and that was very tasty as well.
Labels: Food and recipes
Happy Father's Day!
Dear Dad,
Last year, on Father's Day, we were
a little busy. For me, it was a reminder of how important is a Father's role. Unlike Julian's father, you have ALWAYS been there for me. Even when you and Mom got divorced, I always felt like the most important thing for you was maintaining your relationship with me and my brother, as our father. You made sure to spend time with us and celebrated milestones with us, but most importantly, you enjoyed being a Dad. You played with us!
Remember going fishing and teaching us how to put worms (and live frogs!!) onto hooks and how to scope out the best fishing holes? And years later, how to cast a fly rod? Remember the grocery store you built for us, and stocked full of food so we could sell it to you?! Remember teaching us how to play basketball? And football (I was the only girl in 5th grade that the boys would let play ;-)? And baseball (I nearly killed the neighbor boy with a hard whack to the head with that powerful swing you taught us)? Remember building us a go-kart that we ripped through the neighborhood in...boy, did we become popular then; suddenly everyone wanted to be our friend! Remember helping us bind our school projects in your special book binder so ours would be professional...you taught us to take pride in our work and to always do our best. Remember when you were in Hawaii on business and you sent us care packages full of seashells? We treasured those packages so much!! Remember building me that drafting table when I was in college so I'd have a place to work? And years later, the jewelry bench (I still plan to put that to better use now that I'm "retired")? Remember quiet evenings at home, sitting in the beanbag, eating popcorn and watching Charlie Chan? Heh. :-)
You taught us many valuable lessons. You set a good example of how to live a productive life and you expected the same from us. You encouraged us to always try new things. You let us make mistakes and you were there to help us pick up the pieces without question. Remember when I wrecked two of your cars when I was just learning to drive (once was
really NOT my fault, I swear! :-) and you just took care of the mess and still let me drive?! You taught us to invest in our future and set our sights high. You always believed in us and told us that we could do anything we wanted to do. You helped me through college, and continued to encourage me, even when I was ready to give up. Because I knew that you knew I could do it, I believed in myself.
More than anything, you have always shown your unconditional love for me, and you have always shown your love of life and adventure.
I love you very much, Dad! Happy Father's Day. :-)
Love,
Gwynne
Remember the chicken coop on the dinner table?Labels: Family
