pass it on

it occurred to me today

as i ushered 7-two-weeks-from-8
out the door
telling him to be brave,
to do his best,
that it doesn't matter if he makes the
provincials
for the track and meet race today
or not
what matters is that he tries
and that he has fun

that i was doing just what my mom
has been doing for me
for the past two weeks
leading up to our skydiving adventure
on one hand telling me she is proud
and i am brave
and on the other
offering me that unconditional love
and reassurance
in the form of worry
and warnings
not to jump if i don't want to,
not to feel pressured,
at 37 she is giving me the
stand up for yourself
and only do what you feel comfortable with...
and it's nice.

and i realize that as much as most days
my day revolves around being someone's mom
that i am also as much a daughter.

monday update


saturday
my husband and his two sisters
and i
were going to go sky diving
with my husband's father
who
was turning seventy
on sunday
and said that this
was what he wanted to do.

we went and took the five hour long course
and i was ready and mentally prepared to go...
lets get this done!
but
it was too windy
so we have had to postpone actual jump
til next sunday.


last saturday
my husband totally surprised me
(which he very rarely ever does,
he usually has a hard time with secrets)
by replacing our "vintage" kitchen floor
with a brand new floor...
to say i was excited
would be
a slight
understatement.


i fell in
love
with this shirt.

revelation

a couple of weeks ago
i went through a thing.
i felt lost
and unlikeable
by everyone except my family...
misunderstood
fake
not being the real me
and yet still not fitting in...

a lot of this stemmed from
an uncomfortable feeling at my son's school,
a feeling of never being able to fit into the
"clique"
no matter how hard i volunteer.

but that was last week.

this week, i don't seem to care so much.
not at all really.

right now,
today,
i am liking who i am.

i like that my hair reminds me
of awesome eighties hair,
(things like heathers, winona ryder and bobs come to mind)
and i have been styling it like so...
the more uneven and choppy looking it is,
the more i like it.
and random bobby pins...
i like that, too.

i bought clothes yesterday that i would have bought
before
but not lately because i have been
trying to dress more
business casual...
more conservative...
well.
whatever.

i don't know why i thought something would change
and make me fit into this town...
i have never fit into this town.
it is almost like my adult self is giving it another shot...
i didn't fit in as an adolescent,
so lets try as an adult
and see what happens.

well.
the hell with it.

i will wear what i want to wear.
like what i want to like.
knit, paint, draw, write,
stand in the middle of my conservative street
and take pictures of the sunrise
if i damn well feel like it.

and i will encourage my kids to
get up with me
and grab
their imaginations.




waterworks

we spent a day driving
and found a cute little town
with cottages and
fishing shantys
and
a wharf
with huge rocks to climb
and the spray of water to play in...

i married the karate kid....


twelve setting the shot


and taking it


heehee...

this was the kid's favorite part of the day...