Moments

Not all family stories have as much universal appeal as, for example, the one about how I goosed my father-in-law because I thought he was Dave from behind; or the one about how I tried to look “demure” in my eighth grade school photo (with quite unfortunate results necessitating TWO retakes); or the one about the time that my sister, in her starring role as Maria in The Sound of Music in junior high, received a round of applause for her on-stage ad-lib due to an extremely delayed entrance by Baroness Schrader. 

No, many family stories – even our favorite family stories – fall squarely in the category of “you had to be there” or “if you knew my sister/my brother/my dad/my mom you’d be dying right now” or “this is probably only cute if you’re a mom…specifically my daughter’s mom…okay, this is only cute if you’re me.”  Still, we launch into these stories and deal with the wan praise of our audience, because it feels so good to tell, to share. 

So welcome to the first of many blog posts entitled “Moments,” in which I will recount some of the things that made me smile or laugh throughout the past week (or past month – let’s be honest).  You may or may not find them mildly amusing.  But this blog is my forum for recording my daughters’ lives – and frankly I can’t imagine, when I’m sitting in an empty nest with my girls grown and gone, that there will have been a moment which I WOULDN’T relive in a heartbeat. 

J  While on our way to drop me off for choir tour and Ellen came to the realization that I was going to load a bus which would take me away for the ENDLESS duration of three days, her eyes welled up with gigantic tears, and she opened her mouth and wailed “But I love you SO MUCH!”

J  Ellen and I were discussing Rachel and Jim’s baby, and I mentioned that I would be “Auntie Cyndy.”  Ellen looked panic-stricken for a moment and then asked “but will you still be my mommy?”

J  Cecilia is babbling a lot and is definitely saying (with meaning) “dada” and “dog” (which comes out more like “a-DAH).  She prefers standing and bouncing to the point that I would not be surprised if she bypasses crawling altogether and goes straight to walking.  Her Jenny-Jump-Up is in the doorway between the dining room and kitchen, which is a place that receives a lot of foot traffic.  (Really, I don’t think there’s a spot in our house that doesn’t receive a lot of foot traffic).  Anyone who passes through has to be pretty quick or Celie will grab his or her leg, give it a giant hug, and hold on to it until you pry her away. 

J  Ellen sang karaoke tonight at Mom and Rich’s, with cousins.  She held on to the mike and looked like Stevie Nicks while she sang hits such as Row Row Row Your Boat and ABC’s.  Next time I’ll remember to take a picture.  (BTW, I rocked the house with a cover of Warrant’s “Cherry Pie,” then slowed it down with a little Air Supply.  Yep.)

J  On the way home after Karaoke night at Mom and Rich’s, we waited at a railroad crossing for 20 minutes while a train backed up and pulled forward, presumably attempting to stop at a good spot for the night.  We would have been in extremely rough shape if we did not have Thomas and his friends to talk about while we watched the train.  The highlight of the experience – guessing if the engines would be diesels or tanks or “steamies” and counting (5 of) them as they (finally) went past.  It’s the little things.