Serendipity

Driving through town a few weekends ago, I took a detour through an unfamiliar neighborhood. Most of the yards were incredibly landscaped however this particular home and yard just about caused me to run off the road. The home was lovely, the yard breathtaking. Throughout the landscape were bronze sculptures of children at play. The entire property was surrounded by a tall wrought iron fence and I did not wish to intrude or trespass. The sculptures were so life like in their rendition of children at play. The above was one of my favorites a girl playing "leapfrog". Below several children walking on a log. There was a lovely scene of children playing "ring around the rosy" encircling a grouping of gorgeous shrubbery. There were many other delightful sculptures too numerous to mention and too difficult to photograph without intruding on someones privacy. I paused to wonder if these sculptures were renditions of the home owner's children or grandchildren...was this the home of the artist...it was truly a serendipitous moment for me! I love children and enjoyed having taught children in a Montessori learning environment, at church and of course my lovely children. Children are a delight to behold, their wonder and curiosity about the world they see is awe inspiring.

Most school aged children have headed back to school in cars and buses to spend a large part of their day away from their families and many are learning to embrace a new sort of family. Some are doing so for the first time much to the anxiety of their parents. I have read several blog posts of some friends that have sent their children to school recently and are experiencing the subsequent feelings of missing them and having extra time on their hands. I was a stay at home mom for about two years after which I simply went to school with my children...I was in one part of their Montessori school with my students and they were in another classroom with their teachers. We rode to school together, sometimes had lunch together and rode home together. It was the best of two worlds, being a mom and working. My separation anxiety came about when the oldest daughter was ready for middle school and I had to drop her off with all "those strangers." The first day I had to pull over and cry. My daughter was fine, I was the one not having such a great time! I am a grandparent now and before I blink my eyes a few times those sweet children will be entering school.

I was thinking of the inconvenience of the school buses and planning my ride accordingly to arrive at work on time. I happened to look out the front window and noticed my neighbor's son standing at the "bus stop" for the first time (he had always been a car rider) and as I looked to my right, Mom was next door keeping watch on her soon to be independent bus riding son...it amused me a bit because they were clearly shouting back and forth to each other however he did not want her standing next to him when the bus arrived. As I drove to work, I noticed a group of Hispanic Mothers and small children waiting for the bus to arrive to take them to school and wondered if they were speaking English yet and if not, how scary it would be to go to school and not know the language. A bit farther down the road a Father is sitting on a brick wall holding his child in a warm embrace, also waiting. Tears washed down my face and I longed for a moment to be back in the classroom attempting to make a difference in some one's life. Even though I knew that my time in the classroom was well spent it was time to move on and begin a new chapter. Wishing all the parents, students, teachers, administrators, support staff at the schools a very wonderful, productive and joyful school year!

PS!!!!!!! A GINORMOUS HEARTFELT THANK YOU to Christy (The Daily Dish) for sending a totally unexpected lovely necklace and card. Imagine my delight when the postman brought the package with our business mail! I love the necklace Dishy and your MOST KIND words!!! Also the same day I received a beautiful and encouraging card from a fellow member of the retreat I attended in June....the verse on the card reads...If I keep a green bough in my heart, the singing bird will come. I LOVE IT!!!! I also received a card at home from a friend and just really appreciated the sweetness of it! The stars aligned at a time when I needed it and all these lovely, beautiful people responded to that prompting. I will have to respond in kind and pay it forward! Again, thank you, you wonderful, wonderful friends!

Hair!

As a child I once had long, very blonde, very fine hair...this frustrated my mother to no end so she took scissors in hand one day...we'll just say it is a good thing that the "pixie" cut was in style. Hair stylists have nothing on my mom...this asymmetrical style was invented by her long ago. Professionals were called in and I sported the "pixie" for a very long time.

Before and After...

Granddaughter Anna, she of the lovely albeit very fine, long, blonde hair decided that it was in her way and cut off pieces in the front, on the side and in the back thus requiring a visit to the hair salon! Fortunately, she did not cut the front of her hair too radically. Having spent 10+ years working with Montessori preschoolers, being a mom and having mom friends, I have witnessed "the I have scissors I am going to cut as much of my hair off as I can before I get caught syndrome!" It is always entertaining unless the child in question is your child! I believe that is how the "buzz cut" was invented. For those of you who are still childless or those who have chosen to remain so...the above cabinets are smeared with peanut butter...peanut butter is also covering the long, blonde hair and the hair of older brother not pictured and quite probably Rhett, my lab granddog. It is very difficult to get peanut butter out of long, fine hair especially when the culprit does not wish for her hair to be washed, brushed or bothered in anyway. Saturday was the big haircut day! Anna and her great grandmother went to the salon. I am not sure who had the easier client that day! I went to my scheduled appointment by myself to have my "natural" color restored and to have a wee bit of a shape up. I believe dear husband mentioned about umpteen times...you're not getting it cut, are you, because I just can't wait for it to be halfway down your back. To which I reply..."no honey, I am not getting it cut, it just grows really, really slow! He is terrified that I will do the 2006 version of the very blonde pixie that has finally grown out over the last two years! I really, really like the color and length that it is now. My stylist did ask if we were sticking with the same color and for one second I thought it would be awesome to have a purple streak underneath the rest of my hair....maybe next time! I am not going to spend an inordinate amount of time on my hair as I would rather sleep longer in the mornings. Besides, my hair is naturally wavy and the slightest bit of humidity will undo the drying and straightening in a quick hurry. Most mornings I just wash it, put the top down on my car and scrunch it until I get to work. Multi-tasking at its finest. Hair is such a personal issue. Everyone is entitled to wear their hair in a manner most pleasing to them. A few misguided souls out there still sporting mullets and various other hair don'ts! Just sayin...

You too may sport a mullet!

Mullet inspired wigs....

Who doesn't just love a Marge Simpson blue beehive! Beehives were all the rage about 40 years ago! Or what about "Charlies Angels" hair...Every girl's hair fantasy was to have the "Farrah" How are you wearing your hair these days...does it work for you or is it time for a change?

Psst...can we talk about...Intimacy

My friend Jayne was recently gifted with a lovely, framed print of The Kiss. I love the sweetness and beauty of this piece of artwork! The Kiss by Austrian painter, Gustav Klimt (1862 - 1918) is a beautiful vision of intimacy between lovers.

We experience intimacy on many different levels. There are different forms of intimacy such as emotional intimacy and physical intimacy. "Intimacy can also be identified as knowing someone in depth, knowing many different aspects of a person or knowing how they would respond in different situations, because of the many experiences you've shared with them. Intimacy is both the ability and the choice to be close, loving, and vulnerable. " (Wikepedia)

I have given a lot of thought to the idea of intimacy between friends, lovers and family. We are emotionally intimate with our closet friends or our children. Hopefully, we share emotional and physical intimacy with our lovers, partners, husbands and wives.

I recently read the book "365 Nights - A Memoir of Intimacy" by Charla Muller with Betsy Thorpe. Charla, as I fondly refer to her, decided she would like to give her husband a birthday gift no one else could give him. She offered herself in an intimate way for a year. That is as she refers to it "doing the deed" EVERY DAY!!! She describes various aspects of the development of their relationship and the book is liberally sprinkled with anecdotes about dating, married life, and family life. Lest you think this is a guide to the physical aspect of her relationship, it is not. It is laugh out loud funny, sweet memoir of two people connecting with each other every day. There were allowances for illness and other situations that may deem a physical moment inadvisable. This is a great book for anyone in a relationship. I loved reading it.

This gave me pause to ponder the intimate relationships in my life. How were they holding up? Some days great others not so great. I find that on days that I feel good about myself and who I am I can connect better with those that I love. As to the physical relationships between couples, I thought how "men" just want to "do the deed" all the time. (I know I am generalizing) and women, well we want romance (I do) and closeness. We often bring everything with us to the bedroom....you didn't empty the trash, cut the grass, you put hunting, fishing (inject whatever here) before us and this often affects intimacy or lack thereof. So in the midst of pondering the intimacy of my relationships, I realized I need to ditch the anger, the frustrations of day to day stuff and just approach things in a more loving and kind way. My children appreciate a kinder, loving mother, my friends appreciate less complaining and being a more in tune with them, my husband really appreciates a loving emotional and physical bond. Life is way better when approached with unconditional huge amounts of L*O*V*E. So how are your intimate relationships these days? Doing great, so, so or not so good? Time to enjoy intimacy in all its forms!!! I am feeling much better myself!

My Aching Feet

Human feet are amazing. The feet contain a quarter of the bones in the body. Each foot has 26 bones, 33 joints and more than 100 tendons. But like the rest of the body, feet eventually begin to feel the effects of daily wear and tear. Foot problems are common in women, particularly with advancing age. (Medical News Today)

Heel pain: The cause is stretching or tearing of the band of tissue that runs along the bottom of the foot (plantar fascia). Pain can worsen with lack of proper arch and heel support. Ice massage, gentle stretching of the arches, and arch-support inserts can help relieve tension. Splinting or physical therapy could be recommended, too.

My feet have been a constant source of pain throughout my life. I have always struggled with dry skin and eczema. My feet peel and crack and throb. To add insult to injury my Bill Pullman look a like foot doctor says I have plantar fasciitis and heel spurs. The x-rays of my feet totally fascinated me... all except for the parts of bone that really should not be there. The inside of my feet look like a rooster claw. Doctor gives me advice for treatment of these problems and then suggests cortisone shots for immediate relief. OUCH!!! He sprayed some icy concoction on my feet to numb them (yeah right) and gave me a shot in each foot. I thought I was going to grind my teeth to stumps, I am no wimp, however, those shots hurt like heck!

Sooooo....some other suggestions for foot care namely the dry skin and cracking of my heels....use tons of this very expensive emollient and then wrap feet in plastic garbage bags...who pray tell could sleep in plastic garbage bags? My husband's snoring already wakes me up. I could just imagine the rattling of plastic bags as I roll over. Not to mention...How sexy is that???

Next up, what type of shoes shall I wear??? Browsing online first, because my feet hurt and I don't want to walk from store to store, I searched for shoes with arch support and shoes with heel support...let me tell you, I do not buy cheap shoes but some of the prices on these "support" shoes will make you cry in pain for sure. I love shoes, all kinds, you might say I have a shoe problem. The many, many shoes in my closet are lonely because I can't wear them right now. So I must buy new shoes, correct? Is is possible to find shoes that make my feet happy but are not just plain fugly?

Here my friends are a few options....

And these my friends are the cute ones....

I have my standbys of Birkenstocks and Danskos however they just don't look right with everything! My New Balance Fitness shoes will look kind of cheesy with a "Sunday" dress. I have heard it said that you must suffer for beauty...WHY???? I know the cutest, most comfortable shoes are out there somewhere! In the meantime, I bought some bright orangy polish for my toenails. I am off to do some physical therapy, self inflicted variety, on my feet and tell my feet that I do appreciate them for supporting me and I will take care of them and they can pay me back by being pretty and not hurting! Did I mention I am insanely envious of anyone with "good" feet.

One Hundred!

I think it is amazing that this is officially the 100th post on the Loose Lemons blog! As many already know I started writing on this blog in an effort to spur some creativity and find my voice. My dear friend, Jayne constantly encouraged me in this effort and for that I am grateful. I remember quite clearly telling Jayne on a regular basis that I had nothing to say of interest to anyone other than maybe my closest friends and family. My world has grown exponentially as a result of blogging. I have met many fellow bloggers and feel a wonderful kinship with them. Someone will say something like I enjoyed your post on such and such. And I am totally incredulous! My daughter says, "Mom, you would be surprised who reads your blog." I am totally not sure if my writing has improved. I know I make grievous grammatical errors and probably dangle a participle or two. We won't even go into my flagrant misuse of punctuation...I love the three dot thing... Probably annoys the heck out of everyone! One of my main goals is to remain as positive as I possibly can amidst the hectic, difficult situations that roll into our lives. Some days I am cheerful, sunny and positive, other days I fake it until I make it! Trust me when living through perimenopause you are never quite certain which personality will rear its ugly head on any given day. I was tagged recently to tell seven things about myself that others may not know and this has been really difficult for me as I tell everyone way too much in the first place! There are rules to the "game" which I fully intend on abusing...so consider yourself tagged! I'll share some things and you can share some things!

1. I am an anglophile.


2. I desperately want to go on an Alaskan cruise.


3. I have experienced a supernatural occurrence. I honestly believe I was visited by something evil and had to pray it away! And pray I did!!!


4. I sometimes read 3 different books at the same time. I read one for awhile and switch to a different one and so on.


5. I want to be an adventurer but stuff scares me. Or grosses me out.


6. I have OCD tendencies and must squash my need to be a control freak!


7. Occasionally, since childhood, I crave sliced, salted raw potatoes.

Whew! That's done. A little update on the fifty things to do before I turn 50: I attended the release of Breaking Dawn by Stephanie Meyer with my friends and hundreds of screaming teenagers, I have read 8 books, I will be going to the coast with some friends to obtain the henna tattoo on August 30th. Much to my ultimate dismay I have not lost one single solitary stinking pound yet. I am making slow progress on knitted caps - it is really hard to knit when it is 100 plus degrees - it is totally a mind thing. A promise is a promise and the 50 caps will be completed by January 24th. I am still accepting brilliant ideas to be compiled on my list of things to do.

Totally random and unrelated, the following cartoon had me laughing out loud. Oh the joys of parenthood!!!

I remember when my daughters snuck off and got belly button piercings. Good Grief!

"The Knitting Girl" Adolphe-William Bouguereau (1825 - 1905)

Any woman who sews or knits, or weaves, blends colors in a tapestry or creates a patchwork quilt, knows by the feel that a single thread is weak but the weaving, the blending, the interwining with many others makes it strong.

Any woman alone without friends to sustain her, to nurture and support, to hold with loving arms, like a single thread, is weak. But the weaving, the loving, the nurturing of others, the networks of friendship makes her strong.

Barbara, 1994 The Kinship of Women (Maryjane's ideabook*cookbook*lifebook - MaryJane Butters)

We are all connected by virtue of our humanity. When surrounded by joy we can feel joy, when surrounded by despair we can feel despair. Let us be our "brothers keeper", spread our own measure of joy to those around us!

P.S. "Confetti Scarf" is on the way to Dishy! I will be making more scarves soon as it is a form of meditation for me...I already have one for every day of the week...email me if you would like one and we'll see what we can do!

Peace Symbol Turns 50

The peace symbol turned 50 in April. It was originally designed to protest nuclear disarmament in the United Kingdom. The brainchild of Gerald Holtom, artist and WWII conscientious objector, the peace symbol was a result of his despair over nuclear weaponry.

“The symbol itself is a combination of the semaphoric signals for the letters "N" and "D," standing for Nuclear Disarmament. You can read more about the story at : http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/03/23/sunday/main3960390.shtml

I remember the peace symbol of my childhood, a colorful symbol of protest against the Vietnam War. Many people made disparaging remarks about the symbol even going as far as calling it the sign of Satan. I was of an age where I did not really care too much about protest I just enjoyed drawing the symbols on any and everything! I was reading a magazine and it pointed out the 50th anniversary of the peace symbol. Apparently several designers are creating jewelry and other accessories to commemorate the event. As my dear friends know, I am all about anything 50! I think the symbol remains a timeless reminder of peace. Our world is still rife with war and social injustice. It saddens me to see so much struggle between people. The best I can offer is to be a peaceful person. There are many, many people striving each day to live in gratitude, love and peace. I choose to be one of this group and hopefully set an example for those whom are less peaceful. Daily, I receive negative emails, encounter dismal news stories and encounter less than polite people. I can choose how I respond and what I allow in my environment. I choose P*E*A*C*E !!! So let's start our own peace movement...