The History of Love

I just finished reading "The History of Love" by Nicole Krauss. I've been wanting to read it for a long time, intrigued by reviews and the premise: a young man falls in love and writes a book just before the Holocaust; the book is published by a different man; years later, a girl named for the woman the author loved and wrote about wants to find her namesake. The novel is written from several different points of view as the characters' lives intertwine -- common in modern fiction, but I love it.

So it was an excellent book, and I must say the ending has really given me pause. It wasn't what I expected, though I don't know what I expected. I had to just sit there and reread it several times, flipping back through the book to see exactly how it fit with the rest of the story. I wouldn't call it a twist, really, just surprising. I often wish books weren't over, but this one really left me not quite knowing what to do with myself. I definitely recommend it for my more literary readers.

One passage really jumped out at me as truly beautiful:
Even now, all possible feelings do not yet exist. There are still those that lie beyond our capacity and our imagination. From time to time, when a piece of music no one has ever written, or a painting no one has ever painted, or something else impossible to predict, fathom, or yet describe takes place, a new feeling enters the world. And then, for the millionth time in the history of feeling, the heart surges, and absorbs the impact.

Huh. In looking up the book link, I discovered that Krauss is married to Jonathan Safran Foer. I haven't read "Everything is Illuminated," but from the movie, it seems they have similar styles. And topics. And Polish heritage.

On my honor, I will try ...

Oh my, I have agreed to co-lead a Daisy Girl Scout troop. What have I done?!

Well, I know what I've done. Abigail was a Daisy this year, but two complications have come up: Girl Scouts has reorganized how the different levels are determined, and we're holding Abigail back in kindergarten. So either she has to find a new Daisy troop, or she moves up to Brownies and is there for FOUR years. Someone at my church is starting up a new Daisy troop, but she needed a co-leader. Some of Abigail's church friends may join the troop, and the meetings will be mid-week rather than Saturdays like the Brownies, which would rule out soccer in the fall. So to make the new troop work, I said okay.

I'm kind of worried that Abigail will get upset when all of her Daisy friends move up, but she also said she really wants to do soccer again. She's thrilled at the thought her best church friend may join, and I'm sure if I tell her I'll be there she'll be ecstatic. It'll probably be fine, but it just ads to all the repeating worries. I don't want her to feel punished and start to dislike Scouts.

Deciding to repeat kindergarten was really tough. Abigail is super smart, and I'm really not just saying that as her mom, but she's emotionally very immature. She breaks down almost daily at school, crying over something other kids take in stride, and she still parallel plays rather than really interacting in a shared game. The immaturity has cropped up in a few places: she didn't make any really close friends this year, and she's been getting more and more discouraged about being the youngest and smallest and slowest. As the teacher said, if she went to first grade, she would either struggle and succeed or struggle and fail, but either way she would struggle. There's no WAY my kid would sit through a whole day with just one recess! Sit still and pay attention and do work more independently? Not yet.

I was worried about how to broach the topic, but Abigail actually brought it up on her own. She was worried about other first graders being 7 and about tests and work and still being young. I was able to tell her what Brad and I agreed on: that we started her a little early in kindergarten because we knew she was ready to learn and play, but it just wasn't time for first grade yet.

Her teacher next year taught first grade this year, so I've been able to play that up and make it more like kindergarten-and-a-half. And whenever Abigail starts to talk about first grade as if it were next year, I'm able to bring her back easily by asking, "But didn't you want to be 7 in first grade?" We'll really have to watch to make sure she doesn't get bored, especially with reading, but having a different teacher will make the science and social studies different, and she still isn't crazy about math and could handle the review. We're really hopeful that this will boost her confidence and make her like school again -- at the moment, school can be really frustrating since she loses recess time either to finish work or because she was talking or playing around.

I'm still really wary of the transition, and I'm sure the first week will be difficult, but after that I'm pretty sure it'll smooth out quickly.

Anyway, adding the changes in Scouting at the same time we're repeating, it's been stressful. Brad doesn't quite understand why I'm so concerned, especially about Scouts, but I just want Abigail to be happy and thrive and not feel that she's at all not good enough.

Not in vain

My father-in-law WILL be out of town on Fathers Day! Hooray! Off to my little one's first rock concert!

And I FINALLY finished "Vanity Fair." It was pretty good but quite a slog through six parts. I liked the adaptation, but I don't know if I liked the ending. Probably faithful to the book, but I'm iffy on it.

But they really might be!

I have a dilemma. There is an amazing mother-daughter bonding opportunity that I don't think I'm going to be able to have!

They Might Be Giants is giving a free children's concert in Charlotte on June 15. How exciting! How thrilling! What, you didn't know they did kids' music? They're up to three CDs now, and it's such a refreshing change to most kids' music. I mean, these are the men who taught my little girl exactly what a conifer is! I really want to go! (As does Abigail.) So I quickly made a reservation last week for the 4 p.m. show at Charlotte's mega-cool children's library -- then realized that's Fathers Day!! Egad! Who schedules a children's concert for Fathers Day?!?! There's also a 1 p.m. show, so I finally called back yesterday to see if I could change my reservation -- we'd skip church for a rock concert. But both shows are now sold out!

I have a very slight hope that we could do a Fathers Day lunch rather than dinner, but it's very slight. My non-blood relations are rather stuck in their ritual of holiday observances, and I don't think lunch will fly. But I really want to go!! And I wouldn't have time to go to the 4 p.m. Uptown and then get back in time for a festive, generally slightly strained family meal.

Is it horrible of me to hope my father-in-law will be out of town?

TMBG is key to some of my favorite 17- and 18-year-old memories. There's the conga line in high school. And the immediate bonding with Rambling the first night college. "I wanna go!!" the little girl whined.

On a side note, I just heard that Barenaked Ladies now has a children's CD. Gotta have it!

It's a gas

So driving along the interstate yesterday, I noticed a billboard for a truck stop. $4.19 per gallon for diesel. I also live in the state with just about the cheapest gas. And to think that 10 years ago this summer, I was buying gas for $.75 per gallon at the Hess on College Ave., totaling maybe $6 a tank.

Austen it isn't

So, who's read/seen "Vanity Fair"? I watched the first episode of the A&E version, and wow, that was odd. Are the characters really such stereotypes in the novel? Interesting. I'll keep watching, of course. I chose this over the Reese Witherspoon version since I heard it completely veered from the novel, though at lease the Mira Nair film would be pretty. This one so far is very, very brown. Hmmm.

Not the capital of Alaska

I finally watched "Juno" and that was a great film! I loved that everything didn't go perfectly! And while Ellen Page and Jennifer Garner were perfectly cast, as a former West Wing junkie, I ADORED Allison Janey as a nail tech stepmom!!

My favorite line from the movie, thanks especially to Allison Janey's delivery: "Somebody else is going to find a precious blessing from Jesus in this garbage dump of a situation."

Sadly, some of the teenage banter went totally over my head. Even when I WAS a teenager, I probably wasn't up on all the lingo, but wow, at 30 I'm clueless.

The first time down the aisle

My little girl took her first practice run down a wedding aisle last weekend as flower girl for the wonderful Smitties. It was a beautiful wedding and a great time with dear, old friends. And of course, there were pictures.

Here she is in her beautiful yellow dress, which like all the dresses, was made by the bride.



This could be counted as her "first dance" if she does indeed marry Wyatt, the 3-year-old nephew of the groom. As far as they were concerned, they were married with the Smitties. Poor little Wyatt, it broke his heart leaving Abigail.


And these are her "aunts."


The happy couple was happy and glowing and in their finest, but sadly my pictures were all out of focus. Hopefully someone will come to my rescue.

Oh, and I should add the middle two aren't even mine. Other friends had a much better camera and a much better vantage point!

Almost well rested

And with this Monday morning, Spring Break ends. Abigail was at the beach all week with Nana, and was I productive? Of course not. Well, I was with the magazine, but not with the house. I read a book -- in one night. The husband and I went out to eat and saw a movie in a place called a "theater". I napped a lot. I slept every morning until at least 8 a.m. I call that a good vacation.

The book was "My Sister's Keeper," and it was surprisingly good. I'm giving my book club till the end of spring since they're nice ladies, but the book selections leave something to be desired. But this was actually good. It tackled lots of interesting ethical dilemmas and didn't try to say one side was right or wrong -- which really, in the cases presented, there wasn't a right, just varying levels of wrong and painful but necessary. The writing was decent, though not many amazing passages, but it was a compelling story. I just wish the author hadn't copped out finally and ended an otherwise complicated story with something too pat, too "deus ex machina."

The movie was "Stop-loss." It was pretty good, some flaws in continuity and some unbelievable side stories, but definitely a powerful view of the torment soldiers may be going through. And it was interesting to hear Brad's thoughts as a man, about under what conditions he would fight and why.

Farty machines

A pack of Harleys has been perched outside of my office for five minutes now sounding like they ate 12 cans of beans apiece. I do not see the appeal. I just don't get it. They are annoying and need to drive away NOW.

Just for Jenny

Well, okay, and Mom and Auntie Manda, if not others. We went to Children's Day on the Farm at Historic Brattonsville today and had a wonderful time. I may have a future interpreter on my hands.

Movie plug

This will not count as an official movie review, since I have become lazy in my old age and just don't write that much in blogs anymore. Sorry.

But you simply must see "Death at a Funeral"! Brad and I were in hysterics the whole time. The drugged fiance should win an Oscar, and the bit with the dwarf and the drugs and the coffin ...!!!!! Oh, it was good.

Developments

The first designer is back. I'm not happy about this, but there was a long meeting and we'll see what happens.

Last night, I started a book at 8:30. I finished it at 10:30. Okay, okay, it was kiddie lit, a book called Stargirl, and believe it or not I was reading it for a book club I'm in where the average age is probably 45. The book was about individuality in high school, and it was actually quite good. I always wanted to be the quirky individual in high school, but I never stood out. Now I'm accepting that I find quirky individuals fascinating, but I am just not that quirky. I like jeans, solid colored shirts, simple makeup, even simpler hair, and that's fine. I will admire the quirky folk, hopefully even befriend them, but I will just have to be the straight man in the relationship.

If you know an adolescent, though, it was a very good book. A., they even have a teacher's guide for it.

The golden time

Lately, Abigail has taken to asking for cuddle time after breakfast. To say she is an active kid is an understatement, so these few minutes of quiet together are really sweet. This morning, when she asked to cuddle, she went off on one of her monologues and pointed to a gold star sticker she has and said, "This gold star means that this is the golden time. It's going to tell me when the golden time is over. Only I will know when it is over." Which of course wasn't true because nagging Mommy finally had to break it up or we'd be late for school. But it is such a golden time. She's 5 and a half and getting so big. All too soon she's going to be too big for my lap, and I'll miss looking at her little face while she "dreams".

Puerto Rico

So I'm still lazy, but I'll dutifully avoid working to post some pictures!

We went to Puerto Rico about three weeks ago already and had a wonderful time. We were just in San Juan most of the time, but there is so much to see and do! And the flight was really reasonable from the States, so we highly recommend it. Brad's already talking about taking Abigail back with us -- or moving there all together. We'll see about that, but I did have fun!

We stayed out near the airport just a block from the beach, but city beaches aren't the most spectacular, so we spent the first couple days in Old San Juan. It's obviously very Latin, but there's also a LOT of American influence and everyone speaks excellent English -- so good I really didn't try much Spanish. It was a good first time abroad for Brad. The colonial city was stunning, and the food was delicious (especially the rice and beans, and pineapple juice at Cafe el Punto -- most amazing juice ever).





Then the third day, we went on a day trip, sailing on a catamaran to go snorkeling off uninhabited Icacos Island. Using the snorkel was disconcerting at first -- you felt like you had to take huge, quick breaths, which only made you feel like you were smothering -- but after you adjusted, it was the most peaceful, amazing thing to be floating over a coral reef. If you float very still, these yellow and black striped fish will swim up to maybe a foot from your hand to see what the strange thing is up there -- you can see the curiosity.



Our next stop is central Florida, though I don't think Tampa Bay will be quite so exciting. But at least we'll see lots of friends, and Abigail will have the once-in-a-lifetime chance to make the Smitties' wedding truly memorable, heh, heh, heh :)

Happy happy, joy joy!

I have a new designer!!! And it's someone I've know for years and have worked with and have absolutely no qualms abut using! Yaaaaaaaaaaaaay!!!!! A huge load of stress has been lifted.

We have been to and obviously returned from Puerto Rico. We had a wonderful time and I have wonderful pictures, but sadly I am lazy! I will post this week, though. It was an amazing trip.

An appetizer:

Public Serivce Announcement

If you ever have a deadline at work, respect it. Your employer will maintain a high respect for you and all future work will run much more smoothly. If you flagrantly disregard FOUR deadlines without ever asking for an extension, telling your employer you will be late, returning phone calls, or answering direct questions in e-mail, don't be surprised when you get fired.

Thank you.

Resuscitated

So, hi. Yeah, I know, I've disappeared. Frankly, nothing earth-shattering has happened. I'm working away at the first issue of the magazine (if my designer would ever get her s*$% together and send me pages!!!), and we're fleeing the country in six days. I seldom think to visit my blog, or any of yours, dear readers, since it's not my homepage on the work Mac. And I'm hardly ever on at home, though if I am it is generally to be sucked into my addictive mommy forum. (A., have you tried centralpiedmontmommies.com? Jenny, there's an indymommies.com! You will waste inordinate amounts of time, but it's fun!)

The fam is doing well. This week's big news: Abigail read me "Green Eggs and Ham." I'm so incredibly proud! A real, long book, not just a little easy reader! It was very, very exciting, and we've since added "Hop on Pop" and a couple other longer beginner books. She's done loads of other interesting things, too, including a few days in January of playing The Blitz after falling in love with a book about London history her Auntie Manda gave her. Nothing like hearing pretend explosions all afternoon!

She also really likes my Mac and the many special effects of Photo Booth





So the family is good. I'm good. The magazine is overall good. Some of the writing leaves a bit to be desired, but I think that will improve as time goes on. I'm really excited about the next issue, which will have a green-ish theme. The stories should be even more interesting. If all goes well, I'm happy to mail copies to anyone! If all doesn't go well, we never spoke of this ...

And now, to make this even longer and more random, a fabulous meme I stole from Jenny!

Create your own band.
1 - Go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Random
The first random Wikipedia article you get is the name of your band.
2 - Go to Random quotations: http://www.quotationspage.com/random.php3
The last four words of the very last quote of the page is the title of your first album.
3 - Go to flickr's "explore the last seven days” http://www.flickr.com/explore/interesting/7days/
Third picture, no matter what it is, will be your album cover.
Put it all together, that's your first album

Catch the debut release by Neoschumannia kamerunensis entitled Rarest Thing I Know

Available for a limited time only on this Web site!

Hola, San Juan!

(This is all sung.)

I'm going to Puerto Rico! I just got a great deal on plane tickets! It's going to be so much fun! I just cannot wait! We get to lay on the beach and eat good food and see lots of cool colonial things. I'm going to Puerto Rico -- I'm just not thinking about how expensive the hotel is going to be yet!

The GOPreschool

I think I am accidentally raising a Republican. It's probably no secret that I lean left of center, though not at a dramatic angle. And it's also no secret that I live in one of the most Republican states in America, where the crazy Christian Exodus people want to build their utopia.

I guess I shouldn't be surprised that my child loves Mike Huckabee.

Or at least his signs. See, we are blessed to live in an early primary state. So our roads are blessed with lots and lots of signs. Interestingly, though, only Republican signs. We've got Mike, Fred, Mitt, Rudy and McCain (he doesn't have hist first name on, strangely). As for Democrats, there are a few Hillary signs at her campaign headquarters, but that's it. Now, I do live in a rather WASPy part of an already WASPy town, so maybe there are some Democratic signs in other areas, but I haven't even seen any near the shopping centers. Proof of how Republican my county is, I guess -- and it is, by the largest margin in the state, I believe.

Anyway, there's a very prominent Mike Huckabee sign on the way to Abigail's school, and it was one of the first signs up more than a month ago. She was fascinated: What was the American flag sign about? What does running for president mean? What does vote mean? Her first civics lesson, from her car seat in my Civic no less. Ever since she first saw it, Abigail has made a point of shouting delightedly "Mike Huckabee!" And she was thrilled to actually see his face last week on the evening news, when the announcer's voice pulled her attention from a very intense game of Uno.

She's noticed the other signs, too, but they're only in blue, and of course her favorite color is red. RED. I should have seen it coming.