sitting on the pack porch at night gives me such a different perspective of my backyard. that’s exactly what i need right now…a new perspective!
yep…it’s commencement time. i don’t sleep too well, really don’t eat too well either. for instance-for dinner i’m now at the moment eating a cold and hard leftover bagel from about 7am this morning. and i can tell i didn’t get enough coffee today!
commencement kicks-off two weeks from tomorrow!
on Monday, i’ll not have had a coke in three weeks. just sayin.
since my grandma died on monday, i’ve been trying to think of my very first memory of her. so far i haven’t been able to single it out. she was just always there. i can’t remember a time that she wasn’t-sometimes she felt as much my mom as my own mother.
she knitted me things. and made my clothes, even when i was a baby. i have sweaters put away from when i little. a sweater that tells the story of the three little kitten who lost their mittens. another that’s got little red riding hood and the big bad wolf. she would still make me clothes as i got older too. she used to make me long dresses to wear to church on sunday with my grandfather. she was always there when i got home from school because my mom worked two jobs to send me to private school. i got to have a snack and then had to do my homework before anything else. no matter what.
i remember the day she reconnected with her brother after 30+ years. i was the first one to get home and the only other one who spoke or read any French. that was something special that we shared since i was in college and really started learning the language. she would correct my pronunciation and read my written work sometimes.
i used to talk to her a lot on the phone when i was in college. that was one of the hardest parts of the last year or two is that i didn’t get to talk to her very much about things. she grew to dislike talking on the phone, because she had problems hearing, holding the phone and sometimes had a hard time being understood on the phone. we often didn’t exchange much more than i love you’s, but it was enough.
the boy: mommy, what can I have for dessert?
me: did you have something particular in mind?
the boy: hmm…how about PANCAKES!!!!
i just shook my head.
and we got a few inches. so in honor of the white outside today, i’ve dug out a few of my favorite quotes about snow 
(leave me alone, you know i love quotations)
- How did it happen that their lips came together? How does it happen that birds sing, that snow melts, that the rose unfolds, that the dawn whitens behind the stark shapes of trees on the quivering summit of the hill? A kiss, and all was said. Victor Hugo
- the snow doesnt give a soft white damn whom it touches ee cummings
- A lot of people like snow. I find it to be an unnecessary freezing of water. Carl Reiner
- You are ice and fire the touch of you burns my hands like snow. Amy Lowell
- I used to be Snow White, but I drifted. Mae West
The sun’s out now and so i’m sure the snow will be gone soon. the ground is just not warm enough to keep it around, no matter how cold it is outside. evan thinks he’s getting a snow day tomorrow. ha!
i took most of the day off today. i had a great lunch with Jennie and Crystal at Amerigo’s and then went into the office for a cursory glance at the damage of being out of pocket for three days.
the conference was, well, i’m almost not sure what words to use. it was exhausting work, even with all the incredible help i had. the whole thing made my head hurt a few times. but it turned out way better than i could have even hoped.
even if this is what i felt like most of the time:
kim takes a nap during the NAACO business meeting
I really hope I get to go to the conference next year…it just wouldn’t be right if i couldn’t go to the 10th anniversary party!
but i’m not. it’s the story of my life. or am i asleep when i should be awake? whichever, i’m tired.
naaco conference is in town. people showing up tomorrow. still much to do. will be glad when it’s over, but it should be fun
going off to knit now. will talk about goo goo clusters and standard candy company later. will also begin to add subjects to sentences again soon too.
evan’s little friend olivia was telling me that her great-grandfather was 98 years old. Evan looked at her and said that his own grandfather was so old that he was almost dead. that sounds really bad, but i saw the humor in it and the 6 year old perspective. i even think my grandfather would get a chuckle out of it
we’ve had a pretty low-key valentine’s day. we decided not to buy anything for each other and we just went to see a movie instead. We saw Coraline, and what a fabulous movie that was! If you’re going to see it, please see it in 3D for your own good. It’s not the normal, schmaltzy 3D, it’s depth and layers and atmosphere. The story is engaging. We had the best seats in the theatre and the place really filled up by the time the movie started. the previews (move before time) were incredibly long.
The boy is still at my mom’s house and will stay through Monday afternoon. There’s no school on Monday so he’s going to stay up on the mountain. I sometimes suspect that he likes it better up there than here at home. it’s not like he’s not up there enough or anything. and he comes home with just more and more stuff. for having to pinch pennies, my mom always finds a way to buy him a happy meal and some new Lego set.
Tomorrow will be a work day. some work around the house. conference work and some knitting thrown in for good measure. always some knitting thrown in these days.
