These Kids Today

Grace in Small Things # 1

Let's face it: We're all waging our own battles against embitterment, right? 

Schmutzie, a blogger I adore, started this social network, Grace In Small Things, so that people would remember the positive things in life that often go overlooked. 

It's sad to say, I need this. I mean, yes, it's a nice thing to do, write a list of the postive things in life, things you've noticed throughout the days that make you happy, the things that you are grateful for. But when I started to write this post and started thinking, What will I put on my list?, I realized how hard it was - for me to just sit down and gather a few positive thoughts. So I need this, as often as possible, don't I?

Here are some of the things that have made me exceptionally happy lately - I am grateful for all of them:

1.) Addie's first birthday party is tomorrow, and it will also be the occasion of Elise's first sleepover at Alisha's house - she's never spent the night anywhere besides home and grandparent's house's, so this will be fun, and interesting.

2.) Digging up an old story that I haven't worked on in years and realizing it is a lot better than I thought it was and seriously considering diving into it again.

3.) The surprise dinner provided by the roomie tonight: a delicious grilled cheeseburger and some cheesy mashed potatos.

4.) Reading all of these: BlogHer Community Keynote: Voices of the Year.

5.) Getting a date for next Wednesday night. Yeah. That happened.

Eat your planetains.

A co-worker of mine just returned from a month long trip to her home country of Scotland and had an interesting story to tell about her return to the United States. Apparently her husband didn't know that it was wrong to stash a banana in his carry-on bag after passing through customs back overseas, and they were quite surprised when a banana sniffing beagle at JFK airport had a sudden interest in his bag. Long story short, her whole party (there were eight of them travelling together) had to go through security for a second time, and all of them had to completely unpack and re-pack their bags for the customs agents before getting BACK into the line they had started out with. Total time between getting off the plane and getting to their car? Six and a half hours. 

I told this story to my friend Brian and he cracked up, wondering why this man would do such a moronic thing. I don't know how it happened, but then it started a conversation about bananas on planes. Planetains. Get it? PLANEtains? And then that snowballed into something like this:

Brian: Please enjoy your complementary Planetains and peanuts for your overseas flight.

Cheney: Please return your tray tables and planetains to their in-flight position.

Brian: Look, these planetains are actually SHAPED like little airplanes!

Cheney: Please throw your planetain peel in the planetain pail and keep your planetain clean!

In other words, we're psychos.

Later on that night we took a trip to Westerly and I had the biggest espresso martini of my life at Perks & Corks. This was it:

 

It was totally delicious. Then we decided to try going to this popular beachside place called Paddy's, but they were closed. I was not going to let a closed down bar jeopardize my ability to stick my feet in the water - the waves on Westerly beaches are much bigger and stronger than those in New London and Waterford, and the sand was much softer, smoother and just generally nicer feeling as well. I really want to head up there during the day sometime and bring Elise.

Speaking of Elise, my poor daughter, I have hardly seen her all week. My car broke down last Friday and since I wouldn't have a car to bring her to school, she spent most of the week between her dad and grandmother's house. Elise was with me last night, we spent the evening at Alisha's house where she played with Addie and the dog - yes that's right ELISE PLAYED WITH THE DOG, and then had an early bedtime. Today, she got to go on a field trip to a bowling alley! Lucky!!

This weekend starts today, soon, with going to see a rock show. It's been quite a while since I've been to any sort of rock show, and this one is bound to be rockin. It's actually a *secret* show - at least the band that I am primarily going to see is a secret, so I will wait to blog on that more later. Then, tomorrow is Tessa & Alex's wedding up in the boonies of north-western Mass. I actually don't even know where exactly, or who's getting me there, but I'm going!!

And finally, let me say... today is a very special day. One year ago today, a special girl was born - a girl that I love as much as if she were my own child, a girl that is sure to be Elise's lifelong BFF. Here was Addie when I held her for the very first time:

And here she is today, this bright and bubbling and beautiful girl - Happy first birthday, Adeline Rose. Auntie Cheney loves you!

Independence Weekend

Freedom is never dear at any price. It is the breath of life. What would a man not pay for living? - Mahatma Gandhi

To me, summer holidays have always been the most fun. My daughter was born on Christmas morning, so of course that holiday will always have that extra bit of special to it, and the family and food that go along with Thanksgiving are great... But 4th of July weekend, as well as Memorial and Labor Day weekends, have always been more about me and I what I want to be doing, and less about obligations that go along with the more "serious" holidays the year brings us. 

This holiday weekend was about friends and children, food and fun, festivities and the deepest of relaxations. 

This weekend brought me my first (of many!) homemade Mojitos, drinking out in Alisha's new fenced in backyard, watching the sun go down over the rooftops and listening to the neighbors cause their ruckus from a considerate distance. This weekend had me conversing with friends that I see rarely - the 4th of July picnic at the Harvey's house has been ingrained in my life now as a five year long tradition. Elise was not yet a year old when I first brought her to the Harvey's picnic, casted in hot pink plaster from hip to toe, and in the years following it became a running joke about how dirty Elise will get in their tiny yard, which you think wouldn't have the potential for so much muddy disaster.

This year, Elise kept herself relatively clean.

After sweating it out at the Harvey's, we retreated back to Alisha's yard where I set up a new sprinkler for the girls to play in. The girls. Oh, the girls. 

I waited YEARS to share motherhood with Alisha, and this weekend it really hit home for me. We're not just taking care of babies, here. We've got kids on our hands. Little people who may or may not grow up to be just like us (got help them) (and us), little people who have their own distinct personalities and quirks, and for the first time ever they are getting along. 

Elise was always a bit wary of Adeline. She could tell from the day Addie was born that I was enamoured of this new little baby in our lives, and Elise's jealousy did not go unnoticed. For months I have had to remind her to be gentle, to be nice, to realize that Addie is just a little baby and she doesn't understand that it hurts when she pulls your hair, or that she needs to share with you - sharing, for babies, is hardly a concept, right?

Wrong:

These girls played in the sprinkler together. They shared a bowl of cereal together. And then they did something that I wish like hell I had captured on video, because the memory of those few minutes - I can only hope they will stay this freshly burned into my brain.

They played tag.

Have you ever seen a five and a half year old and an almost one year old play an actual game of tag? Where they take turns chasing each other around a house? Where the older one finally undestands she has an advantage, and lets the younger catch her, just to make it fair? 

We have the freedom to make choices in our lives - it's a gift that cannot be said for far too many people in this world. 

Lately, I've been so surprised to find that I've finally been choosing right.