Skip to main content

There's no place like home . . .

As many of you know, I am the overly-involved mother of three and wife of one. When my children are involved in something, I tend to become a little involved as well - as much as they'll let me. And trust me, they haven't always wanted me there and so I have for the most part quietly receded away. And then there are times, when it seems I go overboard!! 


I have spent the last three weeks of my life totally consumed with Oz - Wizard of Oz at Holland High School. While I wasn't in the play - I am experiencing a little of the actors' let down at final curtain. The sense of, "now what"? 


It was an incredible experience. I operated as a kind of volunteer coordinator for my fellow parents and then as a sort of box office/house manager for the performances. I really got to know the cast and, to a person, love those Ozzians and Munchkins!! A bonus for me, as a school of choice parent, was getting to know so many of the Holland school parents. An awesome group if there ever was one! 


The best part was watching all but two of the 8 performances and seeing the changes and improvements in each performance. An amazing production for a high school! And watching Delaney blossom as Glinda was certainly the icing on the cake! I cherished each moment she was on the stage - and fervently prayed that her voice would be okay for the last two performances when her cold settled in her throat and chest and made her sound like a three-pack-a-day smoker! She battled through and am told that her acted like a true professional when met with this challenge.


Now, I have to get my head out of Oz and back to home. After all, there is no place like home and Christmas is just 13 days away and I haven't even begun to put a dent in my Christmas shopping list, I haven't even purchased Christmas cards, the only cookies I've baked are the ones I baked last week to appease John's nighttime sweet tooth and I have put up only the most minimal Christmas decorations! I know it will all get done, but is sure seems to be a monumental task at this point. And the best place to start is the very beginning, finding my Christmas spirit. I know it's here someplace!

Comments

Post a Comment

It's not a popularity contest, but ...

The summer that wasn't

It's July 30. Summer, right? Wrong!!! In Michigan, we had our summer two weeks ago for about 10 days. Saw a recent post on Facebook that read:"You know you're in Michigan when you wear your bathing suit on Monday and your parka on Tuesday." We sweltered for a week or two and then were chilled again. That's where we are now. Chilling at 70. Weather aside, it no longer feels much like summer. The back-to-school ads, commercials, displays and talk have begun full-force. And I feel like I just got used to having the three-not-so-little Piggins home again and now I have to get them ready for school. Delaney has a little longer, but Michael leaves for Wayne State law in two weeks and Matthew for his sophomore year at DePauw in three.  I get the nest re-feathered and damn these 'baby' birds but they stay for too short a time then fly away. *sigh* Since this is the "glass half full" blog of a pseudo-Pollyanna, I will revert to thinking positively ...
Post a Comment
Read more

The "I'll Nevers" of growing older

  Years ago as a freelance writer, I submitted an essay entitled "The I'll Nevers of Parenting". It was a list, mostly, of things I had said prior to having children and the crow I was then eating because of the stupidity of the claims. You know little pearls of 'wisdom' that only someone who hasn't experienced the joys of  parenting could utter, like: I will never yell at my child in public or I will never let my child eat dinner in front of the television or my children will never stay up past 9 pm. I yelled at my children (usually when we were both tired and totally irrational!) in public. One time, as we were in the drop off lane at school with a long line of cars behind us, the boys hoped out of the car but Delaney was insisting on something that for the life of me I cannot recall and I was insisting that she get out of the van. We crept along, van door still open, until I got to the end of the line and yelled at the top of my voice, "Delaney get the...
Post a Comment
Read more

Sick in St. Louis and Earthquakes in Michigan. What?

A 4.2 magnitude earthquake rattled our home a few weeks ago. Now if we lived in California (or even Oklahoma!) that would be almost commonplace but we live in Michigan where an earthquake is earth shattering, not because of the resulting damage (aside from a few funny Facebook pictures of toppled lawn furniture, I didn't witness any damage) but because earthquakes in Michigan almost never happen. Or at least ones that are felt by the average person. Or even me!  That earthquake was just the beginning of strange events, for this not-so-average person.  The day after Michigan shook, John and I went to St. Louis to see Delaney's end of freshman year performance.  One of the last times John had been to St. Louis together, was in August when he'd had his heart attack. We had dropped our daughter and a van full of belongings in sweltering heat and humidity. It was the first day of a planned two-day orientation and and the following day was the official good bye. John hadn...
Post a Comment
Read more