Slip Sliding Away

(Image: Ondra Soukup via Flickr)

Tama brought home a pretty great true life story tonight.

It's been raining for the past few hours. And she's been hard at work, it being January and all. When she finally decided to come on home, the temperature had just started to flirt with the freezing point. Walk to the garage? Too slippery. Wait for the bus? Too cold. Finally she pulled up her collar and walked it, carefully making her way down campus to the garage, only to be stopped by a serious-looking member of the public safety crew, flanked by two fellow officers.

"Is your car parked on the upper level, ma'am?" he asked.

Thinking oh man, what? did I leave my lights on?, she said, "Yyyesss...."

"Well, ma'am, you're not going to be able get to your car tonight."

"I beg your pardon?"

"The upper deck is completely iced over, ma'am, and we've had one lady try to drive out and, well, she couldn't, so we're here to stop anyone else from trying."

Tama: "Yikes! Okay, what should I do?"

"Can you call someone for a ride?"

Tama: "Well, my seven year old is fast asleep at home in bed, and the only other person in the house is his other mother, so... no, not really."

"Well, where do you live?"

Tama: "Over on Xandsuch."

"You know what, ma'am? That's not that far. How about we just drive you home?"

Apparently at least one of the other restricted drivers was far less flexible than my lovely partner. Suffice it to say that the officers were practically fighting over the right to give Tama a ride. And that, my friends, is how she got her first-ever no-charge, uniformed-officer-provided, door-to-door ride home.

Things are supposed to thaw out again tomorrow.

(No one is wearing her jammies inside out, BTW,
so there WILL be school tomorrow.)

Strain Your Brain

Aw, c'mon! Just FIVE points away from the dreaded level seven?! This is almost as much fun as online SET.

For Richer or Poorer

"For richer or poorer" is a phrase taken straight out of the standard marriage vows. It's a phrase I've never uttered, at least not in a ceremonial context.

My partner and I are not married, as we are not currently afforded that opportunity under US federal law. Since Proposition 8's passage in November, many gay and lesbian couples in the US are feeling like the "poorer" part of that equation has come to pass.

A friend this morning told me that she'd written a letter to the editor about President-Elect Obama's selection of evangelical preacher (and Proposition 8 supporter) Rick Warren to give the invocation at Obama's inauguration.

The pragmatist in me likes what Heather Gold has to say on the subject. Although I was also grateful to read my friend Melissa Harris-Lacewell's Not In My Name post.

But I haven't spent enough time thinking about it to develop a nuanced opinion of my own. I've been living without the benefit of societal sanction for so long that my status a second-class citizen has stopped feeling like something that requires emergency attention. Sad but true.

The good news? My friend who is facing eviction has found a new place to live and will be moving within the next few weeks. My friend who lost her job still has a roof over her head and plans to send me a copy of her resume to look at. My friend who was afraid her family wouldn't be able to afford health insurance says that she thinks her husband's new job might pan out after all. For now, anyway, those in my immediate circle seem able to keep the wolves at bay.

As more and more people may be facing the tangible stresses associated with financial poverty, I pray that we won't lose sight of the needs of those who are teetering on the brink of emotional bankruptcy. And I don't mean me.

(Thanks to the women of Sunday Scribblings
for their continuing inspiration.)

What I Learned From 2008

Look, Ma, one hand!
(Mr. D perfecting his moves in his after-school program.)

2008 was a great year, full of surprises and small satisfactions.

I just treated myself to a meander through my posts from 2008, and have selected a few for my end-of-the-year highlight wrap-up, going from most recent to oldest:

Be Late
Sometimes, being late is the responsible choice.

Reacting to Others' Losses
Talk less. Listen more.

Treasures
Are you treasuring yours?

Lessons from Camp
So much to learn!

Forever Family Day
Celebrate the things that make you stronger.

More Sky
Honor your losses.

Baby Freeze
If you want to learn something, track down an expert. (Hint: they're all on YouTube now.)

Snow Day
We only had one snow day in 2008, but I've been coasting on this memory ever since. I defy you to watch this video without smiling.

Mr. D's Times Tables
Sometimes it's worth doing something hard just so you can look back at it and think, "I did that."

Saturday Afternoon at the Kitchen Table
We can support each other in our creativity while doing very different things.

Go, Auntie Nish!
Given careful and loving attention, small ideas can turn into giants.

(Thanks to those friends
who pop in over here periodically,
and a special thanks to those
who even leave an occasional comment!
Thanks, too, to Robert Hruzek
for his "What I Learned From"
call for submissions.)

Deer Haiku

Image: Cindy47452 via Flickr

four more wait, watching,
while this one tests our brakes –
an unhurried deer

Finally

Since the beginning of the school year, Mr. D has been proclaiming, "T is the nicest boy in our class." For the longest time we've been wanting to invite him over and see for ourselves.

Finally, the winter break nudged the stars into alignment and we were able to get these two young men together for an extended playdate. First, a little outdoor action:

Then, a trip to Ice-Land! Young master T had never been skating before, and was initially skeptical about our offer. Mr. D worked his persuasive charms: "There's a railing you can hold onto. Wear double pants and that way if you fall down it doesn't matter so much. If you don't like it, we can just stop and get cocoa." Finally T gave in. And then, once he got out on the ice, he loved it! He fell over and over again, but was absolutely unbowed, and got better and better, little by little.

Here's T yelling, "I feel like I'm gonna fall!"

And here he is an hour later.
("I want to do this every day," was his parting quote.)
A good time was had by all.

(And we continue to think that Mr. D
has great taste in friends.)

Boxing Day

Boxing Day pretty much equals Lego day at our house.

My help is rarely required, these days.

Sometimes, I help anyway.

(Thanks to the Sassafras Santas
for this particular edition of Boxing Day delight.)

Christmas

There's nothing quite so sweetly satisfying
as Christmas in your jammies.

Here's T holding up a postcard I made for her
of her "home course" at Anstruther.
Clearly she didn't need anything else. (Good thing, too.)

Mr. D was thrilled with his "big presents" (here he's showing off his much-longed-for Eli Manning jersey; yay, Grammy & Grampy!)

And also quite taken with "found" presents
such as this empty wrapping paper tube.


The surprise smash hit of the morning was
a bag from Santa full of all sorts of disguises.
(Disguise pictures have been removed
at the request of
He Who Prefers His Cover Not Be Blown;
leave a comment if you MUST receive
a disguise picture via email.)

(PS: The new camera seems to be
working out well so far.)

Beliefs

I believe in haiku.

I believe in moseying.

I believe in celebration.

I believe that images have power.

I believe in singing. Out loud. Preferably with a friend.

I believe that we should all be permitted to wear what we please.

This last from a gal who has spent the entirety of Boxing Day in her jammies. (When Mr. D and my partner came back from a bike ride into town and back today, he greeted me with a jaunty: "Hello, Pajama Mama!")

I am an opinionated person, with passionate and deeply held beliefs.

I would do well to remember more often that others feel the same way about theirs.

I believe in compassionate listening and reflexive kindness.

And I believe that we are all of us works in progress.

(Thanks to the women of
Sunday Scribblings, who this week
unwittingly gave me an excuse
to go poking about in old posts.
New pics tomorrow, maybe?)