1 day ago
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Random thuRsday
Coffee chip cookies.
Catching up with friends over a cold one.
Laugh out loud funny movies.
PJC is three. TOMORROW!!!
Eat garlic bread with spaghetti. It makes it so much better. Eat a bunch of salad before, and the guilt over the carb content goes down astronomically.
Walking in the sun.
Is it really summer? Doesn't feel like it.
Text messages that feel like hugs.
Oh yeah, I've given up caffinated soda again. There's isn't really an "end date" for it, either.
Has anyone seen Spamalot? I heard the first couple songs on the soundtrack a while ago, and it sounds hilarious.
How do you comfort someone when you can't understand their loss? It's not as if you're trying to be mean, or blow it off, but what if the grief is outside of your experience?
How do you gently let someone know that just because you are polite to them, and occasionally ask how they're doing, it does not mean you want to be intimate friends?
Why does a glass of cold milk taste so good before bed?
If a book is good enough, the reader won't notice anything going on around him. Even if he's sitting at a coffee shop underneath the El. :)
Have you ever looked at yourself - your physical body - and said, "There's things about it I don't like, but thank you, God, for making me this way!"
I used to not like being short.* Or having small hands. I didn't like the shape of my face, either. It's not that my opinion's changed, it's just that I don't feel like my opinion matters.
They WERE doing so well - can someone remind the Redbirds how to win? Still my team, but sheesh...
Feeling relaxed, going to go to bed. 'Night, all.
-BR
Catching up with friends over a cold one.
Laugh out loud funny movies.
PJC is three. TOMORROW!!!
Eat garlic bread with spaghetti. It makes it so much better. Eat a bunch of salad before, and the guilt over the carb content goes down astronomically.
Walking in the sun.
Is it really summer? Doesn't feel like it.
Text messages that feel like hugs.
Oh yeah, I've given up caffinated soda again. There's isn't really an "end date" for it, either.
Has anyone seen Spamalot? I heard the first couple songs on the soundtrack a while ago, and it sounds hilarious.
How do you comfort someone when you can't understand their loss? It's not as if you're trying to be mean, or blow it off, but what if the grief is outside of your experience?
How do you gently let someone know that just because you are polite to them, and occasionally ask how they're doing, it does not mean you want to be intimate friends?
Why does a glass of cold milk taste so good before bed?
If a book is good enough, the reader won't notice anything going on around him. Even if he's sitting at a coffee shop underneath the El. :)
Have you ever looked at yourself - your physical body - and said, "There's things about it I don't like, but thank you, God, for making me this way!"
I used to not like being short.* Or having small hands. I didn't like the shape of my face, either. It's not that my opinion's changed, it's just that I don't feel like my opinion matters.
They WERE doing so well - can someone remind the Redbirds how to win? Still my team, but sheesh...
Feeling relaxed, going to go to bed. 'Night, all.
-BR
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
A Kid Named Brody
This is something that happened Memorial Day weekend, and I'd like your opinion.
I flew to Austin Saturday morning, May 28th. It was a continuing flight, with the second leg being from Dallas to Austin. When we landed in Dallas, most of the people got off the plane. I took the chance to move from a center seat to the window. When the flight to Austin was boarding, a man named Justin took the aisle seat. Then Dana took the middle seat in the aisle in front of me.
"Sit right there." She gestured to the empty seat between Justin and me. And there he sat. Brown hair. T-shirt, shorts. A kid. He couldn't figure out how to buckle his seat belt. I did it for him. Shortly after that (a few seconds) he started talking.
"Hi! My name's Brody," he said to Justin, extending a tiny hand. Justin looked surprised, but pleased. "I'm Justin, nice to meet you." They shook hands. Brody turned left. "My name's Brody, nice to meet you!"
"I'm Amilia," I said, shaking his hand (it amazes me how small kids' hands are). Well, someone deserves credit for teaching him proper introductions.
Brody kept talking. "I'm six years old. I'm going to see my grandparents. I live in...um. Dana!" He knocked on the back of the seat in front of him. The blonde woman turned around. "Dana, where do I live?" Amarillo, apparently.
The one-sided conversation continued through the rollback, take-off and after. When the flight attendant came by as we were rolling along to the runway, Justin and I were told "if the masks come down, put your own masks on first, then help him." She gestured to Brody. I felt slightly odd. Not that wouldn't have helped him, but...I didn't know him. Was he my, or Justin's, responsibility? While flying from Dallas to Austin, yes.
During take-off, I pulled out gum. Brody asked for some, but I wasn't sure if Dana (whoever she was) would appreciate a six-year-old accepting gum from a stranger. After asking her, I gave Brody a piece of gum. He chewed enthusiastically.
My original plan had been to write. But scribbling away in a notebook with Brody two inches away was not going to happen. He told me more things - about visiting his grandparents, his mom's phone number (I promptly forgot it, and made a mental note to tell my sister to give my nephew the Do Not Talk To Strangers speech earlier rather than later), the fact that he didn't know his dad's phone number, his dad was on the plane, his dad was going to marry Dana...
Ah. So THAT'S who she is. And what was that? His father's on the plane?
While Brody scribbled in my notebook (with my permission), I looked at this cute kid. Nice, friendly. Pretty well behaved, despite the fact that he hadn't learned to not talk to strangers. But that's a hard thing to do (or not do) on a plane. I started to get angry. Then I tried to not feel angry. After all, this child was sitting between two friendly, responsible, stable adults. Justin had two kids. (Brody asked him if he had any, and asked me as well.) And in a very short time we were all going to get off the plane and go in separate directions and most likely, never see each other again.
But his father was on the plane. And his father's fiancee. And neither one was sitting next to Brody.
Am I overreacting? I've been told I am. Maybe I am. Dana was sitting right in front of him.
It's just this - I know what I would have done if Brody had been my responsibility getting on the plane. I would have asked for two seats. And I would have sat next to him. Even if he had been talking my ear off since the early morning.
As everyone walked out of the terminal, I saw Brody, walking with Dana and his dad. And I thought, If anything happens to him, I'm going to find you and kick your butt.
Your thoughts, please. Overreaction?
-BR
I flew to Austin Saturday morning, May 28th. It was a continuing flight, with the second leg being from Dallas to Austin. When we landed in Dallas, most of the people got off the plane. I took the chance to move from a center seat to the window. When the flight to Austin was boarding, a man named Justin took the aisle seat. Then Dana took the middle seat in the aisle in front of me.
"Sit right there." She gestured to the empty seat between Justin and me. And there he sat. Brown hair. T-shirt, shorts. A kid. He couldn't figure out how to buckle his seat belt. I did it for him. Shortly after that (a few seconds) he started talking.
"Hi! My name's Brody," he said to Justin, extending a tiny hand. Justin looked surprised, but pleased. "I'm Justin, nice to meet you." They shook hands. Brody turned left. "My name's Brody, nice to meet you!"
"I'm Amilia," I said, shaking his hand (it amazes me how small kids' hands are). Well, someone deserves credit for teaching him proper introductions.
Brody kept talking. "I'm six years old. I'm going to see my grandparents. I live in...um. Dana!" He knocked on the back of the seat in front of him. The blonde woman turned around. "Dana, where do I live?" Amarillo, apparently.
The one-sided conversation continued through the rollback, take-off and after. When the flight attendant came by as we were rolling along to the runway, Justin and I were told "if the masks come down, put your own masks on first, then help him." She gestured to Brody. I felt slightly odd. Not that wouldn't have helped him, but...I didn't know him. Was he my, or Justin's, responsibility? While flying from Dallas to Austin, yes.
During take-off, I pulled out gum. Brody asked for some, but I wasn't sure if Dana (whoever she was) would appreciate a six-year-old accepting gum from a stranger. After asking her, I gave Brody a piece of gum. He chewed enthusiastically.
My original plan had been to write. But scribbling away in a notebook with Brody two inches away was not going to happen. He told me more things - about visiting his grandparents, his mom's phone number (I promptly forgot it, and made a mental note to tell my sister to give my nephew the Do Not Talk To Strangers speech earlier rather than later), the fact that he didn't know his dad's phone number, his dad was on the plane, his dad was going to marry Dana...
Ah. So THAT'S who she is. And what was that? His father's on the plane?
While Brody scribbled in my notebook (with my permission), I looked at this cute kid. Nice, friendly. Pretty well behaved, despite the fact that he hadn't learned to not talk to strangers. But that's a hard thing to do (or not do) on a plane. I started to get angry. Then I tried to not feel angry. After all, this child was sitting between two friendly, responsible, stable adults. Justin had two kids. (Brody asked him if he had any, and asked me as well.) And in a very short time we were all going to get off the plane and go in separate directions and most likely, never see each other again.
But his father was on the plane. And his father's fiancee. And neither one was sitting next to Brody.
Am I overreacting? I've been told I am. Maybe I am. Dana was sitting right in front of him.
It's just this - I know what I would have done if Brody had been my responsibility getting on the plane. I would have asked for two seats. And I would have sat next to him. Even if he had been talking my ear off since the early morning.
As everyone walked out of the terminal, I saw Brody, walking with Dana and his dad. And I thought, If anything happens to him, I'm going to find you and kick your butt.
Your thoughts, please. Overreaction?
-BR
Monday, June 6, 2011
To Whet Your Appetite
Or not, because for all I know nobody cares about my blog. :) It's been busy the last couple of weeks. Chicago two weekends ago, Austin, TX for Memorial Day weekend, and last weekend was spent clea-making a bigger mess at home. And dealing with a sudden, very unexpected and VERY UNWELCOME 12 hour bug. But I'm better now, don't fret! So here's some things for you to chew on, and to ease my own conscience for not blogging earlier.
-Comfort dogs. See Mom's blog for this. Man's Best Friend, indeed.
-Anam Mila. Live band, seen in Austin.
-Tex-Mex. It's not just beans. (Hey, if someone takes that as a tagline for their restaurant, can I sue for intellectual property infringement? Legal advice needed...)
-Indian food. Like, from India. If you haven't had any recently (or ever) it's worth a shot. Some of it's really, really spicy (for those who like that sort of thing, wink, nudge) and some of it is more, er, palatable.
-TLH. The Hymnal Before LSB. Some churches still use it, although I missed the Matins service, alas...
-Good friends. Good for anytime, but especially if you haven't seen them in a while.
-Albert Pujols homers. No comment necessary.
-Colossians, chapter three.
-Who knew the Comanches had their own empire? I didn't, until recently. Sometimes it pays to impulse buy a book at an airport. (Sorry, Dave R.)
-Mario and Sonic at the Olympics. Princess Peach hardest hit.
-Joplin. Still praying, and will continue on.
-Family this weekend! 'Nuff said.
-Comfort dogs. See Mom's blog for this. Man's Best Friend, indeed.
-Anam Mila. Live band, seen in Austin.
-Tex-Mex. It's not just beans. (Hey, if someone takes that as a tagline for their restaurant, can I sue for intellectual property infringement? Legal advice needed...)
-Indian food. Like, from India. If you haven't had any recently (or ever) it's worth a shot. Some of it's really, really spicy (for those who like that sort of thing, wink, nudge) and some of it is more, er, palatable.
-TLH. The Hymnal Before LSB. Some churches still use it, although I missed the Matins service, alas...
-Good friends. Good for anytime, but especially if you haven't seen them in a while.
-Albert Pujols homers. No comment necessary.
-Colossians, chapter three.
-Who knew the Comanches had their own empire? I didn't, until recently. Sometimes it pays to impulse buy a book at an airport. (Sorry, Dave R.)
-Mario and Sonic at the Olympics. Princess Peach hardest hit.
-Joplin. Still praying, and will continue on.
-Family this weekend! 'Nuff said.
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