Book report time

I have finished all my half read young adult fiction books, so I am officially reading...nothing.  This is unusual for me.  And today is cloudy and sort of raw and the perfect day to curl up in bed with a book, but alas, as I was sick, the house apparently threw up on itself and I cannot stand looking at it.  Seriously, how do 4 people create such a mess?  

So while Avery is at the ballet with a friend, and Jack has a friend over (which I think might defeat the purpose of me cleaning...), I will try to whip this place back into shape.  And the good news is that I only work 1 1/2 days this coming week, and then I am off until January 6.  There will be some reading done at that time. 

The Art of Racing in the Rain is next on the list, as well as The Hobbit, which I am ashamed to admit I have never read.  

Next time we meet, I will contemplating my New Year's resolutions.  I think I will only make a couple, and hopefully they will stick.  

Christmas Eve 2013

This is going to be a long story.  So get a drink and go to the bathroom if you need to.   Also, there is some sensitive information in this post that kids under 12 probably shouldn’t read.  You will see what I mean, but clear your kids out of the room. 

Christmas had always been a hard time of year for me-I missed my parents, and I missed Auntie Glenna and Uncle Dave who really were the glue of the family, and it wasn’t really until I had my own kids that the magic of the holidays came back to me.  I loved that the kids got wrapped up in the Santa story, and I do enjoy spending the time to find things that everyone will really appreciate as gifts.   But I just knew this Christmas was going to be different.   

A little back story.  About two years ago, Avery asked me about Santa, and demanded the truth.  After much deliberation, I decided to tell her the whole story.  It was awful.  She was crying, I was crying, but I assured her that now she was part of the club, and we still got to keep the magic alive for Jack.  Perfect.  She was totally on board.  However, this year, Jack asked me about Santa.  (Side note, there is a whole other story that goes along with this about the challenges of co-parenting your children with your ex-husband, who happens to be Jewish, btw…but that’s for another day) I had sworn after the debacle with Avery, that I would keep up the ruse until Jack was at least 45, but Jack is a different kid than Avery and his brain operates in a very different way, so I decided (again after much deliberation) that if he wanted the truth, that I would give it to him.   Well, it went badly again.  He was upset, Avery was upset all over again, and when trying to generate Christmas spirit in the house, there was a lot of “well, what does it matter anyway, Mom?  There is no Santa”.  If you are a parent, you might be able to understand how it rips your heart out when your kids are disappointed. 

So here I am, trying to be Christmassy, and Jack is having none of it.  And Avery is mad at Jack because she sees I am upset.  Vicious circle, life is sometimes…anyway, my bestest girlfriend Jennifer found this letter on Pinterest (it’s been on Facebook too) about how to tell your kids about Santa.  To remind them about what the spirit of the holiday is about, and how Santa can teach you to believe in things that you cannot see…well I decided that I was going to use that letter and try and bring us all back together in one big happy Christmassy circle.

So here we are on Christmas Eve.  I am sick as a dog, my sister is recovering from rotator cuff surgery, my other sister is in town trying to help, and the kids are off the wall because its Christmas Eve and they have present tunnel vision.  Something set Jack off.  I can’t even remember what, but he was being pretty ungrateful, and VERY un-Christmassy.  So I got the letter, called Avery into Jack’s room and asked Jack to read the letter aloud.  It was a beautiful moment.  It really was.  I saw the light go on in Jack’s head…and then…Avery, with her knack for the sarcastic, says “So now will you stop being a crabby pants jerk and enjoy Christmas?”  NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO….I saw the whole thing go up in smoke in an instant, right before my very eyes.  Jack said something to the effect of “Avery, why do you have to ruin everything?” and ripped the letter in half.   Avery gasped.  I just stared at him with my mouth open.  Then I (smartly) just got up and walked out of the room.  No good was going to come of me trying to talk to him, or yell at him or cry in front of him.  So I walked away.  Right upstairs to my room.  And started to cry.  I could hear Avery sobbing in her room.  But I had to let everyone work this out themselves. 

About 10 minutes went by and they both came upstairs.  Both crying.  Jack apologized and handed me the letter which he had taped together with duct tape with moustaches on it.  We all had a group hug, and I have had to let it all go, but the times they are a changin’.  And I don’t love it.  I love who my kids are now, but it just seemed simpler when they were younger.  Now I am following them on Instagram, and Pinterest and following their friends to make sure nothing inappropriate is going on.  I am having conversations with them that I know for a fact my mom never had with me.  I love being their mom, more than anything, but it ran me over this year.

Whenever anything major like this happens, I let the excitement die down a little and then I try to review the event to see what I learned.  Here’s what I got out of it.

1.        Sometimes it is best to just walk away.

2.       I have really good, albeit, high strung kids (its genetic, they can’t help it)

3.       Its time for some changes of my own in 2014.  More on that later. 

I do not think I introduced Chicky Noel

Chicky "found" us on December 12th.  I follow the local shelters on Facebook, which is really a bad idea, and I saw a video of her and read her story.  Went to meet her after work, she jumped into my lap and the rest is history.  She is a sweetie.  Mostly just wants to snuggle and sleep on your head when you go to bed for the night. 

I knew after we put Elizah down in October that I would get another cat, but I also knew I wasn't really going to have to seek one out...one would appear in one way or another.  And she did.

Isn't she a love?

Chicky exploring at the vet's office

Ok, this one is just funny.

random winter photo...

On occasion, I "wander" through my photos on my phone, and find things I forgot about.  Like this.  Early morning frost on the window of my car.  I ran it through Instagram, and it looked like 50 different things depending on the filter I put on it.  This is with no filter, and I think it is perfect. 

It is snow time here in New England

Well really everywhere, I guess.  This sight made me laugh this morning so I had to snap a picture.  Poor Lowell the Red Sox gnome had seen better days.

Of course, since it has snowed all day, poor Lowell is submerged.  

I have come up with a great plan to pick the order of the books I read...

I have asked my friend Tom to do it.  This is Tom:

Ok, ok, this isn't really Tom, but he is a farmer.  At least by avocation.  Someday it will be his full time occupation.  Anyway, he is one of the only people that reads as much as I do, and who fully supports and enjoys my crazy stunts like reading random lists of books and blogging about them.  (you could always go check out my old blog-alwaysgreetyourvegetablesproperly.blogspot.com .  He liked that too)

So without further ado, I will now reveal Tom's next pick in the book draft.  The Art of Racing in the Rain.  Ironically, there is another book called Racing in the Rain, by the same author, and that is actually what I downloaded by mistake.  Oops.  Time to get the actual book I wanted.  Hooray for Kindle returns.

I am still working on finishing at least one of the three books I am currently reading, but as soon as one of them is done, I will start this one.

I finished it

And as I expected, there was tragedy.  But there was also this beautiful sentiment (and I don't really think I give away anything by sharing it)

"You don't get to choose if you get hurt in this world, but you do have some say in who hurts you.  I like my choices."

This made me so very happy, and ripped my heart out all at the same time.  Perfection.  Did this book change my life?  Eh, probably not in the way the phrase "change your life" is drummed up to mean.  Have I been thinking the line I referenced for 2 days?  Yep.

This book I recommend.  It is a quick read, and it is really a lovely story.

As a side note, I think my book list might expand.  I read book reviews all the time, and I am finding myself adding to the list.  Perhaps this will be more than a year long project.

Soooooo...the next book.  I am going to take a break from the list and finish the other 3 books I am reading right now.  The Titan's Curse (from the Percy Jackson series), The Sorceress (from the Alchemyst series) and Allegiant (from the Divergent series).  Yes.  All "young adult" books.  I try to read many of the books my kids read so we continue to have something to talk about.  The added bonus?  Usually the books are awesome.  With the amount of snow coming this weekend, I may have a chance to finish all three :)

Next book

The Fault in Our Stars.

I am loving this book.  I am fearing a horribly tragic ending, however.  Ironically, since I am reading this book as a part of a list of books that could change my life, and part of the book is centered around a book that changed someone's life.

The two main characters are Hazel Grace and Augustus.  Hazel Grace is battling terminal cancer, and Augustus is a survivor.  This alone has tragic all over it. I don't think I am going to write anything additional about actual details of the book, because I don't want to give the beautiful story away, but when I finish, I will tell you what the book left me with.  Please don't be heartache, please don't be heartache, please don't be heartache.

So. Here it is.

I can't do it.  At least not right now.  I cannot finish Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance.  Maybe I will add it back to the bottom of the pile, but I just don't get it.  I like the superficial story, but I do not get all the deep, philosophical, waaaaaaaaaaaaay out there stuff.

So this is a fail.

Next book?  The Fault in Our Stars.  I admit part of the reason I picked this one is that I know its being turned into a movie.  And I always want to read the book before I see a movie.  Amazon Prime...send me my book.  Probably a good thing they don't have that 30 minute drone delivery thing.  I need to grade papers and clean my house today.

So the book might be killing me, but...

I love this picture so much.  I think I took it by mistake.



See that name?  Phaedrus?  I need to understand him more.

This first book is killing me

I sure hope this isn't a sign of things to come with this challenge.

So.  Zen and The Art of Motorcycle Maintenance...it is out there.  I am relatively smart, I think.  I have read a lot of different kinds of books.  This is a tough read.  Many references I do not know.  It is slow going because I have to stop, look something up, try to put it into context, and then move on.  Admittedly, if I was just randomly reading this book, I might stop.  But it is a challenge, and as of right now, I am still too stubborn to give up on the challenge.

It would, however, be quite helpful if I was actually interested in motorcycle maintenance.  :)

If I am smart

and sometimes I am, I will use this blog as an outlet, not just a book review. 

My life is far from exotic.  And most of the time I am okay with that.  I am very lucky, and I am quite grateful for all that I do have.  But for sure, it is the mundane that runs me down.  The stupid, petty bullshit that exists in the every day.  The scheduling, and the fact that my kids don't want to put their laundry away, or that I have to fight with Jack sometimes because he just doesn't understand that I can't always drop what I am doing to buy him baseball cards (all real things that happened just today in my life, btw).  Oh and did I mention that a bird got into the house today and the kids called me freaking out and Avery couldn't possibly open the front door and try to shoo him out...that would be unsafe.  So I left work early expecting some rabid bird flying around the house pecking everyone's eyes out...here is what I came home to....ready?  Its pretty scary...

GASP.  IT IS A HOUSE WREN!  And when I opened the front door of the house, he flew out.  Just like that.  Without having to take any drastic measures like opening a window too.  This is my life, folks.  I can't make this shit up.

So I do my best to take a deep breath, maybe have some form of alcohol, and move on.  I do struggle with the move on portion of this...but I am trying.  And I am getting better.  But we are all works in progress. 

So now, the house is quieter, the laundry is mostly away, and everyone appears calm.  So its reading time for a bit before my tired eyes give out for the night.  On to more Zen...

I suppose I ought to give a "regular life" update too

There have been big doin's around here. 

Me:  Managed to pull my head out of my ass long enough to refinance my ex off the house we lived in (he had been living in it) and the kids and I and Ami J moved back in.  Moving sucks, but it has been spectacular.  Right this minute, I am typing from my newly re-organized office space in my bedroom and I am in love with it.  I continue to try to remain as organized as possible-I am a work in progress, and I am also learning to try to limit my commitments.  I am hoping the aforementioned book project will help with that.   This remains to be seen.

Avery:  She is nearly 12.  This blows my mind.  She is in 6th grade, very smart, extremely kind, and very, very, very fresh.  I suppose she comes by it honestly, but man...we are going to butt heads. 

She loves to read, which I love.  Here she is devouring another book, surrounded by members of our zoo.

 

 

Jack:  He turned 9 this summer.  This ALSO blows my mind.  He is in 4th grade, continues to excel in school and in athletics.  He would play all sports simultaneously if there was a way to do it.  I can't lie.  I derive such joy from watching him play.  It is so natural for him and it never was natural for me, so I am sort of in awe.  He is also pretty mouthy.  Shocking.

 

I effing love this picture.  He would probably be horrified if he knew I was publishing it for the world to see.  Lucky for him, I don't think anyone reads this blog. 

 

 

There are days when we hold it together MacGyver style-with dental floss and gum, but there are days that are also pretty spectacular.  I live for those moments.  



It has been a while...

But something lately has been calling me to write.  I am definitely on a quest of some sort, but I haven't quite determined what it is.  Cue the Red Rider music...

A few weeks ago, a friend of mine sent me a link from the website Buzzfeed.  32 Books That Will Actually Change Your Life.  I was pretty happy that I had read 9 or so of them-and then I thought that perhaps I should read the rest.  So I have made the decision to read the remaining books on the list by the end of 2014.  I looked them all up on Amazon and created a wish list for myself-here is a link to it...Pen's book list.  I will say that I added one book that was not originally on the list-I mentioned my plan to one of my friends and he mentioned a book that he felt I should read, so I added it on.  Why not, right?

As a side note, the 9 that I had read off of the list didn't change my life in any way, really.  I certainly liked them, but at the risk of ruining any credibility I might have with anyone, the only book in recent years that has changed my life in any way was Eat, Pray, Love.  That book made me think more about how I was living my own life in such a profound way-I keep a copy close by and reread it on occasion.

Anyway, where to start?  Well, as luck would have it, one of the books on the list was one I had already purchased along the way, because I felt it was something I was supposed to read.  Zen and The Art of Motorcycle Maintenance-An Inquiry into Values by Robert M. Pirsig.  Ironically, I am teaching a class this semester on Professional and Ethical Standards and we talk a lot about where a person's value system comes from.  Perhaps this will relate to my class.  Perhaps I can end up using it instead of a textbook next semester!

So here it goes.  I am not sure if I will write as I go along, or when I finish.  I guess I will figure that out as I go along.