Nutty

I've been waiting for this all my life...45 1/2 years...yesterday morning I stopped by 7-11 to pick up the Sunday paper and saw my own personal Nirvana waiting for me by the cash register: they've now come out with Coconut M&M's! I remember being so thrilled whenever one of my cronies in the college dorm got a box of chocolate with coconut in it, because I usually got to eat all of the coconut pieces. Now I'm a lot more reasonable with my treats but I just had to splurge on the 210 calories. Ahhhh.

This afternoon I made the charoset for tonight's Passover feast, which also has a lot of nutty flavor...for those who don't know what that is, it represents the mortar between the bricks in the "Ten Commandments" bible story. We eat it on matzo during the Passover seders to bring out the symbolism, and also because it's yummy! It's made with grape juice and lots of cinnamon (mine is, anyway). This gentile girl living in a house of Jews has modified a lot of the recipes I've received over the years so they conform to our own personal style. Having a roast turkey breast too, sweet potato pie, and matzo ball soup. Mmmm.

Happy Passover! And happy Easter week too.

The Fragility of Teenage

An old classmate of mine lost her gorgeous 17 year old daughter over the weekend to suicide. Bright future. All county soccer player. Already enrolled in college for the fall. Indescribably sad. We sat all the kids down last night and told them that they need to talk about whatever is bothering them...teenage angst happens to everybody...mean kids are just mean and it's all about them, only them...but also they must reach out to help other kids who speak of desperation and depression. However bad it seems, there's always something that can be done about it. And there's no "reset" button after an act like this one.

Last night as I was running errands after dinner -- mindless stuff like dropping off books at the library, putting mail in the box, and picking up a dozen eggs -- pieces of verses began to gallop through my mind, so I wrote them down.

I told my sons about you

To save them from your fate

And now your mom's without you

For you it was too late

What ever were your demons?

What ever were your troubles?

What ever were your secrets?

What ever were your struggles?

What ever were you thinking

When you drew your final breath?

What ever was so awful

That it made you look to death?

An athlete so strong

A future so bright

How could so much go wrong

That it couldn't be made right?

However hopeless or broken

You thought your world to be

Every time your name is spoken

We'll relive the tragedy

We'll never know what mattered

That could only be solved by dying

To leave a parent's dreams shattered

And leave so many hearts crying

A Nod from Mother Nature

Not only did I come home to a glorious weekend, BUT it was the dream of everyone who works a weekday job. Sunny, warm, and pleasant over the weekend...and then rain forecasted for Monday and Tuesday with cooler temperatures. I'm not objecting to the clouds and mist this morning once I view the big picture. Hope everyone has a good week!

Springing

Earlier this week, from Saturday morning until Thursday afternoon, I was on a business trip in Portland, Oregon. The cherry blossoms are in full swing there already; the winters must be a whole lot less severe than in New York. We had a few nice sunny days there, and I was impressed that I didn't have to use my umbrella during all the walking I did. Still, because the last snowstorm isn't so distant a memory, and because we had some nasty rain and high winds last weekend here on Long Island, I expected to be catapulted right out of my springlike mood once I arrived back at JFK airport and emerged into the open air.

Wrong! How I love being mistaken sometimes! It was a fairly warm evening on Thursday, even at 11PM. On Friday morning, it was a bit chilly but by afternoon we were having a spring day. On my way home from work I recall smiling as I drove through the golf course near our house, seeing plenty of people out playing. When I was walking up to the house, I realized that little shoots were sprouting along the border of the garden where I had planted bulbs in the fall. Yippee!

Today is so gorgeous that I hope all Lawn Guylanders have been out enjoying it. The big construction paper flowers have just been placed in the front windows of the house, which has my eight year old filled with glee. Tomorrow we'll plant some hostas on the shady side of the house. Say goodbye to another winter. Mmmmm.

The Warm Fuzzies

Last night's performance of "Little Shop" kicked butt. In addition to the really fun full chorus numbers, we had a couple of solos. Son #2 got to be the patient who runs from the dentist's chair when Seymour comes in. His wounded animal style whimpering got a chuckle from the audience. Son #1 had a small vocal part as a TV producer who tries to get Seymour to sign a contract. The conductor of the pit band said it was the best performance of the song, better than all the rehearsals.

I've been pretty candid about Son #1's callous treatment of his brothers now and again, so it's only fair that I show his sweet, sensitive side. His cast bio in the program said:

This was his first production, and he loved being in the show. He would like to thank his mother for believing in him. He would also like to thank [the directors] and [the teacher] who urged him to try out for the play.

I guess I probably will never get off the emotional roller coaster called parenthood, but I have to admit that last night's ride was pretty thrilling.

Burning It at Both Ends

This week, the Little Shop of Horrors rehearsals at the middle school are until 8:00 every night. It's "tech week" which means they are doing costumes and makeup. A real hoot, of course, showing 11 and 13 year old boys how to remove the residue from eye liner and mascara when they wake up in the morning! However...they didn't arrive home until 8:30 last night and then had to begin with showers and homework. (They get food brought to them by Dad or Mom in the middle of rehearsal so they've already been fed.)

I actually felt sorry for my normally smug and capable eighth grader. He would ordinarily retire for the evening at 9:00 on a Wednesday because of jazz band rehearsal Thursday morning; I have to get him to the school by 6:50. (Tuesdays too!) Well, he managed to complete homework in two subjects during breaks in rehearsal activities, but still had three subjects to go once he'd arrived home, taken off makeup, and showered (by then it was after 9:00). He finally was finished at 10:30.

It was not pretty to see him try and get up at 6 this morning. He finally trudged downstairs at 6:20 and didn't have time for cereal and milk. Banana, Nutri-Grain bar, and orange juice instead, plus some cheddar crackers thrown in the backpack for a mid morning carb boost in case he needs it. Only one more night of this, and then he can sleep as long as he likes on Saturday morning.

Next Thursday I don't know how the kids will get any homework done either. The play performance is at 7, and I assume we won't get them home until well after 9. I think they should ask their teachers for a mulligan, or volunteer to do extra work over the weekend if they can delay some of their assignments to Monday. Although the 6th grade workload for Son #2 isn't anywhere near as heavy. Sigh, work hard...play hard.