Sort of super

When the moon is 135 miles closer than it was the last time it was in perigee (January), what else can you do, but drag your family to the park to walk them down half icy, super steep steps that were probably built 50 years ago to Lake Michigan after dark? At least I'd remembered a flashlight.

We were at a baseball party, so missed the moonrise. And it was pretty cloudy, so I kept getting hazy pictures. But it finally broke through the clouds for a bit.

We ran into some friends who were there for the same reason as us, so did the walk with them, too. And then we ran into some tattooed guys who had a really fantastic bonfire and called them our friends too. I was thankful, because it kept the kids happy so I could take a few more photos.

Between the fire, the treacherous walk, the baseball party we'd just come from, being outside all day in the springlike air, and it being a half-hour past his bedtime, C-man fell asleep in the half mile from the park to our house.

I'm so glad winter is over.

1957

You know how some people are thought of as "old souls"? Those people who seem to have wisdom and thoughtfulness beyond their years. I've always thought of C-man as one of those people. And now, as he insists on exclusively wearing white short-sleeved t-shirts and Chucks like it's 1957, I'm totally convinced he's an old man in a 6 year old's body.

On truth

“Truth is like the sun. You can shut it out for a time, but it ain't goin' away.” -Elvis Presley

Irish Family History Lesson

To say I'm not Irish is a pretty fair statement. That's because I have to track back to the 1100s to get to the Emerald Isle. The good news is, that my family didn't just live there, they owned it.

My most recent Irish heritage is Aoife MacMurrough (1145-1188), whose anglicized name is Eva; who is sometimes even referred to as Red Eva of Leinster.

Aoife's father, Dermot (Diarmait MacMurchada), was ousted as King of Leinster. He asked King Henry II for help. In exchange for the troops and his crown back, he pledged his daughter to Richard "Strongbow" de Clare.

Not much is known of Eva, as is to be expected of a woman in her time. She had 2 sons and a daughter and is inexplicably buried in Wales. There is a statue of her in Carrickfergus Castle, although no one seems to have a photo of it.

And that, ladies is gentlemen, is about as Irish as I get.

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In other non-Irish happenings, Happy birthday, Cole!

Wordless Wednesday: Lakefront art

Melting snow

Be melting snow. Wash yourself of yourself. -Rumi

The snow is supposed to melt in a big way this week. And that always leaves behind a wet, sloppy mess that threatens more flooding. But it also leaves behind the water for the trees to begin to warm up and bud.

Personally, I've been in my own sort of winter, not growing or learning anything new; just stagnating. And as the snow melts, I find myself waking up to the possibilities of cleaner, healthier days. Days filled with who and what I want to be, not filled with other peoples' baggage and bad choices.

I can be anything tomorrow if I just start today.

Segments

This above all: to thine own self be true,
And it must follow, as the night the day,
Thou canst not then be false to any man.
Farewell, my blessing season this in thee!

Each one of us has so many facets; so many likes and dislikes; so many identities; so many personalities we portray. Yet they all make up the one whole, held together by the core of what we believe to be true.

Lent, for me, is a time to pause and reflect on who I am in each of these segments, and what that says about me as a whole. It's a time to reassess what my own essence is through the lens of my own beliefs and faith. It's a time to assess what I won't tolerate, and then gives me the time to purge my life of it. It is, most importantly, a time for me to reflect on all the different parts of me so that I can make each of them better.

You know, kind of like a faith-based New Years. Except without any of the noisemakers or fondue.

Impatient wait for summer

It's a beautiful day today. A rare March day that actually requires sunglasses. So Harry and I took a walk along the lake. The ice shelf is slowly breaking up. But the entire pier is still engulfed in ice. And so, my favorite picnic table patiently waits. As do I.

Marching on

March continues on in what feels a little like a death march beneath the gray skies. Beerman mentioned that C-man's party is next weekend, and I had a little internal freakout. But the cake is ordered, the babysitter is hired to help out, and the goodie bags are stuffed (minus the candy, because I'll eat it if I get it too soon), so I think we're in good shape.

Working out has become mostly a routine now, which is good. It sure does make me feel loads better.  (I know this, and yet, I fall back into the pattern of not doing it. Which is dumb. I'm glad I'm in a healthy pattern right now.)

We're also finalizing our plans for next month's New Mexico trip, which can't get here soon enough. It looks like we're doing an overnight camping trip in the Rio Gorge with llamas, which in theory sounds like a total blast. I've already got my new camera lens picked out that I want to take on it. My new best friend Stu at the camera shop is just so old and sweet, I barely noticed as he was totally suckering me into coveting a ridiculously priced lens. Damn that Stu and his sweet camera loving ways. ("Just go outside and get the feel of it and tell me what you think.") At least I have a birthday coming up, so it's sort of justifiable. Sort of.

Golden boy

Happy golden birthday!

Swimsuit season?

The snow has been beautiful. But honestly? I'm kind of over it. Last night we went into the local Lands End store to get some new gloves for C-man because his have become beyond embarrassingly sad. I had been hoping I wouldn't need to get him another pair, because, well, it's March. But I couldn't not do it anymore, they are just that sad. Despite the fresh snowstorm and Lands End being a Wisconsin-based company, all there was for us to buy were swimsuits and goggles. In March.

Now I understand the theories of retail - push the next season to get people buying more over a longer period of time. But it's March. In Wisconsin. If there wasn't snow everywhere, our skin is still so pasty white from it not seeing the sun for the past 4 months, we glow brighter than the snow that's on the ground. So a new swimsuit is not what I want to be putting on my body, thankyouverymuch. Just let me have the darned gloves! (Thankfully, Lands End provides free shipping, and a bright red pair to C-man's liking should arrive at our house tomorrow.)

Wordless Wednesday: Stubbornness

Fat Tuesday

I informed C-man that he's dessert-free for Lent. He did not feel like my answer of "fruit" was an appropriate one when he asked what sweet stuff he was supposed to eat. You'd think I was torturing the child.

I'm also torturing him, because we arrived home and one of his presents I'd gotten for his birthday was at the door, and I wouldn't let him open it. He actually wouldn't speak to me for an hour, he was so mad.

I debated whether or not to eat one of the paczkis in the office today. After all, I worked out really super hard last night. To the point that I think I've finally revved my metabolism up, because I was dreaming of eating a giant steak. So after much consideration, I ate the paczki. After all, it's Fat Tuesday. And I did work out last night.

Birthday month

It is officially C-man's birthday month. And because he is my child, his extensive and long-thought about list has been created (The darned thing should just say "everything except Justin Bieber stuff", because that's what it's come down to.) And the surprises from the UPS and mailman have begun to arrive, making arriving home from school a celebration in itself.

The responses to the birthday party continue to all come in as "Yes" (So far, not a single "No" in the bunch, so we hired one of his babysitters to help. Because seriously, 23 six  year olds in a bowling alley? CRAZINESS!)

But not only is getting the presents glorious and indescribable fun, the boxes they come in then double as hamster houses, C-man forts, battlefields, and TV watching huts.

Being almost 6 is really cool.

Wrapping up the weekend

The weekend is almost over. And more than normal, it feels like it's coming to an end too soon. So I'm going to spend the few moments of it that are left with my family. Well that, and searching for a non-toy that starts with "T" that can be taken for tomorrow's show and tell, too. Here's wishing you the best on your remaining weekend moments, too.

Starting today

Wednesday night, I was running on the treadmill. To say I hate the treadmill might be an understatement. It's boring and grueling. But in spite of that, something sort of excellent happened while I was sweating piggishly, grumbling along every single step. The woman in front of me had on a t-shirt that said, "I can do anything tomorrow if I start today." And as I stared at that for 50 minutes, something about that really hit home.


You see, inertia is a real problem for me. I have great intentions in my head, but to get up and do what I mean to do is a bit of a stretch sometimes. And I'm not just talking about exercise here. So I think that "I can do anything tomorrow if I start today" might just become my new mantra when I don't feel like doing something. I've missed having a mantra. It's good to have one again.

Giving up and out

Lent is starting next Wednesday. (Which reminds me, I need to order my paczkis!) So it's time to start thinking about what I'm going to do during Lent as my constant reminder of my own faith and beliefs.

One school of thought says you should give something up. Another is against that, and thinks you should do something for others. I'm in the camp of "both". The giving up something simple in my daily routine is a constant reminder to me that it is Lent. While doing something for others teaches me and my family that we need to do more with less and help others get more.

The overall focus on my Lent this year is going to be on patience and positivity. My patience has gotten too thin lately, and my negativity has gotten too big. And it hurts those around me. Life is short. Why would I want to continue to hurt those most important to us with petty grudges and insignificant things? So I'm going to do my best to stop the complaining about things little and big.

I'm also going to start donating more to the local shelters. They desperately need food and money, two things I'm incredibly blessed to have. Plus, it'll help C-man to see the shelters and what it means to be homeless a bit better. So every Saturday, I'm going to make sure we make a trip to one of them to give what we can.

And I'm also going to give up chocolate. Because seriously, that's just plain ol' hard.

Weekend bound

Everyone is back to work and school today. Just in time to whoop it up for the weekend.

Wordless Wednesday: Melting

Another week

On the way home from work yesterday, I listened to Bob Uecker call the Brewers win over the Giants 10-9. I also listened to the Giants fans shout, "You suck!" to their own players, which made me giggle, too. Idiots. But hearing those promising sounds of spring made life that much sweeter, making walking in the door to a husband who continues to ail from strep throat and a son who came home from school with a 102 fever and an apparent raging ear infection, that much easier. (How does a child with a bloody red ear drum on Monday be the same kid who was doing underwater flips in the pool for an hour without complaint on Sunday?) The two of them are so sad looking, and I feel so helpless.

But it appears Beerman is on the mend, although thankfully still at home today. C-man is on antibiotics now too, although I always doubt the effectiveness of antibiotics for ear infections. And so far, I'm still among the living, which is positive. Since I don't have an immune system, I'm crediting my twice daily use of the neti pot and the 4 times a week sweat out in the gym for helping with that. (If I come down with something, clearly, the gym wasn't helping and maybe I should consider quitting.)

I'm slowly getting my act together for C-man's birthday party. We invited 23 kids, (his class plus a few other friends) thinking a few would bail. How wrong I was! So far, we've gotten 16 responses, and all are coming. Maybe I need to hire someone to help us! It's a comic superhero theme at the local bowling alley. I really wanted to get the kids capes to wear, but they're way expensive for 23 kids. And then we watched the Incredibles again the other day, and was reminded that we really should have no capes! So the good news about Borders closing its store is that I could get comic books for 40% off. That, a mask, and some candy will be the goody bag stuffers. (As an aside, I'm taking 23 kids bowling, feeding them, shoving their gullets full of cake, AND I have to give them stuff to leave with too? Who started this stupid tradition?) A March birthday is such a pain.

In other randomness, you may remember on the way-back machine that I spoke to the people at myheritage about my family tree. They decided to feature me on their blog, and it's up today.