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Sibling Alienation
A person who takes
A “lost soul” ever indulged
Parent enablers
For personal reasons, I’ve closed comments for this post, but thank you for reading.
Haiku
GenX
Art museums
My husband and I are very different. In fact, we’re almost complete opposites. He likes a lot of things that I will never ever be into like weightlifting in gyms, football and other contact sports like rugby, and hardcore (punk) music. I like a lot of things that he will never ever be into like singing in choirs, going to musicals, and swimming.
For many years, we just kind of did our own thing. I went to the beach with friends, while he stayed home and went to the gym…
But if you’re going to stay married to one person for your entire adult life, you must come up with at least a few shared activities, especially after your kids fly the coop, or you will have absolutely nothing interesting to talk about!
One of the things we both like to do is go to art museums. We have memberships at a few local museums and we go to their major exhibitions. Yesterday was the Georgia O’Keefe and Henry Moore exhibit at Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts.
It was an interesting idea. They took two artists who worked in different mediums (a painter and a sculptor) in the same time period (early 20th century) and put them side by side. The idea was to see how they were grappling with similar themes in their work, especially nature and tension/balance between shapes, and appreciate how they influenced each other.
The galleries were quite crowded (a great sign for art museums!), but that made it a bit difficult to fully consider the interplay between the two artists. Still, I think I got the idea.
My husband liked the Moore sculptures best. Me? I just love those famous Georgia O’Keefe flower paintings. As many times as I’ve seen them reproduced as prints and posters, the originals are so nuanced and gorgeous. What can I say? I like flowers and pretty colors. (They sort of reminded me of the Northern Lights.)
And then, for something completely different, we took a stroll through a Salvador Dalí exhibit. The famous Spanish surrealist was truly an extraordinary painter. Interestingly, he was a contemporary of Moore and O’Keefe. All three lived through World War II—an event so monumental no artist was unaffected by it.
Here Dali once again places melting watches in a barren landscape, but now the context is the post-war atomic age. An elaborate grid of bricks recedes toward the distant horizon, the boxy shapes becoming missile-like forms. Typical of the artist, the picture’s meaning is ambiguous, though very much of the nuclear era.”
The Northern Lights
I think a lot of people in the Northeast (including me!) checked off “See the Northern Lights” from their buckets lists last night. This was especially rewarding for those of us who missed seeing them in May. Who knew our once-in-a-lifetime chance would come twice in one year?
This feels like a lot of things.
Remembrance
The lights and colors in the sky last night reminded me of my close friend from college, Carla, who died in 2022. She had brain cancer. She really wanted to see the Northern Lights before she died, but was too sick to travel, so her friends and family found a way to project them onto the ceiling in her bedroom in Santa Fe. It was beautiful.
A Sign
I know I’m not alone in feeling a lot of anxiety about the state of the country and the way it feels like we’re never going to go back to “normal” — no matter who wins the election. I’ve never in my life been afraid of a US election, but I’m afraid of this one.
Similarly, I never once saw the Northern Lights as a kid growing up in Massachusetts, but this year, many New Englanders saw them twice! A little girl standing near me last night said, “this is God.” Maybe so. Or maybe it’s a sign of transition to a new era—an era where completely new things happen.
Unknown new things are scary and I have a strong urge to “circle the wagons” and try to protect the ones I love. (I think to myself, “please stay in Massachusetts where you’ll maybe be a bit safer from gun violence, flooding, dangerous reproductive care, crappy public schools, etc.)
But I know that’s not really possible.
My new granddaughter will hopefully live into the next century. She will live out most of her life in this new era, whatever it may be. I want her to feel free, adventurous, and safe to explore the world beyond her home state.
Living in the transitional time
An activist friend of mine left for New Zealand yesterday. She’s staying until the end of the month. She said she just needed to get out of the country for these last few weeks before the election. I can relate. In some ways, it’s all just too much.
Maybe seeing the aurora borealis is the reminder some of us needed to center ourselves and live in the moment. Humans have been around a long time and have accomplished many great things and many terrible things. Even though it sometimes feels like end times are upon us, there’s a decent chance that something great is just around the corner too.
Final thought: just breathe
Related post:
Florida
I’ve spent more time in Florida than any other state outside New England. I like Florida. I love the beaches. I like the theme parks. I love all the outdoor dining. I like the diversity. I love the winter weather. I like how easy it is to get there from Boston with many cheap, nonstop flights daily.
We have close friends and family in Orlando, the Palm Beach area and Naples. They have been through many hurricanes and they don’t typically get too concerned. Therefore, I did not immediately change my travel plans when a very late season hurricane (Nicole) was forecast in November 2022. We were scheduled to look at condos with a realtor and she would’ve been highly inconvenienced if we cancelled. (We were actually thinking of purchasing a second home down there at the time.)
Hurricane Nicole hit on Election Day in November 2022. (Governor Ron DeSantis was overwhelmingly reelected—possibly a bad sign for this Massachusetts liberal.) We were told we had to evacuate our hotel because it was in “Zone B” – a barrier island. I never even got to try the pool. We left and checked into another hotel outside of Zone B.
The hurricane itself wasn’t too bad where we were, but I had a bad reaction to the extreme barometric pressure change. It caused a problem with my inner ear and triggered vertigo. Not fun. I sat in my hotel room with a barf bucket in my lap waiting for the moment we could go to the airport.
After that trip, I decided I would never again visit Florida during hurricane season and really didn’t want to own a condo there. (Renting is fine.)
But I still like Florida.
Hurricane Milton looks horrific. I’m scared for the state. I hope it’s not as bad as they’re saying it will be.
If God Would Go on Sick Leave
It’s now been a whole year since the Hamas-led terrorist attacks on Israel in which 1,200 men, women and thirty-six children were horrifically killed and 250 abducted. Since then, over 40,000 Palestinian civilians have been killed and countless thousands have been injured and displaced, including mothers, children and infants.
Mothers, children, and infants, like my precious granddaughter…
My minister shared this poem on Sunday and it really struck a chord with our Unitarian Universalist congregation.
“If God Would Go On a Sick Leave: A Poem of Peace”
by Rabbi Zoë Klein
Nowhere is there more prayer.
The Nuns at the Holy Sepulchre.
The faithful at Al Aqsa Mosque.
The worshippers at the Wall.
The call to prayer at dawn and dusk
Warbling from the citadels.
The church bells,
The Persian trills,
The passion spilled over texts
From every major/minor religious sect.
Nowhere is there more prayer than Jerusalem,
Thanks be to God, Hamdilala, Baruch Hashem.
And yet,
I’m starting to think that it’s You and not them,
God, what’s the point of prayer?
If there’s nowhere where
There’s more prayer,
And terror reigns
Then, Who’s to blame?
If suddenly, without a whisper goodbye,
Jesus, Allah, Adonai,
The three men they admire most
All took the last train for the coast,
And the Moslems got up from their knees
And the Christians put down their rosaries
And the Jews stayed their hands from kissing
Their mezuzahs,
And everyone looked up,
And realized something’s missing…
God is missing.
Stop the praying! No One’s there,
They’d arrange a party to search everywhere.
They’d look for God
But there’d be no Presence
In Holy Books or stars and crescents
Or steeples and crosses.
People’d be at a loss,
Is He ever coming back?
They’d be so distraught,
Their searching for naught,
There’d be nothing on high
So they’d turn to on low,
There’d be nothing above
So they’d turn to below,
And they’d finally see there,
In the face of the other,
A semblance of sister,
The eyes of a brother,
They’d turn and they’d lean
Upon one another.
You see, every group can’t believe that they’re the ones chosen,
Every group can’t believe that the Holy Land’s owed them,
Sometimes faith in You, God,
Builds insurmountable walls,
And everyone falls.
Everyone falls.
How wise are the secularists for whom the dead aren’t martyred
But, quite plainly, murdered…
This might sound like an absurd,
ungodly thing to say,
A truly heretical supplication to pray,
(I say this only out of the deepest respect)
But if for a few days, God, You’d just give it a rest,
If You’d take a sick leave and just go away
And let Israel work this out without You in the way,
God, for that kind of peace,
You’re a small price to pay.
Grandma
My granddaughter is perfect.
There’s no feeling like holding your first grandchild for the first time. It’s an experience of pure love. It’s a bit different than the new parent feeling of baby love, which is such a huge life-altering event. (Your life is ever after divided into two parts—before and after.)
Becoming a grandparent is just a…gift. A gift from the universe. I’m crying as I write this. I don’t love the word “blessed” because of its association with traditional Christianity, but…I mean…heck… it sure does apply here.
I’ve been searching for quotes about becoming a grandparent that resonate. I kind of like this one:
“Grandchildren are the reward for those who have labored as parents.”
But I don’t love the word “reward” in it. Children are not rewards.
Becoming a grandparent is just awesome. That’s all I can say. I know I’m very lucky too. For whatever reasons, the birthrate is way down in the US. A significant number of millennials are choosing not to have children. I’m just so fortunate that my wonderful daughter and her partner have chosen to take the parenthood plunge.
And some practical advice for new grandmothers (based on my one week of experience):
Don’t be annoying.
Be helpful.
Let the parents figure out how to feed and care for their brand new baby. Do your best to take care of the parents—with meals, cleaning, recycling boxes, and whatever else they obviously need. Some ideas have changed since we had kids, especially around bottle vs breast “nipple confusion.” Don’t assert yourself too hard with your old ideas. And don’t say any of those annoying things that all mothers have up their sleeve! Tell the parents how awesome they’re doing at life’s hardest job.
One thing you will always be 100% in agreement on is that their baby (“our” baby 😉) is the cutest baby.
I’ve mentioned before how much I enjoyed the Leanne Morgan comedy special “I’m Every Woman” on Netflix. This bit about becoming a grandma is one of my favorite parts 😂🤣😂
Haiku for my granddaughter
On the eve of you
I slept with a golden charm
My Daughter, my heart
To my readers: my granddaughter has arrived safe and sound – thank the universe! She is perfect in every way and so is her name, which I love, but won’t be sharing publicly at this time.
As a mother, I can tell you it’s pretty darn stressful to have your own precious daughter go through labor and delivery. I wrote this haiku during the first night of her labor, which went on for two whole nights. I barely slept a wink!
I’m a grandma, people!!!!!
Best promotion ever!
💕
Related post:
Failure moon shots
I continue to try to take photos of the moon with my iPhone 15 and it never works well.
I could clearly see the partial lunar eclipse with my eyes last night, but the photos don’t show it. (Well, maybe a tiny bit in the second one, but you have to zoom in.)
I’m always impressed with the great moon shots that Kevin at The Beginning at Last is able to get with his phone.
TV Talk
Now that I have apparently answered all the WordPress Daily Prompts, I feel left out. I enjoyed responding and reading other bloggers’ responses to the Daily Prompts for many months in 2023 & 2024. But alas, nothing lasts forever. I’ll just have to come up with my own blog topics now.
Did anybody watch the Emmys on Sunday night? My husband hates awards shows, but I’m like how can you not watch them, when we watch so much TV? It’s like seeing all your old friends at a party.
The best line of the night came near the beginning of the show when father and son cohosts Eugene & Dan Levy referred to it as “broadcast TV’s biggest night for honoring movie stars on streaming services.” So true! What the heck is Meryl Streep doing at the Emmys? GenXers grew up in a time when TV was TV and movies were movies.
Speaking of GenX, our best moment of the night was when Ron Howard (Ritchie) and Henry Winkler (Fonzie) came out together—on a recreated Happy Days set—and Winkler hit that jukebox as only the Fonz can.
In case you haven’t heard, Baby Reindeer won big. I guess that’s well-deserved, but I found the show pretty difficult to watch and my memory of it now is quite foggy. I mainly remember the level of depravity depicted.
Hacks also did very well, which I fully support. It’s a great show. And speaking of GenX (again), did you all know that Hack’s costar Hannah Einbinder is original SNL cast member Lorraine Newman’s daughter?? No wonder she’s so funny.
Actors from The Bear, The Crown, and True Detective: Night Country (Jodie Foster) also won several awards, which I support. All were terrific shows. (My husband would disagree on The Crown. He didn’t enjoy the Diana years, but I loved that part.)
The relative diversity at the Emmys was heartening. So many more stories are getting told these days and we are all better off for it.
There’s one show that got a zillion awards that I have not seen: Shogun (on Hulu). I’ve added it to the top of my “to watch” list.
What did you add to your watch list, based on the Emmy awards?
Other shows we’re watching now:
The final season of My Brilliant Friend on HBO Max. I’m still loving this show, in all its Italian glory, but my husband is bored. He doesn’t seem to care what happens to the two main characters anymore. I think part of the problem is that there’s so much time between seasons with some of these shows. People forget and/or lose interest.
The English Teacher on Hulu. This is a new show we found on our own. It’s very enjoyable, like Abbott Elementary, except it takes place in a high school. The main character is a gay high school English teacher, played by Brian Jordan Alvarez (the same actor who played over-the-top Estefan on Will & Grace). He’s very different in this role, but still funny. They tackle both current topics (like the art of drag and trigger warnings) and age-old high school traditions (like powder puff football and circles of popularity) in an open, non-accusatory way. GenX, Millennial and GenZ perspectives are all represented.
The Perfect Couple on Netflix. I’m a bit of a Nicole Kidman hate watcher. I mean, I love her, but I also hate her. But how can you not watch any of her limited series? Her costumes alone make these shows interesting. This one takes place on Nantucket and is based on an Elin Hilderbrand book. There’s a death during a fancy wedding weekend. Liv Schreiber plays her weed-smoking husband. Eve Hewson (from Bad Sisters) has a major role. Did you know that she’s Bono’s daughter?
Bad Monkey on Apple TV+. Vince Vaughn is funny, but I sort of regret ever starting this show. I was drawn in by the setting (the Florida Keys and the Bahamas), but I’ve really lost the plot, which is pretty nutty and stupid. I wouldn’t bother with this show unless you absolutely love Vince Vaughn.
Charm Bracelet
Back in the 70s, charm bracelets were a common gift for girls. Typically girls got the bracelet with one or two “charms” as a first gift and then additional charms for birthdays and Christmases ever after.
Charms were little silver representations of some hobby or activity that the girl liked to do.
I loved my charm bracelet. I have kept it in a box in my closet for decades now. It lives with a bunch of other sentimental jewelry that I no longer wear, but cannot part with.
I recently bought some of those tiny silver polishing cloths to shine up some old jewelry and decided to clean my charm bracelet.
As we very eagerly await the birth of my granddaughter sometime within the next two weeks, I couldn’t help but imagine what it would be like to show it to her and tell her about the meaning of all the charms.
There are 17 charms on my bracelet. Most represent things that were important to me as a child and teenager.
Counterclockwise from 1 o’clock:
- Santa’s sleigh (I loved Christmas!)
- An upright piano, just like the one I played
- A Camp Fire Girls 5-years charm (I had forgotten how important the CFG were to me)
- A set of silver bells (not sure why I had those, but I’m assuming they were Christmas-related)
- A Camp Fire Girls 6-years charm
- The B-1 Bomber (Unusual, yes, but my Dad was an engineer and a pilot and his company made some navigational components for the B-1. He was always going to California on business and he must have brought this charm back from one of his trips.)
- An ice skate – I loved figure skating.
- A tall ship, probably the USS Constitution. The bicentennial in 1976 was a very big deal in Massachusetts. The tall ships visit to Boston was a part of it.
- A baton (I loved twirling and being a majorette in high school)
- A tennis racket and ball (I had forgotten, but I was quite serious about tennis for several years. I made it to the club finals in singles one summer. I played on the high school team for a year or two.)
- A starfish – I loved the beach. (I ill-advisedly took a starfish home with me one time and that thing reeked like hell for months. It was probably still alive and I didn’t realize it. Poor starfish.)
- Mickey Mouse – I was one of those very lucky kids in the 70s whose parents took them to Disneyland.
- A heart with my birthstone in it
- Another Camp Fire Girls charm – my mom was a leader of our group
- The Eiffel Tower (I hadn’t been to Paris back then, but I must’ve liked the idea. I sure did love it later on in life.)
- A saguaro 🌵 cactus that says Tucson. I had an aunt and six cousins that lived out West. My grandmother would periodically move out there to help them.
- The last one is a bit of a mystery. Maybe it’s supposed to be a bicycle. I loved riding my bike. But it looks a bit more like a moped. I remember seeing mopeds a lot on our visits to Nantucket and Block Island, but people were constantly getting seriously injured on them. I don’t think my parents ever let us ride them, so let’s just go with bicycle for that one.
50 Happens 