One of my favorite things in Life is to allow myself to get swept up in emotion, evoked by an experience of beauty.
Tonight I took my girl on a mommy/daughter date. We ate at the historic hotel where her dad and I were married. Snuck into the closed sections to visit ballrooms and opulent bathrooms. Then we walked across the street to the Paramount Theater to see the Royal Winnipeg Ballet perform Moulin Rouge, a glorious tragedy – full of color, can-can and tango dances, romance.
When I was young, my family attended every local symphony performance. Somehow I grew up to love the arts and become a musician despite my recollection of those afternoons as prim, cramped, overly-mannered and a relief to get over with. This may be why I haven’t taken my children to many live performances of anything.
Tonight was different. Somewhere in Life I’ve learned to let go of manners and feel comfortable in my own way of sitting, sense of style, my skin. I was somehow able – even in the built-for-much-smaller-people cheap seats – to get lost in the music, story, beauty, tears. There was occasional squirming from the eight-year-old beside me, and I was ok with that. Probably because she insisted on having me read to her what would happen in the second act. Probably because of the gleam of significance in her eyes all night, her love of the beautiful old theater, and the times she sat straight up when the music mood changed and craned her neck to better see the nuances of the movements onstage. Most likely because she is my flesh and blood, a creature of beauty, a girl who loves getting swept up in her emotions – and I wish her a Lifelong ability to do so.
I love my birthday! Yes it does get better & better every year. Here are just some of the expressions of gratitude I wish to share today.
Waking up before 5AM to sit in centering prayer (meditation) w/ my spirit co-pilot sweetie.
Out the door in time to walk around the pond, graced by the presence of dragonflies, taking in the golden light glinting off the tall grasses as the sun makes her ascent.
To my body, by now I have learned to honor and keep you. Thank you for looking back at me so glowingly all these years, sexy!
My ... Read More
Despite my efforts to be a vigilant mom, sometimes I miss the boat. Father's day was a ton of fun at a friend's pool - the only way to beat the heat in 100+ degree Texas summer weather! Yes we took breaks and yes I used a high SPF and yes I reapplied. However, today I am nursing kiddo's sunburns. Ouch! Luckily I have my tried & true USANA products (from my own over-indulgences on a Miami beach a couple years back): Proflavanol C-100 to decrease inflammation, and Night Renewal Creme on every inch of ... Read More
'What's wrong with the world? What can we do about it?" These are the two questions posed in Tom Shadyac's documentary I AM. I brought my guys (husband and 13-year-old son) to see the film Easter weekend and the answers to this question have been rolling around my brain ever since, coming into conversations, popping up on Facebook, topic of discussion in our family about the way we want to live our lives. If you get my drift... I recommend seeing it!
There's one thought in particular that I keep coming to. The documentary goes pretty far to not ... Read More
As a mom, I sometimes catch myself repeating, drone-like, "How was your day? What did you learn? What did you get on that test?" And I notice that my kids, too, have learned to mimic my perfunctory tone and lack of conscious attention to these questions. I can do better. Doing better, though, sometimes means I mimic the tone and line of questioning I hear so frequently in our culture. It can sound like this: "You got a B? Well, how hard did you study? Have you finished your homework? Did you really put enough time into that project? It ... Read More
One of my favorite things in Life is to allow myself to get swept up in emotion, evoked by an experience of beauty.
