Saturday, January 3, 2009

The Family Pet - Our Dear Kisses

It has been a very dramatic holiday season for us. Our family dog, Kisses, started getting sick. On top of that, I was 'taken for a ride' by the American Animal Care Center. First she had bronchitis, then they said she also had congestive heart disease. We received a call a couple days later - per her blood work results - she was in kidney failure and needed to come back for IV fluid therapy. After many tears and talking to a chorus line of vets, technicians, receptionists - I realized that I was getting conflicting information and by New Year's Eve, the vet that originally saw her was asking me why I had brought her back in when he had released her. I went CRAZY and like a Rambo movie - I shot out of the house and kidnapped my dog out of the hospital. She was so happy to see me. Now she is home and we have contacted another vet who has confirmed her kidney failure and said the congestive heart disease was just a made up story to make MORE MONEY off of me. I trusted them. I'm not a vet - it sounded plausible. I spent over $800 and my poor dog had endless crap done to her that she didn't need.

I'm keeping her home and I know that she is slowly fading away. It hurts me every time I look at her. But I've decided to love her and baby her and stay with her as much as possible. I must help her through this process. She follows me every where - just like when she was new puppy and realized that I must be her mama. I get up with her when she is coughing and I walk outside with her when she needs to go outside. I try to take her for little walks because she still nudges me toward the leash and gives me that look.

All we can do is love her now and remind ourselves of all those "Kisses -isms." Here are a few:

Kisses has brought many a dead snake, bird, squirrel, bunny, cat - arrghh..too many to count. It used to make me sick, but at some point, I realized that this dog thinks she is giving me the ultimate gift every time she brings it in the house and lays it at my feet. Oh Kisses! Sigh.

When I was leaving to the hospital in labor ready to have Catalina, Kisses would NOT leave my side. She literally ran out of the house jumped in the car and refused to get out of the car. Mark literally had to DRAG her out and she would not move her feet. She knew. And when I came home, she watched that baby night and day. She would fall asleep by the bassinet and wake up and peek in to make sure that baby didn't get away. I have many a fond memory of Kisses pacing the house because too many visitors were there and she was exhausted from guarding.

I don't know how we will kill a spider when Kisses is gone. We have a routine - her and I. I knock the spider off the wall with a damp wash cloth and she waits for it to fall and eats it. Yeah - it's gross, but at least I know the spider is gone.

Sigh...oh, Kisses - you are such a part of our lives. How will we ever get by without you? I know this is part of life and logically, I knew it was coming at some point. Somehow that doesn't change how devastated you are when you lose your best friend, your loyal companion.

I will keep loving her and caring for her and hope that she is comfortable and knows how loved she is.

Wednesday, September 3, 2008

There's Parties..and then there's Parties

How do you raise a child of divorce when Dad is a Republican and Mom is an Independent turned Democrat? Truthfully, I have lived an ignorant life when it comes to politics (educated through the headlines and scandals). This year I feel more compelled than ever to 'get educated.' Can our country really be spending $10 billion/month on a war over...what is it over? I thought weapons of mass destruction and now, it's to spread democracy. And there's always the 9/11 reference - which from what I can tell - has next to nothing to do with it. Isn't Osama somewhere in Afghanistan? Why are we in Iraq? (Ahhh, I digress)

Okay - back to the original question...let me provide some context. My daughter came home from a weekend with her Dad and asked me if I *believe* in global warming. Um...believe? Like do I believe in the tooth fairy? Global warming is a fact. The real question is what do I believe is causing it. Before I could answer, I asked her, 'do you believe in it?' And she said, 'NO, it's just normal climate change.' That was it for me. That was the last day that I could, in good conscious, continue to be educated by the headlines. I need to wade through the bullsh*t (aka Fox news) and help my daughter to learn how to learn in a world where anyone can publish anything and make it look like 'the news' or factual reporting.

My daughter is 11 years old. She doesn't have to share the same political leanings as I do (or her Dad, for that matter). But she deserves the ability to come to informed conclusions based on factual information. How do we help our children (hell, how do we educate the American public) to discriminate between fact and spin in today's world?

I often wonder what will be written in history books about this time in U.S. history.

Friday, May 2, 2008

What happened to April?

So today I watched the Chapter 9 webcast of Eckhart Tolle's 'A New Earth' (you know the Oprah thing). And after beating myself up for years for not knowing what I wanted to be when I grow up...Eckhart says the most amazing thing: "Life is an adventure, not a package tour." In other words, we don't have to have every port of call or destination mapped out ahead of time.

Enjoy the adventure!

(And can I just add that Venus in Combat Boots is having the adventure of a lifetime - so jealous!)

Saturday, March 1, 2008

Bingo!

This is the first year that my age has started to affect my ego. Perhaps if I was a Jehovah’s Witness, I would be immune to it. (They don’t celebrate birthdays, right?)

I don’t think I’m alone, but up until now, I didn’t understand why people got so worked up about it. Here’s the thing – I spent the first half of my life over-achieving (starting college while in high school, graduating college before I turned 21, making good money and SAVING it, blah, blah, blah). But now that I’m here, my age has caught up with my accomplishments and I’m pretty much the same as everybody else (dare I say, the middle of the bell curve?).

Now, I look at my life as being on the descent when I never really got to reach my personal peak. I’m single and I look at men my age and think, ‘oh my gosh – I could never go out with that old man.’ I see women my age ‘scrapbooking’ – yawn – are you kidding me? I just don’t see myself as being my age. And yet, here I am with a birth certificate to prove it.

It reminds me of my Grandmother, known as ‘Gramma Bush’ to one and all, whether related or not. She was an incredible role model for living a full life no matter your age. She lived a full life and then found and married the love of her life at the age of 52. Awesome! (there’s still time) She wrote and published a genealogy book tracing our family heritage back to the 1700s – unbelievable. She did all of this when she was over 50 years old.

But she had her ego, too. I remember when she moved out to California to be closer to us. She moved into a senior living complex. It had cool little apartments and activities. Basically, it was a dormitory for seniors and they “rocked the casbah”, just like anybody else. I asked her one time why she didn’t join the others for the activities and she said, ‘I’m not going to spend my evenings playing Bingo with a bunch of old people.’ Touche! I hear you Grandma!

When we gave her a 90th birthday party she got upset that we had put the number 90 on her cake. Isn’t that fantastic? I love thinking about that. It means she never lost her ego. Ultimately, she lived to be 100 years old (almost 101). She was an incredible human being with more courage and strength than anyone I know. She lived through covered wagons to 747’s as her mode of transportation. She married, had two children and divorced in a time when nobody got divorced. Her first husband was an alcoholic and abusive. She told me a story when the whole town was keeping her secret from him – she had a job. Can you imagine?

So much more to say about ‘Gramma Bush.’ But for now, I think the lesson is this: Don’t ever lose your ego!

Thursday, February 28, 2008

Mary Poppins

When I was a youngster my favorite movie was Mary Poppins. Partly because it was one of the first movies I had seen IN THE MOVIE THEATER. But perhaps more significant was that my cousin Marilyn took me, just me, on a special date to go see it. Marilyn was really my Dad’s cousin, a generation and half older than me and she looked like a movie star. She loved kids and was the pied piper to most of them. I was the third child of four with a new baby sister. I tended to get lost in the shuffle in terms of priority. Marilyn always made me feel like I was the special one. I guess I got confused at some point and started calling Marilyn, Poppins. (Mary, Marilyn – it all sounded the same to my little ears.)

Poppins was my idol, my mentor-of-sorts throughout my life. My very first airplane trip alone was at 13 years old and I went to visit Poppins for Easter week. It’s a difficult age for girls and she was a role model for me – she was such a ‘girl.’ I remember I picked her as my sponsor when I completed my Confirmation. I stayed in touch and visited almost every year. She used to give me her hand me down clothes. Can you imagine? It was like getting hand me downs from a celebrity. Some of the coolest outfits I ever wore belonged to Poppins first. She always made me feel like I was the special one.

Marilyn died of pancreatic cancer in 2001. It was devastating to me on many levels. I didn’t have first-hand experience with cancer, let alone, the deadliest – pancreatic. I was there in the room when she passed away. It was the one of the most important moments in my life. It was indescribable in the sense that I was overwhelmed and have never felt with more certainty, that ‘everything is going to be okay.’ I felt safe. It was not what I expected to feel. It was clear to me then (and harder to recall now that it’s far away) that there is something bigger than this and there is no need to worry. I flew to her home when I got the news that she was nearing the end. She died about 2 hours after I got there. Her husband, three children and ME were in the room. I am forever humbled that I was included in that room. Always hesitant to speak up, I had a crucial moment where I realized – if I don’t say something now, I’ll never, ever get another chance to say it. I whispered in her ear, sobbing – I love you, Poppins. I’ll always remember her turning and looking directly at me. She was unable to talk at that stage – but her eyes said everything. She always made me feel like I was the special one.

When my daughter was about 4 or 5 years old, my sister and I took her on a girl’s trip to Disneyland. WOO HOO! We made a special reservation to have tea with Mary Poppins. It was held in an oversized conference room in one of the Disney hotels. The room had been transformed into an old English tea house – complete with tea tables, china cabinets, chandeliers, old-fashioned sofas – absolutely perfect.

We anxiously awaited Mary Poppins arrival. We sipped our tea and ate our Mickey Mouse-shaped blueberry scones. The music started, a soundtrack played of birds chirping. And there she was…she floated out in full Mary Poppins attire, complete with a parasol, singing a spoonful of sugar (to be honest, I’m not even sure that was the song – I was starstruck). My daughter eyes were shining in amazement and she was starstruck, too. I have never fought back tears harder than in that moment. I couldn’t hold it in. I looked at my sister. She knew. She understood.

That was and ever will be one of the most poignant moments of my life.

Main Entry: poi·gnant
2 a (1): painfully affecting the feelings : piercing (2): deeply affecting

Stuck in the Middle of the Bell

About 68% of values drawn from a normal distribution are within one standard deviation σ > 0 away from the mean μ; about 95% of the values are within two standard deviations and about 99.7% lie within three standard deviations. This is known as the "68-95-99.7 rule" or the "empirical rule."
And there you have it. Somewhere in the 68%, the average, the majority – the middle of the bell curve. I live in that space, sometimes on the outer limits, nearing two standard deviations, but never too far from the middle of the bell.

Growing up, I thought that I was special, but that no one had discovered it yet. What a surprise it will be, when they finally do. They don’t know I can sing, I can dance, I have innate rhythm. I’m creative, I can write…in my head. In fact, there is a constant narrator in my head – telling my story in the third person. I just read my cousin’s BLOG and he described himself as the “Easily Discouraged Man.” I’ve always thought of myself as the “Chicken-shit Extrovert.”

I’ve never been to a funeral where I didn’t have a poignant eulogy being narrated in my head. But I never said a word. I’ve never been to a wedding where I didn’t sing a specially chosen song to the bride and groom. I would practice the song while driving and learn every word and accompanying note. But I never uttered a sound.

A special spirit forever trapped by hesitation. It was never critical, there was always time. But now I find myself in the middle of my life, in the middle of the bell. Will I ever break free of one standard deviation? Maybe I’m not special. Maybe I am average. Maybe everyone re-thinks their lives in a series of scenes, complete with a screenplay and re-worked dialogue – to make it funnier, more poignant, more compelling.

Does everyone know exactly what they are meant to do? I have never felt that buzz, that electricity when you know – this is EXACTLY what I’m supposed to be doing in my life in this moment.

I have a stable job, an above-average income, a safe healthy home life. I don’t take risks. I am a conservative spender. I don’t smoke. I don’t do drugs. I lead a healthy life. I am a good mother. I can follow a recipe. I drive a nice car. I have a nice home. I have a fantastic daughter (my ‘best thing’). She goes to private school. She plays soccer and softball. She has a religious foundation and solid knowledge of the bible and Christian values. She is a great person. She has a beautiful heart.

I’m divorced – a black mark on my record. I failed at marriage. I have an alibi, a perfect excuse – everyone believes that I made the right decision. Yet, I focus on the wrong decision I made in the first place. Why did I marry this person? Did we share the same values? Did we share the same interests? Did we respect each other as people?

When I look back on my relationships, I’ve always chosen people that wouldn’t choose me. They were always slightly out of reach. It was a pattern, for sure. Much like Woody Allen, ‘I wouldn’t belong to a club that would have ME as a member.’ What did I want in a relationship? Mostly, I just wanted someone to want me - but, not too much. Let me have the feeling of ‘winning’ them over. (Wait till they find out how special I am – a diamond in the dust.)

I was never comfortable with dating and I’m still not. I’m a great friend and fun person, but that initial hello is overwhelming to me. I’m so distracted by myself and the impression I’m making, I never get to know the other person.

Today, it’s all ‘online.’ I don’t know how to do that. I don’t know how to describe myself, my values, my hobbies and interests. I think I’ve spent my life morphing into whatever I think will make the other person like me. You like art – me too…that’s like painting and stuff, right?

I’m open to learning new things and finding new interests, but the reality is – I bore of anything after awhile. In the last few years, I have dabbled in telescopes, cake decorating, coaching soccer, gardening, charity events… I feel like I live my life trying to find what my interests are… sooner or later it comes back to ‘what will sound interesting to someone else.’ My interests are trying to be interesting.

Authentically – I love old science fiction (Twilight Zone). I love film noir suspense (Alfred Hitchcock). I love scrabble and puzzle-type games. I like card games. I like to bake. I love office supplies. Nothing is better than finding that perfect pen with exactly the right point.

I tend to pick the color green when faced with ‘pick a color’ requests. I don’t really know why. I think it’s because everyone always picks red or blue.

When I was young, I used to say brown was my favorite color. I would pick brown because all the other colors were chosen and I felt sorry for brown. But is that ‘authentic’ or am I just trying to please and appease. Poor brown.

I love music. I love the piano. I don’t play. I can’t read music. What if I could? How would my life have been different? In my heart, I play piano. It was never presented to me as an option. I didn’t know enough to seek it out. Why don’t I take lessons now? Every moment that passes – is gone. Profound, isn’t it?

There was a time when I thought I’d write a book about my Grandma Bush. I recorded conversations with her and took notes. It’s in a box somewhere. Later I thought I’d write a book about my friends and me. We had such funny stories that spanned all the emotions. After my daughter was born, I was sure I’d write a book called, “letters to Catalina.’ I wanted her to know my every thought when I decided to go through with my divorce. I wanted her to know that every decision I made in life was with the intention of being a role model for her. I did not want her to marry just because someone asked.

I saw a numerologist once and she said I was a writer. I was sure she was right. I’ve always had it in the back of my mind. I have so much to say – but what is my point? Do I have a message? Who needs to hear it? I think now that anyone can say anyone is a writer. It’s a bit like asking – did you have alcoholism in your family? The odds are yes; somewhere in your family tree - is a drunk. It’s the law of averages, the middle of the bell – the middle of the bell is filled with liquor.

And now there is the internet and blogs, so in fact everyone IS a writer (and published, too).

How many moments have passed since I started writing this? I still don’t play piano. I still don’t sing. But, hey – I wrote three pages of a book called, ‘Stuck in the middle of the Bell.’ Well, perhaps ‘book’ is premature – it’s a ‘paper.’ (Who do I turn it in to? What grade will I get? I don’t think I’ve ever done anything without waiting to get the reaction, the grade, the assessment, the evaluation, the approval.)

Wednesday, February 27, 2008

What's in a Name?

Main Entry: hes·i·tate


1 : to hold back in doubt or indecision



Main Entry: her·o·ine



1 a: a mythological or legendary woman having the qualities of a hero b: a woman admired and emulated for her achievements and qualities2 a: the principal female character in a literary or dramatic work b: the central female figure in an event or period