Tulip-Hoopers, Orchids, & Vertigo

Kate went to her first primary activity yesterday. She had a grand time and didn’t miss her mom at all. Her mom, on the other hand, thought about her and worried about how she was doing the whole time. The irony of motherhood is that when you finally get a moment to yourself, you spend the entire time thinking about your children. Part of the activity was lunch. They had turkey sandwiches. Kate asked if she could take one home to “show her mom so she could learn how to make this kind of sandwich.” Josh was telling me that and I, with my infallible perception of all situations, said, “No, that’s not why she brought it home. She just wanted to finish eating it later.” Then Kate, who was listening in on the conversation corrected me, “No! I did bring it so you could learn how to make one like it.” I stand corrected. I guess I’ll be brushing up on my turkey sandwich making skills this week.

Kate is learning how to fold laundry. For years her favorite game has been to unfold the laundry while I fold it. Happily she recently decided that folding laundry is fun too. I taught her the technique and she now folds her clothes with Sunny precision. It is so cute to see her folding her own pajamas in the morning after she gets dressed. She decided to teach Jane the new skill as well. Jane enjoys it as much as her sister, but she is more on the Grandma Shelly precision scale--crumpling it up and stuffing it in the drawer. She then announces with great pride, “I did it, Mommy! Fold clothes. Look.” Now if I can just teach them to haul the laundry up and down the dungeon stairs and operate the washer and dryer I will be sitting pretty.

Joshua finished up his first round interviewing for summer internships this week. The waiting game continues. Now, however, the companies are starting to court him, which is nice for a change. We get packages and nice notes and phone calls almost every day. Josh also got to fly to sunny California for a second round interview in Silicon Valley. So, it hasn’t been all bad. Last night after we picked him up from the airport he started playing super Josh and making dinner. I was refereeing the girls and heard a weak plea for help from the kitchen. I turned around to see a pale, disoriented Josh. I made him sit down, drink a glass of chocolate milk, and eat two cheese sandwiches. He started to revive, but it made me realize just how much pressure he has been dealing with, just how many skipped meals and super late nights he has had in the last few months. I try to take care of him, but we need to do better. Attending Wharton is a great blessing but it is also a strain on just about every aspect of your life.

While Josh was in California the girls and I spent the day at Longwood Gardens once again taking in the Orchid Extravaganza. That place renews my soul. We smelled every blossom we could. We ate lunch in the restaurant. We played in the fountains. We spent the whole day enjoying the beauty of the place and the opportunity to be together in it. If for no other reason, come visit us in Philadelphia just to see Longwood Gardens.

I have been thinking a lot lately about my brother, Alan. I don’t know where he is. I don’t know what he’s doing. I don’t know if he’s okay. I think about him whenever I cook, whenever I hear R&B music, whenever I listen to the Dianne Ream Show on NPR. I pray for him multiple times a day and just hope that he is okay. I came across a quote in my current favorite book, Hannah Coulter, by Wendell Berry that captured my emotions pretty well. “You have got to have hope, and you musn’t shirk it. Love, after all, ‘hopeth all things.’... But whatever you hope, you will find out that you can’t bargain with your life on your own terms. It is always going to prove itself worse or better than you hoped. Whatever we had hoped for [Alan], his absence from us was hard. It was a sorrow. We missed him. We worried about him.” We sang Abide with Me, ‘Tis Eventide in church today and it was just about all I could do to hold myself together. I could see and hear my brother singing at my Grandpa’s funeral. Again, my heart went out in prayer for one whom I love.

I’ll go back to the girls for a few minutes to end on a lighter note. We have a new word this week. We went to the Mardi Gras festival at Reading Terminal market on Fat Tuesday. Kate was enamored by the band, the juggler, and the “tulip-hoopers” (hula hoopers). Isn’t that a great word?! Tulip-hoopers. I can’t say it without smiling.

Grandma Shelly is currently Kate’s hero, not only because she mailed us the stick horses Santa brought for Christmas, but she also included in the package a short sleeved shirt and a skirt the color of Sleeping Beauty’s pink dress! Every day Kate asks me if she can wear a short sleeved shirt. She says, “Mom, is it warm today? Can I wear my short sleeves? When will it be warm so I can wear my short sleeves?” I literally had to hide all her summer clothes. As she told her Dad today, “I have a short sleeve fetish.” That is the truth! I let her wear her new shirt and skirt today and she was so excited. She said, “I look just like Sleeping Beauty. When I get home today I am going to take my shoes off, but I am going to keep my shirt and skirt on. (Usually the first thing we do when we get home from church is change out of our church clothes.) I am going to wear this every day and never change!” Someone around here is ready for warm weather.

Jane loves to watch the clips of the olympics online. Any time I sit down at my computer she comes over to climb in my lap saying, “impics. impics. fly. watch impcs.” Her favorite parts are when the athletes “fly”. That could be anything from a figure skating jump, to a snowboard half-pipe run, to moguls or ski jumping. It doesn’t really matter just so long as there is some lift involved. Kate’s favorite event is short track. Mine is cross country skiing. And, Josh’s, of course is ice dancing.

Next weekend we will be in Texas, compliments of BCG. A few weeks ago I was having Kate chant “Boo Hiss Tex-is” with me. Funny how quickly a job offer can change your tune. Now I’m trying to convince us both that Texas is the best place on earth. BCG sent us a package which included a cowboy hat and bandana. I think that pretty much won Kate over. Here is for looking at all possibilities with an open mind! ☺