End of a Season

Game held on a rain-soaked field.

Lost in the semifinals.
Third place in an 11-team league.

Wonder of Wonders

Seen tonight:
a thirty second primetime commercial extolling the virtues . . .
of Nutella.

Surviving Yesterday

Yesterday I had a terrible, horrible, no-good, very bad day.

Why?

One word: teenager.

There. I don't have to write anything more because I am sure all of you will instantly and totally understand. But I will write, because I need to vent. And I want to be petted, and flattered, and reminded what a great Mom I am (and the fact that I am soliciting these compliments makes no difference whatsoever).

When I was pregnant I had nine months . . . NINE MONTHS . . . to prepare. I studied What to Expect When You're Expecting; then there was What to Expect: The First Year, and What to Expect: The Toddler Years. I even had Il Bambino, an Italian version of Dr. Spock's book on child-rearing.

So, I was armed and ready to combat first colds, diarrhea, play dates, Barney, and projectile vomit.

It was a foundation that served me well even as they grew and started Kindergarten, primary school, and eventually moving on to middle school.

But then, out of no where, I was blindsided.

Ambushed.

I ask you, where along the way did we teach our son to be sullen, grumpy, incommunicative, rude and disrespectful? Because I can assure you that these fine qualities were not taught by us.

And yet, one fine morning our son woke up and there they were.

I guess the most perplexing and frustrating thing is that I don't know what in the heck I am doing. Where was What to Expect: The Teen Years because, I tell you, it would have been nice to have been forewarned.

Instead, I have been winging it.

This morning, after yesterday's terrible, horrible, no-good, very bad day, I cast out my net seeking inspiration and wisdom. It came in the form of John 20:21, Peace be with you. The commentary explained that peace isn't the absence of conflict; rather, the peace that Christ offers can be found in the reality that exists when heaven and earth "connect".

Hmmmm. How about the reality that exists when parents and teens collide...that would be more accurate.

Okay, peace. I know it's there, just as I know my son is there.

Somewhere.

Like when he apologized this morning.

It took a little work, but I did find that peace, and with it came this bit of wisdom: a working teen doesn't have time to be sullen. Brilliant! So this afternoon our son raked the backyard . . . which is rather large . . . and has lots and lots of trees . . . that have shed lots and lots of leaves.

It took him a while and, believe it or not, he did it rather cheerfully . . . for a teen.

Peace. I'll take it any way I can.

What not to eat on Halloween

answer doorbell
admire baseball player & giant hot dog
eat Kit Kat
watch Food Network Spooky Cake Challenge
answer doorbell
pretend to be robbed by Al Capone & his fellow gangsters
eat snickers
answer doorbell
answer doorbell
admire Hannah Montana
boys come home with their loot
eat butterfinger, tootsie roll, milk duds
answer doorbell, return to the boys' loot
finish milk duds, eat sweet tarts, eat another tootsie roll
answer doorbell
dump rest of candy into lucky trick-or-treater's bag
turn off porch lights
think about another butterfinger
eat another butterfinger w/ glass of milk (just to be health consious)

feel a little guilty...okay, a lot guilty
sick, sick, sick of candy
take 3 Rolaids, waddle upstairs to bed
ugh.

Friendly Questions

Thanks to Cathy and Lisa,

and along with this came the following questions:

1) IF YOU COULD COME BACK AS AN ANIMAL, WHICH WOULD IT BE?
the Geico Gecko

2) SOMETHING YOU COULDN'T LIVE WITHOUT
Nutella... okay, okay I'm kidding!!
No, seriously... my espresso machine ... actually, my hair dryer

3) WHAT DO YOU VALUE MOST IN ANOTHER PERSON?
sense of humor
musical/artistic talents

4) THE COLORS YOU TEND TO WEAR
black and brown (I'm boring that way)

5) THREE WORDS THAT DEFINE YOU
procrastinator (this, from my husband)
helpful (this, from Jonathan)

Italian (this, from Nicholas)

a princess (this, from Timothy)

6) A PLACE YOU WOULD TRAVEL TO
Italy

England, Ireland & Scotland

7) YOUR FAVORITE QUOTE FROM A BOOK OR MOVIE

(Last of the Mohicans)
Duncan: "There is a war going on in the east. How is it you are heading west?"
Hawkeye: "Well, you face north and, real sudden-like, turn left."

Hawkeye: "Someday you and I are going to have a serious disagreement."

(Miss Congeniality)
Victor Melling: The last time I saw a walk like that was in "Jurassic Park."

(The Grapes of Wrath)
"How can you frighten a man whose hunger is not only in his own cramped stomach but in the wretched bellies of his children? You can't scare him--he has known a fear beyond every other." - John Steinbeck, The Grapes of Wrath, Chapter 19

8) SOMETHING YOU WOULD LIKE TO DO
learn how to play the cello
finish my book proposal

hike the Grand Canyon

9) YOUR MAIN STRENGTH/FORTE
my decisiveness (see #2 above)

An Offer We Can't Refuse

My husband has always been a fan of the Godfather movies . . . and that was even before he married into my Italian family. Of course, my family is from northern Italy, so no Don Corleone or mafia connections for us.

But a few years ago my parents met and became friends with a group of second generation Italian-Americans who moved here from New York, and it is through them we get out Godfather fix. Their relatives were originally from southern Italy, so when you take their Italian heritage, mix it with a little Sicilian and Neopolitan history, stir in a strong sense of family, and then add that New York flair . . . you have the makings for a great party.

This was the third year in a row that Joe and I, along with the boys, were invited to a pig roast hosted by an Italian-American couple whose family is orginally from Naples. The party took place in their home, which offers plenty in the way of entertainment: a full-sized bocce court, two fire pits (one perfect for roasting marshmallows, the other for roasting an entire pig), and an entertainment room complete with a large screen television, a pool table, and a state-of-the-art wine cellar where they bottle their own vino rosso.

This year's pig roast included a live band, Italian pastries from a New York bakery, and a 20 lb. block of torrone in which great chunks were hacked off with a hammer and chisel and passed out to the guests. (I may have been responsible for eating 12.2 of that 20 lb block . . . but we won't go there.)

Here's the serendipitous thing: the husband's name is Don (my husband and I secretly call him the Don), and after last weekend's party my husband and I are planning to watch all three Godfather movies this weekend.

In the words of Don Corleone: Capisci?

A Little Boy and His Planes

An entire day at an air show
with a little boy who is passionate about planes ...

Red Eagles and formation flying,
sky diving and stunt planes,
WWII Warbirds and the Battle of Midway,
pyrotechnics and exploding "bombs"...

and a five minute helicopter ride for a Mom
and her little boy who is passionate about planes.