Grandmothers

My sister and I hosted a birthday party for my grandmother this weekend. On Saturday night, my house was full of relatives celebrating the woman my grandmother is and the many things she has always given.


I think most of us take her presence for granted, so it's times like these that we really stop to think about what she's done. She is the traditional matriarch of the family, and no holiday or event would be the same without her presence. For most of us, the taste of her Thanksgiving dressing or her signature banana pudding is like slipping into an old cozy sweatshirt where you feel nothing but familiar comfort and sincere belonging.


My relationship with my grandmother is complex and deeply hinged on many things that are far too long and detailed for this blog, but in a nutshell, she's my person. You all know what I mean, everyone has a person - the person you call when you've had a really bad day, the person you feel compelled to brag to when you've done something worthy of your pride, maybe the person you called when September eleventh happened, the first number you dialed when you got engaged, all of these milestones or miniscule events that make up our everydays. For me, Grandmother is that person, and I'm always anxious to hear her voice on the other end.


The concept of growing up without grandparents is foreign to me. My family lived next door to them from the time I was about 7 years old until I left home. Ann Morse explains, "A child needs a grandparent, anybody's grandparent, to grow a little more securely into an unfamiliar world." And that's precisely what my grandparents have done for me. When my father died, my mother, my sister, and I moved in with my grandparents until Mom could get back on her feet again and we felt safe to move forward. I was young (only five), and though I do not remember more than brief fleeting moments of that year, I do think the experience left an indelible mark. At that moment, the world was as "unfamilar" as it ever would be and seemed very scary, but there is one person who helped me move more securely to become the person I am.


My grandmother is one of those women whom you want to pattern yourself after, but you realize that selfless grace and true kindness is not a learned trait but one with which you have to be gifted. I can only hope that age and experience will make my half of what she is.

Proof That $9 at Target Can Provide Endless Hours of Entertainment

Tucker the Superhero at your service. Doesn't he look heroic?

I have no excuse.

It's admittedly been a long time since I've last posted, and I have been busy, but who hasn't? This is always the time of the school year when I fall behind on doing the things I want to do because I become so overwhelmed with the daily grind. I'm giving myself a slap on the wrist for getting behind on my blog writing and my blog reading.

So what's new?

Well, I am teaching Macbeth to my British Lit students, and I had forgotten how much I like that play. It's so rare that you find a text in Brit Lit that actually has strong female characters, so I am enjoying these few days if for that reason alone. We just finished Book IX of Paradise Lost, and prior to that, only one kid knew what "patriarchal" meant, but now they all do. [Insert evil laugh here....] And yes, that will be on the unit test, boys and girls.

In other news, I have begun a great new book which I bought on a whim last weekend at a used bookstore, and I highly recommend it. There's so much to talk about, I wish I knew someone else who is reading / has read it. Anyone? I am thinking of this read next. Any reviews or advice on that one?

Being the adventurous pair that we are, Scott and I have opted for a Friday night in, so I'm off to open a bottle of wine now. We are saving money and resting up before our big concert tomorrow night. Hope all is well in the blogosphere, and I will be reading reading reading to catch up with bloggy friends.

Happy weekend.

Yet another reason Billy Collins is my favorite contemporary poet.

Anyone who knows me knows that I adore Billy Collins. I heard him live a few years ago, and I consider it one of the more influential literary experiences I've ever had- comparable only with my summer at Cambridge. He has a way of making you laugh as you read his poems, yet there's always that twist that is poignant as well. His poetry is so accessible that you really don't have to be a literary buff or a lover of words to "get it."

This artist has taken audio of Collins reading his own work and added animation. Simply beautiful. Watch it.... it's worth it. [For some reason, I can't get it to embed on my site. You'll have to click on the link below.]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wrEPJh14mcU

Books, Books, Books

Brandy posted this one, and I couldn't resisit.

What are you reading right now? Spenser's Sonnets and The Canterbury Tales for school, Why Moms are Weird for fun.

Do you have any idea what you’ll read when you’re done with that? Probably Norwegian Wood or Suite Francaise although my pleasure reading goes way too slow during the school year when I am reading other stuff as well. Half the time I fall asleep grading essays and I never open "my" book until the weekend.

What magazines do you have in your bathroom right now? None in the bathroom, but Southern Living and Real Simple on my coffee table.

What’s the worst thing you were ever forced to read? Pierre was a painful graduate school memory that I am still trying to forget.

What’s the one book you always recommend to just about everyone? Fair and Tender Ladies....if you don't fall in love with that book, I don't know what planet you're from.

Admit it, the librarians at your library know you on a first name basis, don’t they? Actually no because I usually buy. At discount rates nonetheless, but I am a buyer. There's just something about having your own copy.

Is there a book you absolutely love, but for some reason, people never think it sounds interesting, or maybe they read it and don’t like it at all? The Virgin Blue is a hard one to sell, but it's good, I promise!

Do you read books while you do other things? No way. I'm usually sucked in to the point of annoying anyone else who happens to be near me.

When you were little, did other children tease you about your reading habits? My friends were generally as dorky as me, so no. My sister, however, did and still does.

What’s the last thing you stayed up half the night reading because it was so good you couldn’t put it down? Special Topics in Calamity Physics. Loved it. Loved it. Loved it. My best read all summer.

If you are a fellow reader, and you haven't done this one yet, then tag, you're it!