Happy Mothers Day, Mothers!
As I mature, the importance of parenting becomes more and more evident. It's like that super-duper important speech you had to make or presentation you had to give, it's as though EVERYthing is riding on how you do it. But it's not "like" that at all, it IS that important. The fate of the universe, as parents, is in our hands. And it's being determined with every decision we make every minute of every day. And we don't even get to pause & take a deep breath before we go out on stage. . . .when we wake up each morning, like it or not, we're parenting. The more I realize this, the more paralyzed with fear I become, and ironically the more imperative it is that I act. Now. Correctly. Or the most imporant things I've ever done in this world (Max, Ben/Milo. . .in the order I did them) will surely suffer in some way. Perhaps a big way. Maybe a showing-up-on-my-doorstep-as-20-Somethings-in-Psychotherapy-telling-me-I-ruined-their-childhood way. Or maybe a busted-for-breaking-probation-on-a-drug-related-felony way!
Ahem. I'm kvetching again. Can a gentile kvetch? If yes, I'm SO starting The Should Have Been Jewish They Kvetch So Well Society of Central Pennsylvania.
Where I was going with this is: No matter how frighteningly important, pivotal and/or crucial me and my actions are, in every waking moment, to the healthy development of my boys . . . Alaska and HER actions/decisions are EVEN MORE important/crucial! Yay! I actually feel a little less kvetchy now :)
t's true, Moms are the more important parent. Generally speaking Moms work harder and stretch more and . . . well heck. . . they went through LABOR. Duh. They are a child's first connection to his surroundings, they teach him to relate with the world, they are his very sustenance from hour one. That connection is never lost. Nope. Never. So go love up your Mom today. And if you're a Mom, when you're done loving up YOUR Mom, just chill the hell out and let the love come to you for a day. OK? Happy Mothers Day!
We got Mom some yummy special treats -- some really special like European chocolate lemon bread and Uber-Cocoa chocolate, some just mundanely comfortable like a People Magazine -- and plan to make her a big fat feast of a breakfast tomorrow. She also gets a copy of the DVD we made for The Grammas. Max and I asked around at Unicycle Club today for Mommy Treat advice, given that there were 3 Mommies there. One of them (after the ubiquitous "CHOCOLATE!" was recommended) said we should be extra sweet to her for the day, say lots of nice things about how loved we feel when she does x, y and z for us.
I had to say, and in retrospect I still believe, that our matriarch is pretty darn well loved-up on a regular basis. She's got a whole pack of animals here who are not one bit shy about the fact that our whole universe revolves around her. Nope, us Hults boys can 'spress our feelings -- it's a gift. And if Max and I are not yelping our joy about whatever she cooked for us from the highest rooftop, then Milo is snoozling up with her like a kitten, or Ben is demanding that we all just GO AWAY because HE is going to go (wherever she's invited him to go) WITH MOMMY ALL BY HIMSELF. Yes, AK will get love of every flavor from every Hultsboy and Hultspoodle on Mothers day. But if we really wanted to give her a treat? A truly rare gift tailored just for her special needs, something that took real sacrifice on our part??? We'd leave her alone all day :). Sleep. Silence. Knitting. More sleep. These are the things our kitty cat craves.
Woof! Maybe next year :).
Meanwhile Back at The Ranch Max and I had our 2nd consecutive darn-good time at Unicycle Club this morning. He puts in considerable effort, and I can't tell you how much that means to me. He's 10, with a 10-year-old attention span. He's leary of any Dad-related sport activity, due to the pressures and un-fun-ness that are inherent. AND learning to ride a unicycle is long, hard, and not very rewarding even after hours and hours of practice ("practice" here is synonymous with "crashing"). But I am downright good now at NOT pressuring, JUST coaching and coaching in a primarily positive manner at that. Add to that that he's flirting with pre-teen hood and maybe a little interested in not so much me but men -- what men do, how they are, etc. . . . I don't know the reasons, but he's there, he's trying, he listens to me, he's present (as much as he can be) and I'm tickled over it. There is a possibility that the previous several sentences are hooey, and it's solely the presence of Aubrey The 5th Grade Girl that motivates him. That would make at least as much sense as the hooey, actually.
I rode the giant 36" "Coker" unicycle today. As expected, I fell in love. See, "riding around" has never so much been my forte. It's just in my nature to GO places. A year ago when I started looking back into unicycling I was pleased to see that a)it's grown & diversified into many different styles of unicycling and b) one of those is called "touring" or "commuting" Yup, they make unicycles for GOING places now! Unicycles are not complex machines, so making a unicycle good for going places means giving it a big wheel. And the touring uni's of choice have 36" wheels with baloony tires called "Cokers". Supreme Uni Chancellor has been bringing her Coker to meetings, but I've been intimidated by it. It's higher up and farther front/backwards to fall. Also hers has a little trip computer on it, which would likely become a little trip computer'esque pile of plastic bits after I skidded her unicycle across the parking lot a couple of times. But today I gave in and ooooooooh that's my kind of riding. Max told me as politely as possible that it's uber-size made it the only unicycle I didn't look like a total clown on.
Is it silly to ride a unicycle and worry that I'll look like a clown? Oy. I feel a kvetch a' comin' on. .
Ahem. I'm kvetching again. Can a gentile kvetch? If yes, I'm SO starting The Should Have Been Jewish They Kvetch So Well Society of Central Pennsylvania.
Where I was going with this is: No matter how frighteningly important, pivotal and/or crucial me and my actions are, in every waking moment, to the healthy development of my boys . . . Alaska and HER actions/decisions are EVEN MORE important/crucial! Yay! I actually feel a little less kvetchy now :)
t's true, Moms are the more important parent. Generally speaking Moms work harder and stretch more and . . . well heck. . . they went through LABOR. Duh. They are a child's first connection to his surroundings, they teach him to relate with the world, they are his very sustenance from hour one. That connection is never lost. Nope. Never. So go love up your Mom today. And if you're a Mom, when you're done loving up YOUR Mom, just chill the hell out and let the love come to you for a day. OK? Happy Mothers Day!
We got Mom some yummy special treats -- some really special like European chocolate lemon bread and Uber-Cocoa chocolate, some just mundanely comfortable like a People Magazine -- and plan to make her a big fat feast of a breakfast tomorrow. She also gets a copy of the DVD we made for The Grammas. Max and I asked around at Unicycle Club today for Mommy Treat advice, given that there were 3 Mommies there. One of them (after the ubiquitous "CHOCOLATE!" was recommended) said we should be extra sweet to her for the day, say lots of nice things about how loved we feel when she does x, y and z for us.
I had to say, and in retrospect I still believe, that our matriarch is pretty darn well loved-up on a regular basis. She's got a whole pack of animals here who are not one bit shy about the fact that our whole universe revolves around her. Nope, us Hults boys can 'spress our feelings -- it's a gift. And if Max and I are not yelping our joy about whatever she cooked for us from the highest rooftop, then Milo is snoozling up with her like a kitten, or Ben is demanding that we all just GO AWAY because HE is going to go (wherever she's invited him to go) WITH MOMMY ALL BY HIMSELF. Yes, AK will get love of every flavor from every Hultsboy and Hultspoodle on Mothers day. But if we really wanted to give her a treat? A truly rare gift tailored just for her special needs, something that took real sacrifice on our part??? We'd leave her alone all day :). Sleep. Silence. Knitting. More sleep. These are the things our kitty cat craves.
Woof! Maybe next year :).
Meanwhile Back at The Ranch Max and I had our 2nd consecutive darn-good time at Unicycle Club this morning. He puts in considerable effort, and I can't tell you how much that means to me. He's 10, with a 10-year-old attention span. He's leary of any Dad-related sport activity, due to the pressures and un-fun-ness that are inherent. AND learning to ride a unicycle is long, hard, and not very rewarding even after hours and hours of practice ("practice" here is synonymous with "crashing"). But I am downright good now at NOT pressuring, JUST coaching and coaching in a primarily positive manner at that. Add to that that he's flirting with pre-teen hood and maybe a little interested in not so much me but men -- what men do, how they are, etc. . . . I don't know the reasons, but he's there, he's trying, he listens to me, he's present (as much as he can be) and I'm tickled over it. There is a possibility that the previous several sentences are hooey, and it's solely the presence of Aubrey The 5th Grade Girl that motivates him. That would make at least as much sense as the hooey, actually.
I rode the giant 36" "Coker" unicycle today. As expected, I fell in love. See, "riding around" has never so much been my forte. It's just in my nature to GO places. A year ago when I started looking back into unicycling I was pleased to see that a)it's grown & diversified into many different styles of unicycling and b) one of those is called "touring" or "commuting" Yup, they make unicycles for GOING places now! Unicycles are not complex machines, so making a unicycle good for going places means giving it a big wheel. And the touring uni's of choice have 36" wheels with baloony tires called "Cokers". Supreme Uni Chancellor has been bringing her Coker to meetings, but I've been intimidated by it. It's higher up and farther front/backwards to fall. Also hers has a little trip computer on it, which would likely become a little trip computer'esque pile of plastic bits after I skidded her unicycle across the parking lot a couple of times. But today I gave in and ooooooooh that's my kind of riding. Max told me as politely as possible that it's uber-size made it the only unicycle I didn't look like a total clown on.
Is it silly to ride a unicycle and worry that I'll look like a clown? Oy. I feel a kvetch a' comin' on. .
. . .thats Not Me on a Coker Unicycle. It's heavier, like pedalling a large flywheel, that's what makes it good for distance riding. Even uphill, the flywheel effect helps you cover more ground with less pedalling effort. And I'm not one for "M-Uni" or Mountain Unicycling, but these are also great for getting over obstacles. No idea how I'll afford one of these, pennies are being pinched within an inch of their coppery little lives around here, but it's on the wishlist. Strangely, the more fun I have riding, the more frustrating it is that I have limited leg strength and very limited cardio vascular endurance. I wanna ride more, but I can't. There are some "Unithon"s in NY and NJ this Summer, maybe I can get in shape in time for one.
Netflix Report 28 Days Later: Awesome music, very well done retelling of the zombie movie story with all of the subtle irony that would make George Romero proud. The Matador Yes, Pierce, you can do more than James Bond. Interesting story. Friend of mine said of it "I wanted it to be better" and I agree. Memento WHOOOOO what a ride! This director played with every storytelling rule in the moviemaking book, and it really really worked. So much to see, so much to learn & think about. Tomes have been written about this movie, fortunately I only had to read a little bit to clear up my own confuzzlement at the very end of the movie.
Kiss those mommies!
posted by Chris at
4:03 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home