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thankfully, i'm used to it!

hi my blog friends!  you might notice that the blog below, "change is good" looks a bit kooky, with multiple print colors in random locations......i didn't mean to "mixup" my colors....i've spent hours trying to figure out what buttons i've pushed to create the crazy color scheme.....i am baffled....biff was called in to aid my technological sneeze.....he can't figure it out either.  my words are the same......apparently, the colors have been changed to protect the innocent.  innocent?  who's innocent? me!  i plead the fifth. i'm innocent, technologically.   i'm learning.  just when i thought i had a handle on this little blog thing, *POOF*, i don't!  i think you'll understand how ''littlemarymixup" came to be.  stuff just happens and thankfully, i'm used to it!

change is good.

what a great day.  thankful that we got to make a quick trip to ski for the day today....it's so much fun to be out in the glorious sunshine and nice cold but comfortable weather.  we got up and out early.....and off we went.  not far.  not big. not glamorous.  but, great!

grace had a friend with her today...kind of a pre-birthday treat.  t.j. worked on his snowboarding, biff and i enjoyed some lift time together.  we all shared some time together on the lift lines, lifts and the slopes.  we had a great day.  it was a joy to have so much fun jam packed in one day.  this is the kind of day that i call a "vacation in a bottle". these days just pop up in our lives and i treasure them.

first, it's great to have a day where there are no big plans and we can all be in one place. second, it's very nice to be able to make a day trip to some pretty awesome places.  third, it is a blast to have the time with our kids and just having plain old fashioned fun and enthusiasm.  please remember, we have teenagers.

i know it is a joy to be with them everyday.....please recognize how very grateful i am!   very true.  it's just that this teen thing has been a huge adjustment.  i know, i should be used to it by now.  it's been creeping up on me slowly....first, they     didn't want me to be anywhere in the same zip code when they were getting off the bus.....i got away with being outside, down the street, walking the dogs. second, they started to stop waving to me when they saw me in their school, they would see me and kind of wave me away.  third, they stopped telling me long, involved stories about their school day while they sat with me at the kitchen table, having a snack or doing homework.....now, they get home, mumble some unclear words about the lack of food in our refrigerator and look to the computer for facebook chatter.

yes, they do talk to me and i have very nice relationships with both kids, it's just changing.  o.k., i'm not the first mom to have teens.  it's not a big deal.  oh yes it is!  to me. and it's not a big deal. life changes and we have to roll with it.  change is good.  change keeps us fresh.  change allows the new to come into our lives.  change allows us to let go of the unnecessary, making room for more new.

yes i know this.  i do.  i just make the adjustment slowly....and finally, let go and let it happen.  as if i could stop it .  really, it's kind of cool having people to talk to that understand more and more every day.  on the other hand, it's kind of tough to be with kids who think that they know more than me.  in general.  or specifically anything technologically....phone, computer, cell phone, cameras and more.

they can't help themselves. they have to separate. it's all a part of growing up.  they're starting to notice our flaws.  we are chock full of them and thankfully, we are pretty aware of them.  maybe we just don't need to be 

you see, when i was born, i was "baby girl littlemarymixup"...o.k., that endearing nickname didn't come til much later, with love and laughter.  anyway, next to   "babygirl littlemarymixup" in the hospital nursery, there was a baby boy.  his last name made him worthy of a nickname that is now a part of our family lore.  his name was not exactly this, but it got distilled and turned into "jerko".  hence, the name, "boy jerko".  yes, i was the lucky little lady to have my little nursery date be "boy jerko".  and that was the name that anyone, who made a mistake big or small...."oh, what a boy jerko"..."you boy jerko"...."i'm such a boy jerko"...."what are you, boy jerko?"i never got the full pronunciation of his name.  thank goodness.  i might have been tempted to look him up on facebook....NOT.

thankfully, biff and i are not from the "you'll poke an eye out" generation. we're the generation that celebrates who they are, even if they're wearing bathing suits in the snow...yes, grace and t.j.   apparently, our kids will be.  they are not parentally correct.  they point out everything from poppyseeds in our teeth to the volume of our sneezes.  it's lovely.

everyday, when the wheels on the bus go round and round, i see the kids go off to school.  i charge up my batteries and take care of life...my life, the lives of biff and i, and the lives of our family.  i build myself up...i may do volunteer work, work on our house, do some of my own work, work in our home.....and i'm proud.

i'm puffed up to just be me...kind of proud of what i can accomplish for the good of the world....or maybe the good of our plumbing (that's water...for the world...we turn off the flow when we brush!) or for the good of our golden retrievers or just for the good of world laundry.  i'm just doing me and us.

and a teen or two walks in the door.  they start out with their mumble...sometimes a mumble with enthusiasm...like a nod of a head or a simple smile as they pass by.  and that's that.  i'm just there.  meandering through the house.  just there.  being me.   cleaning. not so much cooking.  doing. painting. reminding.  asking.  doing. giving. reminding again.  listening when someone needs to be heard.  not listening, when someone does not want to be heard.  cooking sometimes....what is liked by all and sometimes not so much.  reminding again...some little things need more prodding than others.   like, homework....emptying the dishwasher, transporting the laundry from one room to another, sometimes involving stair climbing.

imagine.  when these teens were little people....following me around the house....looking for me...talking to me non-stop....wanting and wanting and wanting.....something and some other thing and that thing.....they loved being in the middle of anything that i was working on.  i tried to put dishes in the sink....they tried to climb in the dishwasher.  i tried to sort laundry...they jumped in laundry piles and turned it into hide and seek games.


i used to dream of just being in the bathroom alone.  now the golden retrievers or the cats bump the     door to join me.  i'm kind of flattered.  i mean, they do want to be with me.  and they are always      enthusiastic and happy to see me.

life is changing everyday.  so are we.  i like it....it just takes a little getting used to. if today was an example of kids growing up and the way we all fit together these days, change is good.

Crosby, Stills, and Nash - Our House

the mood of the day.

just a day.

sometimes it's just nice to have a day.  just a day.  with no plans.  no appointments.  no meetings.  no agenda.  i didn't plan my day to be like this.  it just is.

that's the nice part.  it just happened.  i have a cold.  just a cold. foggy, headache, sore throat.  just a cold. it is making me feel tired and rundown.

i'm not complaining.  i'm just tired.

and so, i've decided not to fight it.  i'm at home, doing laundry and cleaning.  just not with the gusto of other days.  the dogs and cats are sleeping.  i'm not planning to sleep. i'm not that tired.  i started out kind  of slow today.

the first thing i did was take a shower.  just to feel warm.  when i came downstairs, my head began running through a list of to do items....then, as i walked into the kitchen, more to do items popped up.

i was putting something in the family room and other to do lists flashed in front of me.

walking through the playroom on the way to the laundry, i realized there are some things to take care of there too.

i sat down with my coffee.  i just sat. and sat.  i love to have one of those maxwell house moments.  you know the ones, where the woman is sitting, looking at the steam rise from her cup.....sometimes she's wrapped up in a quilt....on the couch....with a cute dog at her feet.......maybe a fire in the fireplace.  and then, we see her sip the coffee quietly.


that's how i want to feel today.  just quiet. just content.  just let all of the lists   and projects and to do's that  bounce about in my head, on a daily basis,    wait......settle down. they are always there.  they will always be there.


but today, i think i'll just let them bounce and not try to catch them all.  maybe a few.  the laundry's in.  the dogs and cats are sleeping. still.  calm.  peaceful.

maybe i'll just sit with my coffee and have a day.  just a day.

the color of my nails

i just got a phone call.  from my doctor's office.  no. not as scary as it sounds.  only scary because i've gotten this kind of call before.  i missed my appointment.  the day, date and time.  i try.  everyday i try to do my best....to have a plan, ahead of time.  to work from the plan. i am religious about the planning....  and then, the phone call.  it's not that i'm worried about the appointment, it can be rescheduled.  it's that i'm just like this.

oh, put in on a calendar and stop whining, you say.  well, i do that.  i have lots of pretty calendars, lots of pretty datebooks and all sorts of doo hickies and devices that will set alarms and buzzers and pings that will alert me.  and i am alert.  it's jsut not at the right time or day.

today is wednesday....the 20th....of january...the year is 2010.  got it.  just one little problem. i thought today was wednesday the 19th....and that's the problem.  yesterday, i had to write a check.  i wrote the 19th.  later in the day, i heard someone say that it was the 18th.  i assumed that they were right.  why do i assume that other people are right.  i guess that's because i'm wrong so much of the time......on the dates. at least, that's what i'll admit to.

so, just before posting this blog, i sat clicking keys on my laptop and my phone.  i got a pretty colored marker, pink for february and valentines day month and began turning pages and writing.  i have, once again, made note of the date for my rescheduled appointment.

got that.  january 20th, wednesday, which i thought was january 19th, wednesday.  see, one day can make a difference.

take it from me, i know.  this kind of living is now something i take for granted.  some people would be flustered by this.  i am only flustered when i pick up the phone and hear the voice of the person i am planning to meet tomorrow.....because that's a sign....for me....it signals my brain immediately.  i freeze. i know. it's supposed to be today.

a day late and a dollar short.  what does that mean?  it sounds like it has something to do with scheduling though.

don't put off today what you can do tomorrow.  oh wait...don't put off today when you know that the phone call will come later...oh wait....don't put off anyone.  just do it.  that's probably how nike started.  someone like me had had enough mix ups.....hung up the phone and just stood there and shouted, "just do it!"

it's not my age.  i've been like this forever.  it's not my beauty...i have plenty of blonde highlights but i'm no dumb blonde.  maybe a few traits here or there.....maybe i'll give into the blondes have more fun thing but that's as far as i go.

i have a record.  not a police record.  not an album.  not a track record.  just a record and a long history of mishaps with dates.

the first date with my husband, i thought, was to be on a friday night.  we discussed the weekend and our best possible night for a date.  we talked again on thursday night, after skating.  i told him about a friends party on saturday night...we talked about that and we talked about friday night.  i left him thursday night thinking i would be seeing him friday night.  only, friday night, no biff.  hmmmmm.  i couldn't believe such a nice guy would stand me up. ooh, it bugged me.  why did i think he was a good guy. easy come, easy go.  oh, not so easy buster.  i called him.  i had an attitude.  he seemed so casual about blowing me off.  he was.  he wasn't the least bit apologetic. nothing. odd.  strange. wierd. nothing.  i finally said it was a shame to miss out on a nice date.

what? date?  today?  he was silent.  he finally spoke.  he told me that we had planned for saturday night.  he told me he thought we said saturday.  saturday?  the friend's party?  he was planning on going with me to that.  was he a day late or was i a day early?

thankfully, be both have alot of go with the flow in us.  or maybe that's what keeps our spark alive.  we never know what's next.

it's january.  i'm clear on that.  one week from today is my daughter's birthday.  i guess it's no surprise that the night before my first baby was born, i was out getting a manicure and a pedicure.  pretty color. pretty fingers. pretty toes. i sat at the nail salon, talking with some friends who were also there for some primping.  i talked about the baby to be's due date and all of the anticipation and excitement.

i had a long night ahead of me.  it was shortly after the manicure and pedicure that my labor slowly began..........i wasn't terribly comfortable for the rest of the night.......when an old friend called from california late that night, i was telling her about my discomfort.......she told me i was in labor.  o.k. biff and i were pretty intelligent people.......we had to have a friend call from across the whole country to tell us that i was in labor!

it's true. and the next morning, as we drove to the hospital.....in lots of discomfort....both of us...mine was physical....griff's was just a tad uncomfortable mentally.  new dad and all of that stuff.

when he called the doctor to tell him of our situation, the receptionist asked if we would like an appointment.  since i missed the appointment the night before.  oops. i missed the appointment.  my own doctor's appointment.  for the baby.  my baby.  the one that i was waiting for....for nine months......for my whole life.

i was supposed to have a doctor's appointment for one of the biggest events of my life.  i missed that.   for a manicure and a pedicure.

at the hospital, the midwife asked me why i missed my appointment.  i confessed.  although, i'm happy to say, the midwife and doctor did compliment me on the color of my nails.

turned on.

it's tuesday morning.  the kids are back at school. biff is off to work. i'm almost ready to go to a scheduled appointment.  i've started another load of laundry.  boy, do we have laundry.  we are only 4 people.  4 people with 2 dogs, 2 cats, 2 fish.

thankfully, the fish have no clothing.  the cats take care of their own coats.  the dogs may require some loungewear washed on occasion, but they're not too picky.  and boy do they know how to lounge.  they have a comfy bed in the family room and a fleecepad with a touch of leopard.  they don't seem to object to lying on a print of a very large, jungle cat.  i guess it makes tham feel either accessorized or superior. there is another pretty dogbed in the living room, a little more along the floral shabby chic decor.  and since daisy has always been a loyal sleep next to me kind of dog, she has her own sealy posturpedic in our bedroom, it's about 7 inches thick with a faux shearling cover.  it may be more comfy than our bed.



so, there is no explanation for the constant flow of giant laundy circulating through this house.  blacks, whites, colors.....pinks with reds, blue jeans, bright blues and greens.....it goes down the stairs...lug, lug, lug....sort, sort, sort, sort, sort, sort, sort, sort, sort.......one load, another, another, another, another,  washer, dryer, washer, dryer, washer, dryer washer, dryer, washer, dryer, washer, dryer.......lug, lug, lug, lug, lug, lug, lug, lug, lug, lug, lug....fold, fold, fold, fold, fold, fold, fold, fold..........stack, stack, stack, stack, stack, stack, stack.....ready for pick up.....ready for pick up....ready for pick up....ready for pick up.

then it begins....."please pick of your pile of clean laundry and put it away....in your drawers.  no, not on the drawers.....in the drawers.  no, not on the chair.....in the drawers."

"please put your laundry in the laundry basket.  please put that laundry in the laundry basket.  why is that clean towel on the floor?  please hang up that towel.  please pick up that clean towel.  why are all of those clothes on the floor?  no they're not dirty, they are clean....i just washed them.  how did those clean clothes get in your laundry basket.  or, where is your laundry basket?  oh, i couldn't see it under all of those clothes.  where is the dirty laundy? are you sure this is all of your laundry....then why is there still stuff on the floor?"

please refer to my third paragraph to see what happens next...i think you may be familiar with the routine....although since others in the world have it down to a perfect science, i've only been doing this for a few years.  after all, my kids are teens.  that's when the laundry game changed.  that's when they forgot everything that we spent time teaching them for years.  that's when they got that distracted look on their faces?  what laundry?  they peek out from under the piles and piles of laundry that they are under....they aren't really trying to look at me....they are just trying to breathe.

oh and i'm not a laundry martyr....my husband is sensitive new age or desperate for navy socks, he does lots of laundry too.....even the kids have learned some pieces of the laundry puzzle, like folding....sometimes sorting and turning on the washer and pouring half a gallon of tide in the wash, with bubbles from here to the next pile of laundry.......sometimes switching a load.....

we are blessed to have so much....or are we.....isn't it just too much.....too many.....we have lots and lots.

we share, we give away, we donate, we hand down.

and we still have more...on the floor...in the drawers...in the closets....in summer storage.....

and yet, this morning grace asked me for her white j. crew v-neck t-shirt.  she had made that request last night.  imagine that girl, thinking ahead like that.  she specifically asked for that white shirt...no other.
oh, i said,"it's in the dryer."

i went to the dryer.  it had never been turned on.

wedding dress.

it's martin luther king day....i've been thinking all week about the man with so much vision and hope. "i have a dream" is ringing so clear in my thoughts.  he was a man who had so many dreams and because his life was cut short, others had to do their best to fulfill his dreams.

it's incredible to read about people and their dreams, big and small.  it is always amazing to hear of people who stand up to adversity and still power through the blockades.  what is it that gives people the stamina to just keep plowing through.  some we just read about and some we may know personally.

my mom was inspired to keep forging ahead through adversity.  my dad died when my mom was 48.  with three kids, she had no choice but to look forward and march on.  she did just that.......with debilitating arthritis.  she had a successful career as an executive........bills to pay, kids to support and bills and lifestyle too.she worked until she had to retire.

then, she started volunteering at a hospital and was offered a management position.  she worked there until her mid seventies.....and with so many blue haired volunteers, we used to kid her, that she was the young whippersnapper!

she was forced to move to a senior living residence when she could no longer use the stairs in her apartment.  she moved there, not because she wanted to but because she had to. she did not want to move in with family although she was welcome.  she chose to continue living independently for as long as she could.  it was not her dream circumstance, but she made it work.

she really didn't complain about the stumbling blocks of her life.  she just pushed along and made things work.her arthritis was degenerative and in her last years, she was more and more slowed down and her bones began to deteriorate.  she broke her hip...she kept going.  she fell...she kept going.  she was in and out of the hospital....she kept going...she would not be stopped. she kept going, no matter what the adversity.

it was frustrating to me and the others that we could not slow her down!  we wanted to protect her.  she didn't want anyone to stop her.  she did not want to quit. she recognized the changes that began holding her back.  she just didn't want to discuss them.she was stubborn and proud.  she didn't let the adversity crush her spirit.  her spirit carried her through, always.  her spirit and her faith.  until her last day.


i realize the reason that i began writing about my mother.  it was on martin luther king day that my mom and i went shopping in new york city for my wedding dress.  it was a special day.  although, her arthritis was slowing down her walking, she never considered it a hardship to walk through the city. she lived and worked and fell in love there.

we went to saks fifth avenue where she worked for most of her life and so did i.  itried on dress after dress after dress.  it was discouraging, only because every dress that i tried on was like a gown meant for a princess....big, way too big, poofy, heavy and way too sparkly.  we resigned ourselves to come back another day.

we were just a bit disappointed. we drove home.  while on our way through our little village, my mom said, "look!  why don't we just pop into our bridal shop?"  exhausted, i told her i didn't want to make another stop.  she pushed.  lets go. quick. stop in for a minute.so many brides! so stereotypical.  i was having a out of body experience.  i was was living life in a cartoon....something i do when the atmosphere creeps me out  seeing people as cartoon characters seems to save me from the intensity of a moment.....brides, mother of the brides, bridesmaids, too fat, too skinny, too loud, too nasal, too emotional.......i was looking at them all in that very teeny boutique.....i was not this kind of bride......i did not want to turn into this kind of bride.  was i?  NO WAY.

i had just talked my mom into leaving the store when we heard the owner call out her name.  we both turned.  it was an old family friend that had gone to school with my older brothers.  we told her we'd come back.  she told us not to go, asked me what styles i liked......i told her i didn't want too much "foof" and not too"boofy" and not too sparkly...just classic, light for a summer day.  she brought me one dress.  no''boof"...no ''foof"  no  i loved it, tried it on, it was my size, it was mine.

so today, martin luther king day......is the day i had a dream....not quite so lofty....just an ordinary dream....i dreamed of my wedding dress and how it would be....we found it....we had such a special mother daughter day.

so, i can't help but remember on this beautiful martin luther king day that the is the anniversary of the day i got my wedding dress.

this must be the face bill cosby is talking about!  at least, i think this is my face.

i'm sure the kids would love to confirm this.

only they know the official mom face.

Bill Cosby - Brain damage

it's my life.

just another day.

how much fun it is to be at the beach on cold winter days.

walking with daisy and fitzy.

our goldens.

its a step away from the busy-ness of life.

they take us to new places that we might not have noticed along our walks.

biff and i have time to talk quietly.

we have little dates.

we laugh together.

we dream about places we love and summer.

we think about places we'd like to go.

we ramble random thoughts.....mine more than his!

we complain about our kids and why they do this or that.

and why they don't do this or that.

we share funny stories about our kids.

we talk about how proud we are of them.

we laugh about the things we see in them that are just like us.

we laugh and cry about our imperfections as parents......o.k....i cry.

we really love our beach walks with the dogs.

we get time together.

just time.

quiet time.

and then we come back home.

to music.

computers.

ipods.

x-box.

cell phones.

food.

kids laughter.

kids fighting.

kids wants.

kids needs.

our real life.

the life we chose.

the kids we love.

the warm comfortable home.

with cats

and dogs

and fish

and family.

just another day.

50 years from today.

this was a christmas gift for biff in 2007.  i found this in an antique store here in connecticut.  biff loves to have a place to keep all of his toys like pocket knives, old pens that he collects, tools for his bike, ipod stuff, cell phone, laptop cords and chips and foreign coins.

the "gerstner box" has been around since the wright brothers carried them to kitty hawk.  the box that i bought for biff is about fifty years old.  who knew?  and i thought i had just found a cool box.

for the first few months that he had it, biff came home everyday and poured out his pockets and lifted the lid, opened the front with the swing open, "desk"made to use as a work surface.....he would turn knobs, lift the hinges and pull the drawers and  review his small collections, moving things from place to place.  it became his own place.  a minute office where he could contain most of his treasures.

he truly was delighted with this gift.  an antique tool chest, he loves old things with a history.  old things to biff, don't have to be antiques.  because he has an interest in manufacturing, all kinds of manufacturing, he loves to see how stuff is made.  the gerstner box is a tool box that was used by precision toolmakers, who built the stuff that kept the factories running.  each artisan had their own toolbox filled with special instruments for layout set up and building.  each toolbox was an extension of the individual and his stykle and his nature.  this box was carried these "tool boxes" with them to work on small  at the manufacturing plant, like house calls.

i finally had to ask him to stop telling me about the incredible uses for the box.  everytime he uses the box, still-----years later, he puts his keys and stuff in there and says,"thank you for this box.  really, it's so  great. i love my gerstner box."  when he asks the kids to get something, he just says,"it's in the gerstner."

it's like we have another man in the house.  gerstner this and gerstner that.  one day we were looking at e-bay.....i'm trying to decide if i should have a shop on e-bay.   as we looked through some of the different categories, biff clicked onto "Gerstner boxes"......he found one.  it was not in great condition.  it was way overpriced for the condition.  we debated, knowing how much he loved his own, we talked about how our son, t.j. might like to have his own."  we had alot more"gerstner" talk.

we never did buy the one on e-bay.  biff talked about having his dad make one.  his dad is a very talented woodworker.    i think biff and t.j. talked about "gerstner" possibilities.  who knew how much that"gerstner box" would turn into a member of the family!

the minute biff opened his "gerstner box", i guess i opened a can of worms.

my fun christmas present this year was my little laptop,  this cracked me up the minute i opened the box. it is the cutest computer ever.  i can't believe it's so small and has opened a whole new world for me.  this little pink laptop is the color of my phone and my ipod.  i had a pink camera too...but it has,sadly. gone to rest. i seem to have an ongoing issue with techno toys that go bad.

this cracks me up because, when my niece was about four, like twenty years ago, i bought her a little v-tech laptop type toy....i think it was bigger than this!

the cool thing is that since i have my own computer, i have learned so much.  i am able to write my blog from anywhere, i am more accessible to the internet, i actually feel like i'm getting a little more computer coordinated.  don't tell my kids....they'll just laugh out loud!

who knew so much joy could come from two different worlds.....old and new!  box and laptop box....i wonder what people will say about these things 50 years from today.

funny female parking

and finally, we arrived and got our parking space!

and here's the part of the story from our little trip last night that i left out...because i followed my heart in the story.  my life is a segway....i started telling about our trip last night to see our friends show and because i started writing about my friends talents that go on and on and on and our friendship that goes on and on and on, i wrote on and on and never got to the mix up.

we go to nan's shows every chance we get. she's not around the corner....but we love to go.  last night, we made sure to plan accordingly.  we were determined to get there on time. we have had nights where they were closing the doors, lights were out and we had to do lots of sweettalking to get ourselves in the door and seated quietly.  preferably, without nan seeing us and creating a scene.....we are easy targets.

biff, being a twin born seven minutes after his brother has a long history with running late. his twin has always said,  "you've been late since the day you were born!"
biff has come a long way and is much more prompt these days, but somehow we do have our mixups.

last night, with all plans on schedule, the family was dressed and ready, out the door, in the car and on the road with our googled directions to our location.  we had time to get in the theatre, get candy or a drink, be seated and reading our "playbill" while waiting for the show to begin.

we followed the directions to a tee until we found ourselves in a not so desireable neighborhood.  actually, the address kind of matched the directions.  as we arrived
at shack with some green grass, i got the feeling that this was not a place that nan would drive, let alone put on a show.

we stopped three people to ask directions.  no one spoke english.  does that surprise us? no. we move on.  we finally asked a not so intimidating manwith a very intimidating dog who barked loudly.  not the man, the dog.he spoke english.  not the dog, the man. we diiidn't have time to checki on the dog's language abilities.  we peeled out of that neighborhood in a hurry!

at that point, we were in a hurry but might still make the curtain call.  that is, until we drove around some more scary neighborhoods....close, but no quite.  we tried to call the theatere...we got administrative offices.  we tried to text her husband.  anyone watching or helping with a show would surely turn off their phone.  no pick up. we found the theatre....we saw the lights.  we looked for a parking spot. and we looked some more.  we circled the block.  we finally found a sign that said parking.  we followed the sign. we drove into the cement jungle parking lot.  we passed many filled parking spaces.  we followed the arrows to the next level.  we passed the security guard. we waved and smiled.  he waved and smiled.  where did he think the family of four was going?  we arrived on the next level.  thee were no other cars.  no other life.  no other ramps open.  just lights and scaffolding and do not enter signs.  we had entered the twilight zone and all we wanted was a braodway review.  we circled about and yes, our only choice, we drove back down. we drove down the up ramp.....we signaled to another driver not to go there and we got out of there.  we circled some more.,  at that point, i was ready to pull up on the sidewalk....in fornt of the theatre.  i offered to drop off the family while i looked for a space....in cleveland.  and just as i thought, we found a space within a block of the theatre.
phew!  we were there...we just needed to pick up the tix at the door.  pause.  we had the manager to escort us to the seats....during a break in the action. pause.  the manager escorted us to our second row, middle seats.  yahoo!  we had arrived.

in time for two songs....and intermission!  we had arrived just in time to miss my goddaughter, nan's daughter, on stage. we had arrived just in time to miss nan's son on stage.

we did make it, if a tad late.  they know we love them.  they know we wanted to be there.  they know that mix ups do happen.  they know about my mix ups.  they know that my mom called me littlemarymixup....and they love me anyway...they love us all anyway....and maybe that's part of why they love us.  they know we want to always be there for them.  literally and figuratively. and maybe that's why they love us....because we are....even if a bit late...we are there with all of oue heart.  in the second row...literally and figuratively.  cheering them on .....as good friends do....literally and figuratively.

we were there in time to applaud and whoop it up.  i clap well.  and i have a great whistle....although it embarrasses the kids....not the kids on stage....the kids in my family.  they should be proud, don't ya think.  that's one of my biggest skills. and that counts.  i mean, for all of the nan's in the world.  they need people with skill like mine.  where would they be without the whistlers?

more than most!

last night, we all went to see a friends production of a broadway review. nan is my friend....an incredible friend....a smart, funny, loud, gentle, sweet, kind and loving and sincere friend......with more energy and more creativity and more talents than most people have been blessed with.

nan has been a friend since college.....we share our friends.......a group as close as sisters....a group with many talents and gifts.  at a small womens college, it was inevitable for us to cross paths.....and who knew the long and winding path we would travel as friends for almost over 25 years.....  yikes!

our friendship really began when we worked on talent shows together.  not just a small time talent show, but true productions, spoofs of our college living, that weon first place.  the audience was comprised of parents, faculty members and friends.

women with voices and opinions stood out. many of us, born leaders, in one way or another, mixed together, creating a force that won talent shows and forged deep and lasting friendships with us and all of our families too. 

i've been to see her productions with yellow brick roads and gingham clad singers and beauty school dropouts with greasy boyfriends. writing, directing, choreographing, producing, singing, dancing, flying, rocking and rolling are as much a part of her life as brushing teeth are to most.

after college, nan began a career as a stockbroker, a top saleswoman in her office, while being an involved and committed town council woman and in her spare time, she was the general contractor for her own house.  she played the organ at church on sundays and sings......and plays the piano. i kid you not!

nan married a great guy, who loves and supports every step she takes. before they had children of their own, she began a childrens theatre group.....another successful venture.  2 great kids and the talent gene pool carries on. her children have been a part of her productions every step of the way. nan became a teacher at her alma maters. not only a great teacher, she is loved by her students and graduates....she developed an extracurricular theatre program that is a money maker for her school.

kids come back from college to be a part of her latest venture, putting on shows at a local, acclaimed playhouse.  she has a following. this is a woman with gifts of all kinds.

she's kind she's loving and sincere....and hysterical.  we shares the love of family, the love of friends and the love of the beach and birthdays, the love of our children, the love of music, the love of God (although, i can't play the organ and after 10 years of piano lessons, i can play a few christmas songs, chop stix and heart and soul"), we share each others' joys and sorrows.  we certainly have a long history together.  we shared in some of the greatest college capers ever.  as good friends, we ran against each other for class president senior year in college.....she won and she made the best class president ever!

one of the first times we met, it was because she was booming "she's a brick house" through the dorm.  the beat was barreling down corridors and rattling our windows two floors below.  little did i know, that that booming was as big as her heart.   i never would have believed it at that time.

thank goodness i didn't let that brick house get in the way of our friendship because travelling down the yellow brick road with nan has been a blast.

of all of her talents, the gift of friendship has been the most bountiful! 

so what we learned in our fine womens college is true, girls can do anything! some can just do more than most.