Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Wilmington! It's 50 degrees and sunny today. The moon is at a fingernail stage (not sure waxing or waning), but it was beautifully centered right above a very bright star last night in a clear navy sky. And Mercury is causing astrological unrest, which means only one thing: Mischief.
Thanks to the cat, we've pretty much got that one covered around here.
Today is the first day in weeks that I have nothing planned, except to hang out with Asha while Mutti and Papa accompany Maria to her audition in D.C. (Break a leg, babe!) First, I can't believe that girl is going off to college already. I just flipped through our baby books while I was agonizing over what to write about here today, and she was just the cutest baby. Actually, my brother's baby book is my favorite out of the three (sadly, Asha's is at best a work in progress). They come in 2-year increments and each one documents the first two years of each of my parents' increasingly adorable children. Together, they trace the development of our little, bright-eyed family. We still are bright-eyed, relative to the general population, but not so little anymore.
Anyway, Thomas' album is my favorite. I think I was the cutest I've ever been during the first two years of his life, and also we were just the best of friends. There is so much wide-eyed, drooly laughter in that book, as well as costumery and camraderie and a slew of other heartwarming (and often mischievous) incidents. For example, a four-page spread of a date my parents went on in the mountains of Ecuador c.1993. They are so young and skinny and pink in the cheeks. My favorite shot is a rare photo-capture of my mom making an adorable flirtatious face.
I just discovered, though, a spread in the very beginning of my own baby book that for some reason never struck me before. It features two cards, the kind that come with flower arrangements, addressed in my dad's handwriting, one to me and one to my mom. (My dad loves buying me flowers, and I love that he loves it, and I'm ecstatic to discover that this adorable gesture dates back to Day One.) The surrounding photographs suspend me in a moment when I was not even able to hold up my own head, propped in the corner of an armchair that was probably not as big as it looks, making a suspicious face at a bouquet propped in the opposite corner. As if we are engaged in a deadly game of "Queen of the Armchair."
Judging by the lifespan of your average bouquet, I'll just go ahead and claim the medal on that one.
SO. Back to the unplanned day.
I decided to celebrate by lying around literally all morning, instead of penning replies to all the letters that are stacking up higher and higher on my bedside trunk, or starting on my taxes. (Pumped for that, by the way. Not.) Then I thought, Look at that gorgeous sunshine! I will go to bed cranky tonight if I let it slip away. I went for my first outdoor run since September, and it was almost as warm today as it was back then!
Not really, but it was very warm, and it would be nice if I got a little sun on my face and arms. I got up the guts to leave my little 'hood on foot, finally, which felt good. Liberating. I crossed a bridge over a lovely glittering creek, and circumnavigated a sun-glazed park where cops and other sketchy characters hang out after dark. Also, my sister and her friends. Not that I didn't hang out in sketchy parks when I was in high school, but my parents know about her going there and kind of roll their eyes, but don't do anything about it? I find that weird.
I guess she'd probably go either way, so it's better that they know about it. (Resisting the urge to hashtag "future parenting dilemmas.") Also, back in '05 I never would have been allowed to meet up with my friends literally every night this week and stay out 'til everyone else in the house was asleep. Things change.
This week's features:
Thanks to the cat, we've pretty much got that one covered around here.
Today is the first day in weeks that I have nothing planned, except to hang out with Asha while Mutti and Papa accompany Maria to her audition in D.C. (Break a leg, babe!) First, I can't believe that girl is going off to college already. I just flipped through our baby books while I was agonizing over what to write about here today, and she was just the cutest baby. Actually, my brother's baby book is my favorite out of the three (sadly, Asha's is at best a work in progress). They come in 2-year increments and each one documents the first two years of each of my parents' increasingly adorable children. Together, they trace the development of our little, bright-eyed family. We still are bright-eyed, relative to the general population, but not so little anymore.
Anyway, Thomas' album is my favorite. I think I was the cutest I've ever been during the first two years of his life, and also we were just the best of friends. There is so much wide-eyed, drooly laughter in that book, as well as costumery and camraderie and a slew of other heartwarming (and often mischievous) incidents. For example, a four-page spread of a date my parents went on in the mountains of Ecuador c.1993. They are so young and skinny and pink in the cheeks. My favorite shot is a rare photo-capture of my mom making an adorable flirtatious face.
I just discovered, though, a spread in the very beginning of my own baby book that for some reason never struck me before. It features two cards, the kind that come with flower arrangements, addressed in my dad's handwriting, one to me and one to my mom. (My dad loves buying me flowers, and I love that he loves it, and I'm ecstatic to discover that this adorable gesture dates back to Day One.) The surrounding photographs suspend me in a moment when I was not even able to hold up my own head, propped in the corner of an armchair that was probably not as big as it looks, making a suspicious face at a bouquet propped in the opposite corner. As if we are engaged in a deadly game of "Queen of the Armchair."
Judging by the lifespan of your average bouquet, I'll just go ahead and claim the medal on that one.
SO. Back to the unplanned day.
I decided to celebrate by lying around literally all morning, instead of penning replies to all the letters that are stacking up higher and higher on my bedside trunk, or starting on my taxes. (Pumped for that, by the way. Not.) Then I thought, Look at that gorgeous sunshine! I will go to bed cranky tonight if I let it slip away. I went for my first outdoor run since September, and it was almost as warm today as it was back then!
Not really, but it was very warm, and it would be nice if I got a little sun on my face and arms. I got up the guts to leave my little 'hood on foot, finally, which felt good. Liberating. I crossed a bridge over a lovely glittering creek, and circumnavigated a sun-glazed park where cops and other sketchy characters hang out after dark. Also, my sister and her friends. Not that I didn't hang out in sketchy parks when I was in high school, but my parents know about her going there and kind of roll their eyes, but don't do anything about it? I find that weird.
I guess she'd probably go either way, so it's better that they know about it. (Resisting the urge to hashtag "future parenting dilemmas.") Also, back in '05 I never would have been allowed to meet up with my friends literally every night this week and stay out 'til everyone else in the house was asleep. Things change.
This week's features:
- Bowling, and I'm still as bad at it as I've always been. Although I did get two strikes in a row. Total fluke, I'm sure.
- Sushi from a cute little shop in a strip mall, followed by froyo in the less anime-ish froyo shop on the block.
- Tried on some assless leather chaps (OVER my jeans!) at Goodwill in said strip mall.
- Nora Lee's French Quarter Bistro in Historic New Castle, which actually did the NOLA thing really well. I could have been off Bourbon Street the whole time.
- Saw the new movie Contraband, which was not as fast-paced or explosion-happy as I'd hoped. Fortunately Mark Wahlberg is really nice to look at.
- Some really great raspberry wheat beer at Iron Hill, much better than Shock Top but not quite as good as 75th Street Brewery's raspberry wheat, which was the second beer I had when we went out for my 21st in Kansas City. That might be an emotional flavor influence though.
- Walking around a ton on the UD campus, mostly. I am actually getting oriented in that part of town, but I still SUCK at parking. It helps to have a guide, I guess... Even if my "guide" did get TWO parking tickets in the span of hours while we wandered.
*I dedicate this post to my dear friend Steve, for reasons that should become clear if he can ever get his act together and write a blog post. Luvz boo. </3
No comments:
Post a Comment