Meme'd

Alrighty then, I've been memed by Amy. That has a nice ring to it. Now I'm going to come up with seven things that all you folks might not know about me. I'm kinda dovetailing on Amy's friends and fellow bloggers here, so this may not be too hard.

1. I love winter. I secretly anticipate snow days and I love it when we get more feet than inches. I don't admit this to just anyone-like the mail carrier or the guy at the grocery store that is out gathering carts. I think snow days inspire a stronger sense of community and belonging since we're all in it together. I also love snow days because I love the look on my kids' faces when I get to tell them "It's a Snow Day!!!" Being Arizona babies, this is all still relatively new to them. Last year during the big ice storm when power was out, Joseph looked out his window with major anticipation after my proclamation of "It's a Snow Day!!!" It was sad to see his little face scrunch up in confusion..."Where's the snow? I don't see any snow." And then looked at me like I'd really done it this time. I guess I should have announced, "It's an Ice Day!" but that doesn't have the same appeal to it, now does it? We still had fun by the fire place playing card games and thinking. It's the only time the kids have gone to bed at 5 p.m. It was dark, they were bored, and the dog was cold, forcing them to snuggle up.

2. I got to give my sons their middle names since they came with their first names. Jesse Nicholas and Joseph Anthony. Nicholas for St. Nicholas; patron saint of children, among other things. Anthony for St. Anthony, who helps me find lost items. I really owed it to St. Anthony as he's come through for me many times. I figured, too, with everything Joseph had been through, he might feel a little lost himself, so Anthony would be a good namesake.

3. I wish I could say my favorite book was something literary, like Crime and Punishment, or I Lay Dying, or some Camus book...alas my favorite read is Auntie Mame. More surprising yet, I rather look at her as my role model. All quirks aside (and it's her quirks that make her who she is), she modeled unconditional love in the way she cared for her nephew. Sometimes I get a little irritated and annoyed with my sons, and I sometimes ask myself, "What would Auntie Mame do?" Aside from pouring a drink and lighting up, she usually comes through with sophistication, knowledge, curiosity, and compassion.

4. I've written two novels. The first one is about twins separated at birth. They are meeting for the first time, and their father does not know there are two of them. The mother kept it a secret that she had given birth to two girls, and quickly one of them placed for adoption. It's the story of the families and a lot of secrets. I wrote the other novel in November 2005, during NaNoWrMo (National Novel Writing Month). My grandma had passed away that August, and I wrote a fairy tale based on her life. There were dragons, witches, fairies, and other fun stuff.

5. I love Taco Bell. I really do. I sometimes go through the drive-thru after teaching a yoga class. Maybe I shouldn't be admitting this?

6. I'm a horrible housekeeper. If you come to my house, you will see. I always say, "I'm a good homemaker but a lousy housekeeper." It works for me.

7. While I consider myself artsy and creative, I hate pottery. Making pottery, that is; I love to have pottery in my home. I hate throwing the clay onto the wheel-it's always crooked. I hate sitting with my back all scrunched up, leaning over the wheel. I hate holding my hand a certain way to produce a vase that caves in on itself. I had neck spasms for days after my first class. They were gone by the second class. Neck spasms for days. Made it to the third class. Neck spasms for days. That was the last class as my doctor was getting suspicious about my frequent requests for muscle relaxers and Vicodin. Physical therapy worked it all out, and I haven't been back to class since.

Now, I'm going to tag one of Amy's friends since I don't know anyone else here. I hope that's okay, and maybe we'll be friends too. I tag Melissa Peach at http://watchingpeach.blogspot.com/. Amy, maybe you'll let her know she's been Meme'd?

Yesterday was April 19. It was the anniversary of our dog Farley's death four years ago. That is also the anniversary of the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995, as well as the anniversary of the tragic end to the siege on the Branch Davidian Cult. Today, April 20th, marks the anniversary of the massacre at Columbine. So much tragedy in the world, as I continue to remember my neurotic little Farley.
Farley was with me in 1995 when we watched the Alfred P. Murrah building crumble to the ground. It was nearly incomprehensible to me, and I don't think I fully grasped what was happening. I was a newlywed, home sick from work that day, and I just happened to have the t.v. on. I remember being scared and knowing this was a Big Deal. Two years before, the end came for the Branch Davidians in a fiery siege. It seemed so far removed to me, as a young 22-year-old caught up college life. So, these big things happened in the world on April 19, and then Columbine April 20, 1999. I remember these tragedies as well as my sweet little dog Farley.
Actually, she wasn't all that sweet. She was pretty neurotic, and probably would have been diagnosed with an anxiety disorder if she were a different species...but we loved her in spite of (or because of????) her...quirks. She pooped in our car...more than once. She chewed through the seatbelts in the backseat of our car. She chewed the window blinds. She was difficult to walk on a leash because she wanted to go where she wanted to go. You could try to guide her, or rein her in, but she would then hack and cough as if you were choking her to death. People would stop and look. She once got into a box of fine chocolate sent by my in-laws. Did I mention it was very fine chocolate? When we got home, the chocolate was gone, but there were some pretty vile poopies all through the apartment. Very vile poopies. Oh, and she also chewed our carpet. She had her fine points, too. When we welcomed Scooter the kitten into the home, Farley allowed the little gray cotton ball to nurse on her. Scooter would nestle in, and slurp away. After a month of having this little beast nibble on her, Farley gently growled to let Scooter know those days were over. She weaned the cat, and they became buddies.
Farley came to let us "eskimo kiss" her. Toward the end she and I used to put forehead to forehead, and I'd sing a little Farley song then kiss her between the eyes. The month before she died, Farley allowed me to take her to Jesse's classroom for "Show-and-Tell." She was fabulous! The 1st and 2nd graders sat in a circle, and I walked her by each child, who each gave her a gentle pat. She seemed to enjoy herself. When we got home, she decided to dictate a letter to the class through me, thanking the kids for inviting her. The kids loved it-a dog that writes. Just by being Farley, she helped Jesse fit in better with his classmates.
Farley was with us for nine years, and I do believe she knew she was deeply loved. We knew she loved us just as much. And I guess that's where hope blooms in the tragedies that also share the date of her death. It might be our "job," "business," or even "duty," but it is also our deepest desire to love and be loved. Farley was able to do that, despite abuse early in life. She was not a perfect dog, or even an easy dog, just like us humans at times (most of the time???). She served her purpose just by being Farley. Maybe we can do the same.

This is an email I sent very early yesterday morning.....that is because we were rudely awakened by an......earthquake! On awakening, I thought, in this order 1. tornado, let's get downstairs 2. plane crash-I could actually hear what sounded like very large hail hitting the ground after the initial rumble, so I thought it might be wreckage 3. Earthquake...hhmmmm...seemed unlikely at the time 4. Gas explosion-this actually made the most sense to me-either a house or a semi on the highway.
Those were my thoughts. Chris thought it was a raccoon or squirrel in the attic as the ceiling fan above our bed was fiercely shaking....or a gas explosion, but he was really leaning hard on the raccoon in the attic thought.

So-initially, I heard a rumble at the same time I felt everything shaking, (it was the shaking that woke me up) and I really thought the house was going down-it felt like a house of cards tottering back and forth before collapsing. That's one big raccoon. It shook and rumbled for a good 30 seconds. The house stayed put, and we don't have any damage that we know of-nothing fell off the walls, and no ceiling fans dropped on anybody. I'll go outside and look for cracks later. There is minor damage around the city and one of the "main artery" roads is closed due to damage.

Joseph slept through it, and is still sleeping., not so much with Jesse. When Jesse heard us up, he came out asking, "What was THAT?!??" He's okay now, but I have to admit we are shaken up a bit. (haha)

One woman just called in to the tv station-the earthquake cracked her house in half. This wasn't even on the New Madrid fault, which is one of the largest in the world.
A few more details-5.4 on the Richter Scale, and the epicenter is in New Salem, IL, about 127 miles away. Chris's mom called 5 minutes after because they felt it in Springfield, IL. I called my Dad (who is up at that time, earthquake or not) and he didn't know anything about it. Good thing I called to inform him and Mom

That's enough excitement for the day, and it's not even 6 a.m. Coffee time!