Week #42

Tags

friends, love, parenting

The Metal Man

jb: Twice a week, my son and I drive past the “metal man” overlooking a marsh and a pedestrian bridge as we rush from A to B and back again. And every time I say, “Let’s go see that metal man and the marsh someday” and my son says “Yeah, and let’s walk across that bridge”.

This week, my son had a day off from school and for once we didn’t have any appointments or anything urgent to do. So I declared it was “someday”. We drove to the metal man, took pictures with him, walked through the marsh, found treasures (rocks), took pictures (my treasures), watched wildlife, sang songs with made-up words and made wishes on cattails and pulled on them until they exploded everywhere. Then we hiked 1.1 miles (because my distance estimation skills are non-existent weak) to the next surprise – the pedestrian bridge over the freeway. And even though he was tired, when he stood in the middle of the bridge while a big blue semi-truck drove underneath us and an amazing number of friendly people honked and waved he declared “this is AWESOME!”.

But most of all, we just got to spend time together doing “someday things”. Which is a rare and wonderful treat. Someday should come more often.

j: This picture is in response to our dinner date this week – to our meet-in-the-middle goofballery,  the no-vegetarian-salads, the (delicious plan B) soup, the bread, the half-priced wine, the hours spent talking (and talking and talking), the laughter, the tears, the hugs.

Oh, and those little bra thingies, too.

xox

Week #35

Tags

happiness, love, stillness

jb: I’m feeling both excited and stressed about the things that are on my plate next week. I keep bouncing up and down between “whoo-hoo!” and “oh, crap!” with occasional detours to “what the heck was i thinking?!?” in between.

So I took this opportunity to stop and smell the roses, literally. Here’s the virtual version, in case you could use a moment of peace, too.

Ahh….

j: I filled this stillness with my footfalls, in step with someone I love. I filled it with the words from our conversation, which roamed fearlessly, everywhere. I filled it with the exhilaration of knowing that we could go anywhere, that only time stopped us, and that’s okay. It’s time that will allow us to explore later the terrain we left untouched today. I filled it with breath and the loosening of my limbs and the release of my tension… the simple unraveling that love can bring.

Which made room, of course, for the stillness to come inside and fill up me.

Week #33

Tags

kids, love, San Francisco

Treasure

jb: My son has an uncanny ability to find treasures wherever he goes. Here are today’s treasures — a very wiggley worm and a very non-wiggley rubber gecko. He was equally excited about each of them, even though he could only take one of them home. (Guess which one?) He’s a great reminder to stop and notice the treasures that surround us every day and a reminder for me to treasure our special moments together.

j: I met a friend in SF for lunch and I just had to get this picture for you! Have you seen it already? It’s a ginormous steampunk-Wallce-and-Grommit-type spaceship on the wharf near the Ferry Building. And check out the sign by it. So cute!

Week #32

Tags

love

j: The (amazing) thing about committing to a year-long love project is that you start to see love everywhere.

jb: In my family, the birthday kid got to select whatever cake they wanted from “the book of cakes” and mom would (magically!) make it for you. (Thanks, Mom!) I especially remember a cake shaped like a butterfly and another shaped like a train.

I am happily continuing the tradition with my son; every year so far he requested either a train or a fish. But this year he surprised me with a request for a “cake that looks like the red M&M guy”. And the tradition continues… 🙂

Week #23

Tags

friends, love, pumpkins

j:

“I don’t believe in the myth of that magical place where everything exists in a state of persistent equilibrium. Life is messy. It’s supposed to be. And that’s a good thing. Hell, it’s a wonderful thing, because the fray is where the greatest relationships and experiences are birthed.”
~ Jonathan Fields, UNCERTAINTY

This week has been busy and roller coastery, full of the ups and downs and exhilaration and doubt that comes from leaning into the unknown. Last night, one of my oldest friends came over and we made pizza and drank wine and talked about life and love and the choices we make; ourselves, before and now. The kitchen got trashed, the pizzas were delicious, the conversation jumped chaotically from one thing to another, and I was crazy grateful for the sweet, (wonderfully messy) respite.

my jack-skellington o’lantern

ghost o’lantern

jb: And now, the moment you’ve been waiting for…. the carved pumpkins. Ta-da! (And I’m cheating by posting two pictures this week, because I forgot to take a picture of them together. Oops.) It wasn’t the week or the Halloween we were expecting this year, because the cold and flu fairy decided to visit our house for 5 days. But my son and I made the most of it and were still able to get our pumpkins carved and he was well enough to go trick-or-treating and hand out candy. Yay!

Week #10

Tags

love, rescue dogs, summer

R.I.P. Summer…. Thank you for your hot days that we spent at the beach, playing in the pool, camping, drinking Kool-Aid (or margaritas) and warm nights for star-gazing, fireworks, glow-stick tag, Frisbee-in-the-dark and s’mores. Your time with us was precious and too short. You will always be in our heart’s memory. During the long, cold, dull seasons ahead we will remember you fondly and visit you often in photos – until we meet again, my friend.

j: Last October, someone posted a picture of Ash on Facebook. He was being fostered by a San Francisco based senior dog rescue group called Mutville. He’d been wandering, was malnourished and hairless from his midsection back when they found him. They estimated he was seven years old. There were a million reasons – personal, financial and professional – for me not to adopt him.

And yet…

We met Ash and his foster-mother in a Presidio parking lot. It was supposed to be just a get-acquainted thing. We’d go home, she’d go home, we’d be in touch to move forward if all seemed right. But in that messy way that love works, we brought Ash home that day. Our vet, who saw him each of the first three weeks he was here, said he was probably closer to nine years old and gave me medication for his ear infection and skin condition.

It’s been almost a year. He’s a healthy 75 pounds now. His fur is so thick and wild, it’s almost prehistoric looking. He loves walks and pulls the leash every bit as hard as our five-year-old-still-a-puppy Lexi does, but only for a fraction of the distance before his hind legs start to shake and he gets breathless. Sometimes he struggles with the doggy door. He never hears me call him. Occasionally he falls on the hardwood and has trouble getting back up. But… he’s adorable when he gets excited, and he has this sweet habit of leaning into anyone who pets him, and whenever I look into those watchful brown eyes, I still swoon.

Someone recently tweeted me that she’s rescued four dogs, “though it’s difficult to say who rescued whom,” she said.

Yeah. I get that.

Week #8

Tags

birthdays, love, silliness

jb: Grandma always says “whatever you do on your birthday, you’ll do all year”. So, today I…

• Was loved by my family (who made this delicious, chocolate, homemade Mickey Mouse birthday cake for me!)
• Missed my Grandmother, even more than I do every day since she passed away just before my birthday last year.
• Didn’t do any housework or chores, just to be safe.
• Hugged, kissed, read to and played with my little boy – a lot!
• Took pictures – just for fun!
• Ate my favorite pizza for dinner (guilt-free!)
• Made time to work out.
• Was grateful for my family and friends — especially for the sister I chose, the one who is my sister in every way, except DNA.

j: I saw this little building when we arrived in Arcata, CA, for a week-long stay. It made me laugh. It’s just the nondescript building you see, and the “Yes, We’re Open” sign, but there’s nothing saying what they do. Is it a business, or maybe a statement of personal philosophy, as in, “Yes, we’re open-minded, stop in and tell us what you think. About anything. We’ll listen. We’ll make you feel safe and loved. We’re open, damn it… and we have cookies.”

I should have knocked.