Mama's Musings

Racy Mama

I participated in a 5K race yesterday in Munich. The kids were bored so the significance that their mother was facing certain death was lost on them. I had a great time and plan on doing it again next week.

My friends ran the half-marathon. Impressive!

Sophia tried out the walking sticks. She liked them!

Never, Neverland

Life is never boring. Sometimes, however, we have to strap ourselves in for a wild ride. Or we forget to buckle up and get tossed out the hatchback in an odd moment.

This week has been full. It was unintentional, but commitments piled up and the next thing I knew I was running on too little sleep and too little food. Not a good combination. So I snapped. At people. In public. It was a bit embarassing to admit I had taken on too much, that I might have been a tad off in judging my own ability. I thought I knew my limits. Never say never.

After falling asleep during an exciting soccer game between Togo and France, I realized it was time for a serious snooze. I flipped on the fan in the morning, creating white noise and a blissful two-hour sleep extension that revived me almost completely. I'm going to the pool by myself in a few minutes. Life is grand, and it feels marvelous to know I can get back on track so quickly.

As for the people to whom I snapped, I've cleaned up my mess and apologized. One was less than forgiving, which was instructive. You never know who your friends are until you've lost it in front of them. Those who run for cover don't really want to know you. There I go again. I just said never.

World Cup Mania

This says it all. Jackson appoints himself second-string goalie for the German World Cup team...score!

What I Did This Summer

It is not officially summer yet, but tell that to the temperature gauge. We're even sweating in the shade. Now THAT'S the biggest sign of summer, in Germany at least.

It seems the heat has followed us. First, when Jackson and I landed in Boston, my dearest pal Lara and her kids picked us up at the airport. They commented that it had just gotten warm that day. Smiling into the blazing sunshine, I praised the meteorological gods. After an overnight in Lara's Lexington home, we raced to Northampton to drop off Jackson with the grands and to register for reunion. It was our 15th, if you must know. We wandered about the rain-drenched campus, marveling that we had ever had the privilege of studying at Smith College.

We met up with our mutual buddy, Aimie Chapple. Here's the visual:

The green sashes signify to which year we belong. I'm not telling. No wait, I already did.

Then, Jackson and his grands picked me up on Sunday, after a glorious 36 hours to myself. I felt more relaxed after that day and one-half than I have after three weeks of vacation with the kids. It is amazing!

Jackson loves maps. He showed us the way to various places in the Berkshires where we stayed with my mom and her husband until Thursday.  

Boy loves map.

My shopping fanaticism all began at Yankee Candle Co. It's a tradition to purchase these overpriced scented candles to dot my world. It livens up a room and jogs my failing memory in times of need such as winter (which lasts five months here). All I was going to do was buy a few candles...then I asked the saleslady if she knew where Barnes & Noble was. It was all over after that. Because of course B&N is situated in a strip mall where there was a Michael's and a Starbucks. The next thing I knew I had dropped more than $200. Peering into the backseat, I looked at my two bags and wondered aloud, "How did that happen?" I sucked on my $2 coffee drink as I cruised back to the timeshare for confession.

What did I love most about spending Memorial Day in the Berkshires? Besides the marathon Law & Order series running on TNT on said holiday, there was another benefit -- a parade! We put on our most patriotic faces, waved the plastic American flags that some local teens provided, and made certain Jackson didn't get run over by turn-of-the century fire trucks as he gathered the bucket loads of candy thrown at his head.

Boy loves candy.

Living in the customarily cool temps of Germany, we had come to disbelieve the tenets of global warming. That is, until we learned about Al Gore's new movie, An Inconvenient Truth.  Stop Global Warming!! Can I tell you my sis stood next to Gore at the movie's preview in Atlanta? She organized the event. Yes siree, she's a star!

After an unusually steamy week in MA, we went to Florida. I've never been so hot in my life. It would be impossible to tell you all the minutae of our time there. We had a blast, driving my dad's golf cart, dodging turtles, alligators and other aquatic beings, splashing about the pool, playing tennis, and going to a few theme parks. I read two books (one in just a day), avoided the sun, and watched five movies. We went to Islands of Adventure and Universal Orlando. I was the only gooney bird whose mouth was open and eyes shut on the snapshot they try to sell you after the riverboat ride. It was a Jurassic Park boat, okay? Sheesh! I was scared!

Today, back in my little office, I got offered a writing job. Just like that. The person called. I said yes. I think I like these extended vacations. They're very good for my career!

Back from the US of A

My eyes are bleary from the twelve hour nap I just had. I call it a nap because I'm not quite sure what time it is.

"Jet lag doesn't affect me!" I used to brag. Yeah. That was before I travelled with children.

Now don't get me wrong. In all fairness, my kids are the best little travellers in the world. They don't run up and down the aisles of busses, trains or airplanes, demand special ice cream sundaes on transatlantic flights or cry "WHEN ARE WE GOING TO GET THERE?" more than one hundred times on an hour car ride to anywhere. But being responsible that they don't get lost in the shuffle of shuttle busses, electronic sidewalks and escalators is enough to make even the clearest-headed people go all foggy in the brain. It is the worry factor, something I didn't have before kids.

The worry factor permeates dreams, fevers and even jetlagged dreamless sleep. For the first time, however, I experienced what mountain climbers call the careless state last night. It occurs when the air is so thin as to make even worry warts transform into indifferent, catatonic individuals. When strapped in your hiking gear on the side of Kalmanjaro, it can be frightening. As I lay in bed listening to my kids play board games at 1 am (jetlag obviously affects them!), I could have cared less. My bones were so weary, my blood was trolling so slowly through my veins that my instinctive fright or flight feature had been switched off completely. It was only when they knocked on our door to exclaim they were hungry that I poked my sleeping husband.

He fed them cornflakes and toast, God bless him, and sent them off to bed with an encouraging word. I could still hear the echoes of my frantic, sleep-deprived cry that threatened bodily harm to anyone brave enough to disturb my sleep again. That was after they had awoken me twice. Poor things. I apologized to them this morning. From glazed eyes they grinned and said, "That's okay, Mama. We love you." Yeah, they'd better. We just took them on an amazing vacation. When I'm more awake, I'll tell you all about it!