Mama's Musings

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College for Kids

My daughter taught me a long time ago that she has a mind of her own. She wasn't but a wisp of a thing, prancing about the playground in her first pair of shoes when she led her grandparents by the hand. "Come. Come with me," she would say in her sing-song voice. And they did.

Not much has changed in the nine years since. She is courageous, willful, and mightily confident. As we toured the various secondary schools where she will spend the rest of her education before heading to college (or Lord knows what), she quickly decided which schools she did not like. Looking at the grey walls of the music school, she remarked, "I didn't work four long years for this!" My eyes widened as I bit my tongue. "A little respect," I whispered, hoping no one else heard me...or her for that matter!

At the natural sciences school, she relaxed. She perked up at the chemistry and physics labs,  the swimming pool and computer lab.

"I want to go here!" she nearly shouted. Then, a day later, I dragged her to the final school, the closest one, which is offering a pilot program in which she gets to learn a string instrument along with math, science, languages, etc. She would be in a music-oriented class for the first two years after which she could decide which track she really wants to pursue. One of the teachers studied at the University of Vienna and has played for the Philharmonic there as well as in Hamburg. I mean it doesn't get much better than that!! It seemed the best of all worlds we had seen. She would get to decide her concentration later, unlike in the other schools that had a pre-determined focus. And she'd be with her same friends.

I could see how conflicted she was. And I felt a sense of remorse for having taken her to all these places, facing her with choices she was ill-equipped to make. She reluctantly agreed it would be the best choice to attend the closest, yet largest Gymnasium, but I could sense she wasn't completely convinced after breakfast this morning.

Chances are her excitment will grow as she shares it with her friends. It is my deepest hope that we have made the right choice. It is ultimately her life, not ours. The whole process has felt like searching for the right college. It impacts the rest of the child's path.

And this is just the beginning...

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Big Mamas on the Town

My mom arrived at the hotel a few hours ago. We're going to rock it out tonight. We are celebrating her birthday and mine.

Life as a Big Mama on the town is good! I met Joel Osteen at an event the other night. We're going to see him speak at Yankee Stadium. Weather report? 80 degrees.

Yes, life is indeed good!

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If I can make it there...

Dashing off to New York today to meet with a few interesting people, including my publisher at St. Martin's Press. It's an exciting moment in time as my life dream of publishing a book with a major New York publishing house comes true. The kids are excited to be, as they say, released from the Mother Thumb. If only they knew their father has two of them...but they'll find out in time (crescendoing laughter orignating deep in the throat...).

In a kind of strange, almost sickish way, I enjoy watching my family squirm with slight discomfort at my departure. It tells me how much they really rely on me. In those moments of heigtened awareness, my children tend to be a bit more loving.

"Here's a picture for you, Mama," my daughter offered. "I'll give it to you for a bargain price. Two euros."

Capitalism enters the Romper Room.

I could tell something was eating at my husband last night as I packed my cosmetic bag. Standing in the bathroom at 10 pm, he finally blurted out, "I'm gonna miss you."

The cost of a hand-painted Sophia original? Two euros. The mountain-size love they give me as I leave for six days? Priceless.

[Slow News] Slow is the New Fast http://ping.fm/rnDDN

1.5 seconds of fame

You may remember me talking about doing a few acting jobs on the side. In January I spent the better part of the day freezing in a container outside one of Munich's most posh hotels, Bayerischer Hof, without heat and very little to eat.

If you squint really hard, you'll see a blonde chick behind and to the right of Luca Toni (the cute Italian soccer player in the blue shirt). That's me.

Too funny.