Our teenager, Eric, was ravenous, but having difficulties finding the appropriate words to describe what it was he wanted to eat for dinner that night.
“Oh you know,” he said. “That bristly chunky meat stuff that we had before that was dipped in a brown sauce thing.”
Chuck and I were understandably flummoxed.
Eric told us to wait a moment as he ran outside into the drizzling rain.
“The food I’ve been thinking of looks like this,” he said, as he walked back into the house holding up a square piece of wet wood he had plucked from the mulched area in our front yard.
Now, here’s the scary part. Chuck and I immediately knew what he was talking about. I’m concerned what that says about our cooking skills that a piece of wood looks like dinner.
“Ah,” we answered in unison, “You want beef sirloin tips in gravy.”
What was once a classy dish served over egg noodles will now be forever known in our household as wet bark.
Bet you can’t wait to have dinner at our house.
Leave a Message
I adored receiving letters. They were gifts that would arrive for no apparent reason other than the fact someone was thinking of you. As a girl, I’d pour over every word trying to determine whether there were any hidden meanings. I’d then carefully craft my reply – sometimes soaking the paper in tea and then burning the edges of the paper to make it look antique, other times putting a red wax seal on the envelope. The type of stationary and envelopes I used depended on the formality of the reply, age or gender of recipient or my mood for the day. When those days passed and letter writing became too much effort for mankind, I found that magazines and catalogs were an OK, although not as exciting, substitute for mail. Magazines and catalog subscriptions were more a gift I sent myself, but it was at least more exciting than a bill.
E-mail keeps me in touch with current and former co-workers, as I learn which projects are due or which restaurant will be this month’s meeting place, respectively. LinkedIn lets me know where my former co-workers are employed. Facebook fills me in on to what games my long ago classmates are playing and which relatives are visiting the doctor again.
Now that I have an iPhone, messaging is keeping me in touch with my brother, who lets me know when he’s stuck at an airport bored out of his mind. My husband knows I’m as close as a phone call and leaves me messages asking me to stop by the store on the way home or tell him what I’d like for dinner.
The only drawback to all this wonderful reaching out is that I don’t feel as though I learn as much about people. When I do actually talk to people in person and they ask me about a mutual acquaintance, I’m amazed how little I do know.
“Well, she got hold of me on LinkedIn, but she didn’t answer questions about her job, and her title was vague. But she sounded upbeat!”
A lot of the time, if you ask more than one question, the responder only answers one. Lack of time, perhaps?
Still, it beats not knowing how your loved ones and not so loved ones are more or less doing.
I, however, am still into long messages. You won’t get any burnt edges or wax seals on my replies, but my heart will still be in my answer.
I’ll probably even answer more than one of your questions.
People of My Age
Learning to play the guitar is one of those things I always figured I’d do after I won the lottery. Seeing that I don’t play the lottery, I finally realized I could be waiting a long time before the day would come for lessons. So, when a slot with a guitar teacher opened at the same time my son was taking trumpet lessons, I took the plunge.
Two years later, I am not quite ready for my public debut. Classical guitar is hard. Still, I’m not ready to give up. One day I will wake up, play a tune passably well and be on my way.
My guitar teacher once pointed out that, “People of your age usually give up by now” because they are so busy. True, life gets hectic and practicing occasionally takes a back seat when you have a family and a career.
What my young teacher doesn’t know yet is that one thing “people of my age” have on their side is tons of patience.
And that’s good news for me and my future as a passable guitar player.
Two years later, I am not quite ready for my public debut. Classical guitar is hard. Still, I’m not ready to give up. One day I will wake up, play a tune passably well and be on my way.
My guitar teacher once pointed out that, “People of your age usually give up by now” because they are so busy. True, life gets hectic and practicing occasionally takes a back seat when you have a family and a career.
What my young teacher doesn’t know yet is that one thing “people of my age” have on their side is tons of patience.
And that’s good news for me and my future as a passable guitar player.
The Obit Obligation
My grandparents, now long gone from this earth, used to lament that their week was planned by obits. They had to read the obituary notices in their small town to see who they knew had passed, and therefore, whose funeral they would be attending. It was hard to imagine what it would be like to open the paper each day and read about another friend who had passed away.
Now my parents are going through this, but their obit notices have taken on a broader scope. They receive e-mails and phone calls form all across the world. In a day and half, they learned of six deaths – all of people their age or younger. One poor former high school classmate lost his wife, daughter and father in one month.
I’ve lived in this town long enough to feel the need to occasionally check out the obit notices to make sure no one I know is listed there. It’s an odd feeling. However, if I learn about someone’s passing, it’s usually through a phone call or bounced e-mail.
Not too long ago, I tried to figure out why the e-mail address of a former colleague of mine had bounced. His home phone was disconnected, but his voice mail for his cell phone still worked. I checked the website where he works and found out that he had passed away.
Now if a friend doesn’t answer my calls or e-mails promptly, I find myself checking the online obit files. Of course, I don’t tell them that when they do finally get in touch. Some things are better left unsaid.
Now my parents are going through this, but their obit notices have taken on a broader scope. They receive e-mails and phone calls form all across the world. In a day and half, they learned of six deaths – all of people their age or younger. One poor former high school classmate lost his wife, daughter and father in one month.
I’ve lived in this town long enough to feel the need to occasionally check out the obit notices to make sure no one I know is listed there. It’s an odd feeling. However, if I learn about someone’s passing, it’s usually through a phone call or bounced e-mail.
Not too long ago, I tried to figure out why the e-mail address of a former colleague of mine had bounced. His home phone was disconnected, but his voice mail for his cell phone still worked. I checked the website where he works and found out that he had passed away.
Now if a friend doesn’t answer my calls or e-mails promptly, I find myself checking the online obit files. Of course, I don’t tell them that when they do finally get in touch. Some things are better left unsaid.
The Passage Rites of Boys
I was taken by surprise when tears started to well up in my eyes as I watched my son, Eric, graduate from Cub Scouts to Boy Scouts. High school-age boys from his new troop were tying his new scarf around his neck, and it hit me that this is an honor I had always had in the past. It was the parents that helped usher their children to the next level. It occurred to me that this must be what a Bar Mitzvah is like – the realization that your little boy is growing up.
That realization hit home even more when Eric earned tenderfoot, second class, first class and Star honors. Two years ago, he was new to the troop and didn’t know how to fit in. He hung on me and was embarrassed when he was the only one to not earn a badge. Now he has earned some top honors and a slew of badges. Instead of telling me that he wasn’t going to plan on getting Eagle rank because it was hard to get, he’s now saying that he should be able to achieve that rank by the time he’s 15.
My 14-year-old suddenly has goals and confidence. I am one proud mom and his dad is beaming from ear to ear.
That realization hit home even more when Eric earned tenderfoot, second class, first class and Star honors. Two years ago, he was new to the troop and didn’t know how to fit in. He hung on me and was embarrassed when he was the only one to not earn a badge. Now he has earned some top honors and a slew of badges. Instead of telling me that he wasn’t going to plan on getting Eagle rank because it was hard to get, he’s now saying that he should be able to achieve that rank by the time he’s 15.
My 14-year-old suddenly has goals and confidence. I am one proud mom and his dad is beaming from ear to ear.
The Rules of Acting Like an Adult
There are a lot of rules governing adulthood. Or at least it seems that way when you’re a teenager. For my son Eric’s 14th birthday celebration, he wanted an adult celebration – nothing childish. Trying to decipher what that meant was the hard part.
According to Eric, adults don’t have theme parties. Well, that’s a bummer. I rather like theme parties.
However, when all was said and done, water balloons and water gun fights were definitely on the adult list. The table laden with candy where everyone could gather to exchange gossip also was a must.
Can’t think of many adults who would argue with that plan.
According to Eric, adults don’t have theme parties. Well, that’s a bummer. I rather like theme parties.
However, when all was said and done, water balloons and water gun fights were definitely on the adult list. The table laden with candy where everyone could gather to exchange gossip also was a must.
Can’t think of many adults who would argue with that plan.
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