2008 Recap

Maximum Lincoln Safari Stops in a Single Day: 4

Number of Weddings Attended: 3 (an all-time annual record)

Phone Calls Logged From National Public Radio: 8

Holiday Occasions in a 24-Hr Period: 6

Total Holiday Occasions: 10 (another record)

Beverage Marking the Close of Christmas Occasion Marathon: Margarita.

Favorite Read (nonfiction): Oil on the Brain by Lisa Margonelli

Favorite Read (fiction): Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri

N’s Least Favorite New Concept: The Westermarck Effect. In a nutshell the theory states two people who grew up together from a young age (i.e. before the age of six) are unlikely to share an attraction toward or marry each other. The effect would significantly limit the marital prospects N has met thus far. She vigorously questioned the validity of Westermarck’s findings.

Favorite “Twilight Zone” Moment of the Year: Watching from the driver’s seat as my husband, a police officer, and a bar-room bouncer tried to eject a drunken stranger from my backseat. Lots of shouting, lots of confusion, but, thankfully, no vomiting. McK and I later concluded the drinker mistook my Prius for his cab ride home.

2008 Resolution Realized (for the most part): Bringing a lunch from home. Leftovers spoil in my fridge less often. The lunch from home habit saves time, saves money, saves gas and generally tastes better than various alternatives.

First 2008 Resolution to Get Kicked-to-the-Curb: Being more laid-back. McKibbin noted that if I’ve made this a goal, well, that kind of defeats its purpose.

2008 Award Winning Over-Reaction: We had mice in our house this winter. Any response you can imagine that skims the upper edge of reason should be improved by tears, high-decibel shrieks, visceral fear of rooms occupied by mice, and an obscene proliferation of armed forces against said rodent life forms.

Favorite New Recipe: Kohlrabi and Avocado Salad

Favorite Race of My 2008 Season: The Mud Run

Linguistic Crutch of the Year: The word effort.

Favorite “Green Energy” Proposal: Require all federal buildings in every state to meet Energy Star conservation standards.

Favorite “Green Energy” Active Program: Purchasing hybrid fleet vehicles.

Favorite Alternative Energy Source: Solar Coupled with Molten Salt Thermal Energy Storage

Wrapped-Up and Ready To Go

McKibbin and I watched movies and wrapped presents last night. These, obviously, are the gifts we're giving rather than receiving. Scotch tape worked its usual wonders to remedy my divided attention between the movie and the gift wrap. At the end of the evening there was the teapot, the chemistry set, the handwarmers, the box of chocolates all wrapped and trimmed with ribbon.

Each year I have one gift I'm particularly fond of. This year it is a jewel case and cd I'm giving my parents. What it boils down to is this: the likelihood I could purchase a fitting gift for my parents is remote at best; given the finite nature of my family finances it’s darned near impossible. Instead McKibbin helped me select a non-obtrusive MP3 recorder. I’ve used it to capture a series of twenty to thirty minute interviews I've collected over the past 4 weeks with my family.

At the onset of the process I intended to edit the interviews before I burned them onto a cd. Cut out the rough edges. All the oh-I-don’t-know-s. The pauses. The dog barking. The doorbell ring. But at the last minute I left each one intact. Maybe it's my sentimental nature or my unabashed love for these people…but I think each one is just right exactly as it is.

Peace Keeping Force

"Mommy, I promise to love you one-thousand years.
So long as I live that long. Now, you BETTER hug me!"
-Naomi

Emma our gerbil died.

Emma landed at the McKibbin house at the close of a difficult time in my marriage. Having lived separately for many months McKibbin and I finally, finally found some good footing. Naomi was reluctant, though, to part with a living arrangement which provided her with two rooms, two sets of toys, and the undivided attention of her accompanying parent everywhere she went. Smart kid.

Stumped by the reconciliation-reluctant 4 yr. old, McKibbin and I agreed to purchase a family pet. We built an affirmative case for moving-back-in-together based on the merits of McKibbin’s ample pet keeping skills. After a colorful negotiation around our dinner table weighing the the various pet options we agreed to purchase a gerbil.

McKibbin and Naomi trotted off to PETCO as I went to church one Sunday. We marched back through the front door with the newest member of our family in tow. Naomi was quick to name her Emma. We were never certain what inspired the name. Emma wasn’t the namesake of an acquaintance, favorite storybook character, or family member. It was like Naomi plucked it out of thin air, Emma, but the decree was absolute and no one dared to question it. She was a noisy little thing (Emma) who stayed up all night. She preferred sunflower seeds and her gerbil wheel to everything else on the planet. Anytime your finger was within reach Emma was quick to nibble on it.

The sudden occurrence of Emma’s death this weekend conjured a vivid memory of the morning she entered our lives. The giddy little dance Naomi did in the dining room. The way Emma scampered up to and around McKibbin’s collar. The awkward and excited giggle-fit we shared. All of us a little nervous and trying very hard not to be.

McKibbin’s cardboard boxes followed Emma through the door in short order. I wasn't sure Naomi had noticed the boxes. I remember staring at Naomi, wondering if this was one of those moments I needed to step up as a mother. Help her process what was happening. Naomi interrupted my inner discussion to suggest we shave off one of the cardboard flaps so Emma could chew on it. I said she should ask her dad that question. From there things got a little easier.

Seasonal Properties

Don't knock the weather. If it didn't change once in a while, nine
out of ten people couldn't start a conversation.
-- Kin Hubbard

Properties of Winter I like

1. Being miracled by a snow-day cancellation of school
2. The quieting properties of snow
3. Sledding-Snowshoeing- Ice Skating
4. A pink and orange sunrise against the cold sky
5. Arriving home to the surprise of a sidewalk already scooped
6. With enough layers, proper boots, and mittens Meadowlark Coffee is a five minute walk down the street for a shot of hot chocolate and board games.
7. Long, hot showers
8. The comfort of a warm blanket and a good book

Properties of Winter I Don't Like

1. Cold feet – the cold toes are particularly cruel
2. Gassing up my car in an arctic wind
3. Scraping my windshield
4. Snow-packed driving conditions
5. Winter accessories (scarf, hat, mittens) being so darned easy to lose
6. The way my eyes ice up with tears in the cold and again as I come inside
7. Cabin fever
8. Icy bed-sheets

If Only I Had Magic

N is increasingly independent in the mornings. These days she gets dressed, brushes her hair and teeth, takes vitamins and checks her backpack for its essentials pretty much on her own. This morning our paths crossed in the front hall. She was fully-dressed in butterfly pants and a flowered shirt.

I let out an involuntary "Oh, my!" before qualifying it with "you're all about the patterns this morning."

"Yes," she said proudly. "It's butterflies and flowers."

"Yes, it is. It sure is."I contemplated how hard it might be to adhere a MOM DID NOT DRESS ME TODAY note to her back.

"See the butterflies are flying to the flowers to pollinate them," she squinted up her whole face making sure the words were exact. "If only I had magic. I'd tap the butterflies and have them fly in a swirl to the flowers."


Her finger traced the swirling flight path of just one butterfly to a flower's stigmata. With a narrative like that the folks at school can hardly doubt this was an independent, and magical venture she was on. Darn it, because, suddenly I wanted in on that action.

Ivy + Bean = Chemistry Set

-->N has recently enjoyed reading the Ivy + Bean books series about two unlikely friends. Bean is a talkative, emotive girl who likes to climb fences, and play tricks on her older sister, Nancy. She seldom wears dresses and avoids big books. Her new neighbor, Ivy, appears to be a quiet, orderly girl who sits on her front step day after day reading.

Shortly after devouring the Ivy + Bean books N started asking for a chemistry lab. As it turns out the bookworm, Ivy, makes a habit of mixing chemical potions. McK was game from the chemistry-set-get-go. I’ve been (by far) the more hesitant parent on this score. Having unabashedly plugged science into my kid’s brain my hesitance might sound strange.

I was not at all hesitant about buying a telescope to better illustrate the finer points of astronomy. We have hiking and camping gear coming out of our ears. My kitchen is open at all times to Science Experiments You Can Eat. Zoo camps, nature center excursions, fossil digs, Earth Day festivals…I am first in line with N in-tow.

The mention of a chemistry lab, however, opened my mental filing cabinet to an interview I heard (years ago) while living in Colorado. National Public Radio had invited two chemists to test and critique a number of chemistry sets for children. The chemist's review spoke to the gooey-mess-making focus of modern chemistry sets.

The allure of chemistry for these professionals as children, however, was an element of danger the kits possessed. To put it bluntly, it was the explosions (minor ones, hopefully) that were the most fascinating. That’s right: explosions. We’re not talking the vinegar and baking soda molten lava explosions; nor the loss of all self-control with the blue food coloring explosion that got all over the kitchen walls and linoleum (both of which are casualties we have already suffered at our house) we’re talking ka-BOOM explosions. And let’s just say I’ve asked enough questions of N to confirm we’re talking an old school chemistry lab my kiddo has envisioned.

I am not so hesitant on this score to squash the chemistry lab idea all together. Child-proof caps on the elements go a long, long way with me. Rest assured, I can say with relative certainty that N will find a chemistry set under the tree this year. I just need to update the emergency contact numbers programmed into my phone first. MMm-hmmm, and we'll put those phone contacts on speed dial.
______________________________
Currently Watching: Firefly
Currently Listening To: Earth's Major Ecosystems (lecture series)
Excited To See: Santaland Diaries

Bitterly Colder-Boulder

Darn it! Yesterday in my email inbox was a note from the Bolder-Boulder coordinators. The Bolder-Boulder is a 10K race every Memorial Day in Colorado. I’ve finished the race seven or eight times. Weddings and babies will occasionally pose a scheduling conflict. More often than not, however, I’m part of a mob of several-thousand runners at the starting line.

I first ran the Bolder-Boulder ten years ago. My friends Lisa and Ann convinced me to give it a go. The race still hits one of the high marks of my year. Even the requisite road-trip to transport me and my running shoes to Boulder is nice. Naomi has grown up enough to enjoy the flat-irons. As a runner, where else would you encounter a “Kegs & Eggs” aid station set up in somebody’s front yard?

When I started this Bolder-Boulder running effort I set the goal of finishing the 10K in 60 minutes or less. Hasn’t happened yet. I came close two years ago with a 63 minute time. (Not that I hold a grudge...but...boy, did I feel like those three minutes were just thumbing their nose at me!)

Anyway, back to my email inbox yesterday, I got a note from the race coordinators. Each year the organizers pull together the Colder-Boulder (5K) at the six month mark from the Memorial Day race. This email was notifying me that my race times qualify for participation in the Colder-Boulder.

Here’s the darn it part: this email landed in lap of a woman in no shape to run a 5K. I have been heavy into yoga and swimming recently. Aside from my occasional 20 minute jump-rope and funk music excursion I’m a dud with the running shoes. Factor in the altitude difference and Sunday's run is a no-go.

I’ve never had a qualifying time to participate in…well…in anything! Adding insult to my injured pride Colder-Boulder race participants get this handsome alpine-fleece cap. After you’ve sweated all over the darned cap, yeh, you get to keep it.

I feel like the girl who just got asked to dance and froze up because she, she can't. It's a bitter pill to swallow having to skip a trip to one of my favorite places on the planet, and the chance to run in a goofy, fun 5K race. Throw in a fashion accessory, like the cap, and it's flat out painful.

I laced up my shoes, for the first time in months, this noon and went running. Should this old girl receive an invitation again some day she intends to be prepared.