class is in session

i sat in the van, that was parked safely in the garage and tried to teach b how to drive.

b likes to mess with me. a lot. like all the time. he's my button-pusher.


then, the next day, i put my camera away and took him to a neighborhood to drive. for reals. this is a neighborhood with few houses. even less cars and it seems like no people. of course, there were cars and people and mailboxes and not a straight road in the place.

i panicked a few times. yelled once or twice. i think i swore out loud. and i could feel my heart in my stomach, head and neck. pulsing. hard.

to make matters worse, some goof-ball was lighting fireworks off in his yard, just as we whizzed by at about 7 mph.

when we returned home i looked up *how to teach someone to drive* on google. this is what i read.

If possible, leave your teen's first on-the-road experiences to the care of a professional. Many a nasty accident has occurred because an inexperienced beginner was allowed to get into a situation that was too much to cope with. A miscalculation in speed, a sudden change in traffic conditions, or an awkward combination of circumstances could lead to disaster. The professionals are used to anticipating such problems-and they have the advantage of dual controls. Your task as co-driver is to back up the work of the professionals with well-planned and coordinated practice sessions.--fromdrivers.com.

i knew it.

i am a mom.
i am a pretty good cook.
i am a pretty good psychologist.
i am a pretty good nurse.
i am a pretty good barber.
i am a pretty good math teacher.
i am a pretty good referee.
i am a pretty good accountant.

i am a lousy driving instructor.

that's all. class dismissed.


love and light and I SAID BRAKE
deborah

p.s. this morning as we were dropping off my son's friend (after the official first day of driver's ed), someone did a bit of a lawn job while pulling out of the friend's driveway. it happens to the best of us right? yeah. i was driving. awesome.

and the livin' is easy

it is almost summer. almost. tomorrow is the last day of school around here--that's my measurement.

i still love summer vacation. love it. love my boys being on our family schedule--as goofy as that is, sometimes.

every last day of school we make a list--and i'm not much of a list maker. but, we(all four of us) make a list of all the things we'd like to do,see,visit,learn, make,try and experience over the short michigan summer.

we started the summer list because as b was ending the school year in 2000, i had just given birth to his new baby brother and i was hoping a list of things from b would help me stay balanced and attuned to both kids--little and itty-bitty. the early baby days of nursing and bathing, napping and burping slip away too quickly and i wanted to make the most of summer for b too. admittedly, i was afraid balancing the needs of two kids would be near impossible. the summer list eased this worry. we did fine, if i remember correctly.

so tomorrow, we'll make our list and do a few other things to celebrate the end of another successful school year. i'll post our list next week. in the meantime, what do you most want to do, see, visit, make, try and experience this summer?



love and light and summmertime
deborah

soup from bones

new year and new beginnings. who doesn't like that? but, do we have to start over? or can we begin again. from where we left off?

can we take all we've learned and experienced and use it to begin....right here, right now?

that's what i'm doing. no resolutions. no big fan-fare. just quietly scooping up all i've learned, gained and experienced to make further progress.

do you know what works for you....and what doesn't? are you willing to let go of what isn't working this year?

what works for me? starting the year with a big pot of soup on the stove and my big family to share it with. it's a tradition--17 years, now. making soup from bones. a black bean and ham soup. our christmas eve honey baked ham bone in particular. then lots of yummy ingredients. it simmers all day. the recipe is right here. it's an evening of family, good food and games every new year's day. that works for me. taking something wonderful from last year and bringing it into the new year. soup from bones--something from nothing.


best
deborah

what i asked for....

i have a confession: this weekend i made my first turkey dinner--complete with dressing, mashed potatoes and gravy. yep, my very first. ever.

when dreaming about christmas this year and my intentions for the holidays, i realized that i truly have everything i could ever want, materially. perhaps, even more than i really want. new gadgets don't make my skirt fly up or curl my toes in the way they to do for some people. and i have plenty of sweaters. however, what i did want was time with those that mean the very most to me--those relationships and doing things--making memories that will last a lifetime.

so after r's basketball game (which they won in double overtime....phew, that was exciting!!!!) my folks headed back to our house. they were coming to teach and supervise their turkey making recipe and methods (tent-foil steam roasted, just like my grandparents used to do. i swear, my dad looked so much like my grandpa folding the aluminum foil so precisely--very engineer-like). i followed all directions. with hardly any back-talk;) really--you measure the celery and onions? really? this much butta'?

r played board games with my folks and won *legitimately*--says my dad, while big red and i hand-washed the china.

what a fun and sweet and lovely night. we also decorated one gingerbread house and made two kinds of cookies. alright, the cookies were from an envelope mix--because really the fun is in the rolling out, shape making and decorating. well--b says it's in the *eating*.


later we caught the last hour of "it's a wonderful life". and, you know, it really is.


best
deborah