State of Obvious

I don't have my food supply. I don't have water. I don't even have enough toilet paper stocked up. But I'm not afraid. Mostly because I think any day can be your last day on Earth. I've got everything I could ever want. A home. A husband who loves me. A son that makes me proud. A daughter that makes me smile. Two dogs. A big fat cat. A family near and far. I am blessed. I may not be prepared for the end of the world, but I'm okay with that.

Day 30 – Your Favorite book of all time  It's so hard to pick one favorite book.  I love many books for many reasons.  I suppose if I had to pick a single book to read for the rest of my life it would be Little Women.  Sorry Harry.

Day 29 – A book everyone hated but you liked This one is just weird.  I honestly can't think of something I liked that others hated.  I suppose I'm just too generic.  Since I can't think of anything, here's a picture of Carly being sassy instead!  And a sad looking puppy.  Lucky you!  (Do you see Eric in the background of the first picture, he's seriously starting to look like half of himself.  Also the puppy is really not sad, she's just watching our the kids play.  And I'm pretty sure those are my feet.)

I see my sleeping child, half in silhouette, lying against a soft green and cream pillow.  Her hair is in puffy pigtails, her fingers and toes peeking out from a cozy pink blanket.  She snores sometimes, little gasping, snorting breaths - sometimes sighs, sometimes deep lung-fulls of life.  From here I can admire the soft arch of her brow, the curve of delicate ears, the perfectness of that peeking foot.  She is beautiful. Lately I feel a little frustrated.  A little hypocritical.  I feel loud and shrill, impatient.  I feel like people are looking at me and I am trying desperately not to be seen.  There are many and varied reasons for these feelings - many too personal to share, most too inconsequential form words around.  I feel like I want to be better, do better, reach farther. It's just so hard. Agency is hard.  Consequences, actions, reactions, choices, decisions, complications, indecision.  Freedom is a wonderful and bit...

Day 28 – Favorite title The Adventures of Captain Underpants. Can you really go wrong with a title like that?  I suppose you can, fortunately the book is pretty entertaining (Josh and  I have both read it.)

Day 27 – The most surprising plot twist or ending Now, if you haven't read Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows and you're waiting to see what happens in the final movie or you plan to read the final book and don't want the end ruined, stop reading now. We good?  Okay. When HP dies, I'm not gonna lie, I was totally shocked.  He just walked right up and got zapped.  What a great, unexpected, brilliant twist.  Of course, if he had stayed dead, I might not be so enthusiastic.

Motherhood is more than carrying a child in your womb for 9 months. Motherhood is more than daily wiping of noses, cleaning of faces, filling of bellies. Motherhood is more than driving, shopping, cleaning, cooking. Motherhood is part of being a Woman, but not all of it. I was still a child myself, really, when I became a Mother. Joshua and I did a lot of growing up together. We both learned a lot about sacrifice. I learned how to say good-bye to him in the morning, he learned that separation from Mother wasn't such a bad thing after all. Especially since he got to go to Grandma's house (which, sorry Disney, was the happiest place on earth). I learned I could love someone until my heart might burst and be completely enraged at the same time. He learned that the wrinkling of my forehead was not a good sign for anyone. We learned a lot about time, more specifically about how little there is. Just yesterday he was a bundle of knobby knees and elbows with a baby face attach...

Day 26 – A book that changed your opinion about something the way you look at the world Shall I make a short list? Stargirl Farhenheit 451 The Giver The Hunger Games A Series of Unfortunate Events The Host Leven Thumps and the Gateway to Foo Never Can Say Goodbye Charlotte's Web Maybe I'm just cliche, but each of these provided some fresh perspective, usually something to do blessed I truly am.  They also helped me realize how precarious the balance between safety and control is, how delicate the balance of love and hate can be, how obsession can overtake the goodness in our characters, how love truly is the most powerful and worth living for influence in our lives. 

Day 25 – A character who you can relate to the most This is an interesting question to think about. Which character do I want to relate to the most? Well, that would be a whole other answer. But the character that I can most relate to is probably Jo March. Imperfect with a whip temper, often buried in the world of words, longing to create that one magical story, longing to fit in but still on the fringes...I get all that.

Day 24 – A book that you wish more people would’ve should read Twilight.  Seriously, nobody has even read that.  Or maybe Harry Potter. Ok, obviously I'm just kidding. I'm going to go with Fahrenheit 451.  Probably a lot of people have read this book, but I personally did not read it until a year and a half ago when I was given a free copy.  It's a disturbing, enlightening, very current book - which says something given that it was first published in 1951. 

Day 23 – A book you wanted to read for a long time but still haven’t I guess I'm going to go with "The Gathering Storm" by Robert Jordan & Brandon Sanderson.  TGS is the 12th book in the Wheel of Time series, I've read the others in the series - although I'll admit to some skimming.  These aren't little books, they are big bricks of words and sometimes you just gotta skip some stuff.  Anyhow, I've also read some other books by Brandon Sanderson - two to be specific, Elantris and Mistborn Book 1.  I enjoyed both of these books and I think that Brandon Sanderson has a fresh voice and style which should mesh well with Robert Jordan.    

Day 22 – Favorite book you own I hate to repeat myself here, but Peter Rabbit.  My grandparent's weren't big gift givers (that I remember) and so each of the gifts I still have from them are highly treasured.  Especially now that they're gone.

Day 21 – Favorite book from your childhood Hands down, no thought involved, without question The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter.  My grandparents gave me a hard-back version with other BP shorts included for my 8th birthday.  I still have it and have read it to my children multiple times.   In second place would be Debbie Learns to Cook by Marcel Marlier.  My mother picked up about 4-5 of the books in this series when we lived overseas and I always loved each one.  The artwork is simply stunning.  A Google image search of his name will give you results something like this (Debbie Learns to Cook is in the bottom row, second image from the left):  I was very fortunate that she protected some of these books from her destructive children and gave me the copies she had left last year.  I simply love them.

A break for the book meme to talk about the other things in life - It's the last week of school for me (other than finals).  My first year back is almost over!  I am relieved, happy, excited (to be done), proud, and did I say relieved?  I forgot what a grind it can be, how much pressure it can be, and how much fun.  I do like it, although I'm not a big fan of my commute or waking up early.  I've changed my degree plan (yet again) and I think I'll be able to finish in two more years instead of three.  I'm going to take one online summer class, because I'm crazy, and then it'll be back to the books this fall.  -  Carly is finishing up kindergarten.  A friend of mine posted a picture from way-back-when Carly was a little bean, and I didn't even recognize her at first!  I'm amazed how much she has grown and changed.  Such a lovely, crazy, energetic, sassy, sweet baby mine. -  Joshua is finishing up with seventh grade.  SE...