I See What You Meme

The other day, as I was washing a glass pitcher in the kitchen, I suddenly flashed back to the memory of receiving the lovely gift. It was 2003 and we had recently moved into our home in Ashland; our first real home of our married life, after a series of rentals through the early days of marriage, graduate school, and 4 moves in 6 years. To mark the occasion of official home ownership, we invited friends and family to join us for a traditional house blessing. The assistant rector of our home church at the time (Trinity Episcopal in Fredericksburg) led our guests in a litany as we moved from room to room, acknowledging the blessing of shelter, recognizing the joy of community, and asking for peace, health, and security in the years to come. Then we celebrated in the most traditional way: with food, beverage, love, and laughter shared with good friends.  In the sacrament of baptism, we recognize a person's entrance into the church family. The congregation at large promises to supp...

As far as I'm concerned, Pixar can do no wrong. I've loved every movie. And I do mean LOVED; not just enjoyed. There are some who have tried to r ank all 15 movies from best to worst . I don't think I could do that; however, I do agree that Cars 2  falls at the bottom of a tightly ranked list of masterpieces. I'm a fan of Disney but I deeply admire Pixar. This isn't the first time I've waxed poetic about the genius that is Pixar . When I think about those specific elements that make their creative productions so great, it comes down to the way they capture the human experience.  Disney sells fairy tales and fantasies but Pixar tells fables. Pixar finds ways to explain the human experience through whimsical but powerful characters. Finding Nemo tackles the challenges of parenthood and how we must, at some point, learn to let go. The Incredibles helped us examine what happens to our dreams when we grow up and start a family. We can easily forget our dreams or...

It's been a little over a year in our journey with Kiddo and we are excited to say that the day is finally here! She is officially out of foster care and we are her legal guardians. We are her adoptive parents! A new birth certificate is on its way to our house! People of the Interwebs, meet our daughter Prudense! Our original plan was to have an official ceremony with the judge and all but due to some miscommunication with either the lawyer or the courts, the adoption order was signed without us. It's ok, though.   We shared the official news with Prudense on Saturday and she was, of course, thrilled. We have considered her our daughter for quite a while now, so in some ways the reality of the official adoption order was a little strange. Now, however, we can make many decisions (medical, educational, etc.) without running everything by a caseworker. That's a big change! We are also thrilled that her case worker through social services recently transferred to ...

I'm not much of a jewelry person. I love admiring beautiful baubles and gems, especially on those who seem to have a knack for accessorizing, but I am pretty low maintenance when it comes to the shiny stuff. Most of my more valuable pieces are items with sentimental value, inherited from now deceased family or given with an exceptional showing of love (my engagement/wedding ring, for example). While other girls may fantasize about their significant other gifting them with jewelry for a special occasion, I'm much happier with the gift of books. Or a massage. It certainly makes it easy for Roger. He never has to go to Jared .   I have been known to wear the same pair of pearl posts in my ears for weeks at a time and I tend to go for classic pieces that "go with everything" so I just don't have to think about changing them out. I have a few fun pieces that I wear with certain outfits and I treasure the many pieces of butterfly jewelry that have come my way in the l...

Here we are in the middle of Christmas, headed for New Year's and Epiphany! When last I left you , we were just easing in to the holiday season, on the heels of the signing of much official adoption paperwork.  The process continues. The judge has the papers.  We should be official about 2 months (or so).  Overall, it has been a relatively easy Christmas. After five  years of grief and dread , it's nice to have a healthy distraction in the form of a tiny person's holiday joy. All of those activities--visiting Santa, singing carols, looking at the lights, preparing presents for others--when seen through the perspective of a child can have a way of softening the blow a bit.  The sadness has been there in fits and starts, but it definitely feels different. These months between November and January are always a bit reflective anyway.   Of course, while it is the season for holiday celebrations, it is also the time of mass binge watching of movies and other...

It's that time of year again. The holidays are approaching. How could you avoid the onslaught? I can't believe they actually started the Christmas marketing before  Halloween this year.  But I digress. This isn't really about the holiday season.  (Well, maybe it is. A little.)  What it's really about is that time in November 2009 when we learned that we could no longer fight Charlotte's cancer . That time we had to fully understand that word. Terminal.  For the last five years, that period from November to the end of January has been a blur of avoidance, melancholy, and sadness. We haven't put up a Christmas tree since that pink one that graced our living room until almost April 2010. Only last year did I finally start feeling like "my old self" when it came to the holidays, slowly merging into social celebrations with others without feeling a panic attack coming my way.   Although I can't find it in an old blog post, I know that in ...

This week marks the 17th anniversary of my marriage to Roger .  It also marks 20 years of togetherness as a couple. If you've followed our story, it goes without saying that we've seen quite a bit in those 2 decades. As we replaced another refrigerator this month (bit the dust after 10 years of faithful service), I started to think about the numbers that define our life as a couple. Most of our wedding gifts have come and gone--I think the hand mixer might be the only original appliance we still own. We have faced moves, job changes, births, deaths, celebrations, and struggles.   We're still here! We haven't killed each other yet.  So in honor of our 2 decades together, I share this handy dandy infographic that highlights R-Squared--strictly by the numbers. Enjoy! (Hint: It's easier to view if you click on the infographic and it opens in a new window. Then you can tap the magnifying glass to enlarge or reduce.)