Hey, look! I have my internet back!
It's been quite a weekend. Maggie proved her prowess as a mouser (I think we caught the mama mouse the other day, because there were five juveniles who came out all of a sudden. Maggie - who's never so much as nipped at anyone - did a great job breaking their little necks. Meanwhile, I keep trying to stop telling myself little stories about the mousy family and the subsequent massacre that happened in my apartment Friday...). I finally figured out just how far my car will go after it hits "E". I did some actual work, spent some time with friends, hung out with the folks, played some Wii.
And now the weekend is drawing to a close, and there's a rumbly summer storm rolling through. Maggie is none too pleased about this. I, on the other hand, love it.
Often makes me thing of this song...
Showing posts with label ain't technology wonderful. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ain't technology wonderful. Show all posts
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Monday, June 21, 2010
Cranky
I'm suddenly really cranky. I don't know why, either. Today was a nice day.
We had a great crew for coffee this am. robin joined us (yay!! Hi, robin!), which was hilarious when she walked up to the coffee shop carrying a can of Mountain Dew. Work was pretty laid-back for me today. And I had a nice chat with Robin this evening, even if Skype was acting stupid and we had to convert to old-fashioned cell phones.
Come to think of it, there was a flock of Robins in my day today. That's nice.
And, and! Olga talked me in to finally using these gift cards I had on a nook. Which, if you're not aware, is one of those electronic readers, like a Kindle. It's like a book, but it's electronic, and you can download like over a million books to it. So you can carry a whole library around with you! And it's flat, so one could, say, read it on the treadmill or the stationary bike without having to figure out how to keep it from closing up and falling off the little shelf. And I sprung for the cute pink case. Plus it has internet access! Anywhere! Who could possibly not love that?
....so where's the crabby coming from?
We had a great crew for coffee this am. robin joined us (yay!! Hi, robin!), which was hilarious when she walked up to the coffee shop carrying a can of Mountain Dew. Work was pretty laid-back for me today. And I had a nice chat with Robin this evening, even if Skype was acting stupid and we had to convert to old-fashioned cell phones.
Come to think of it, there was a flock of Robins in my day today. That's nice.
And, and! Olga talked me in to finally using these gift cards I had on a nook. Which, if you're not aware, is one of those electronic readers, like a Kindle. It's like a book, but it's electronic, and you can download like over a million books to it. So you can carry a whole library around with you! And it's flat, so one could, say, read it on the treadmill or the stationary bike without having to figure out how to keep it from closing up and falling off the little shelf. And I sprung for the cute pink case. Plus it has internet access! Anywhere! Who could possibly not love that?
....so where's the crabby coming from?
Saturday, May 15, 2010
This post is brought to you....
...by the letter "T" and the letter "D". For, technical difficulties.
I'm terribly sorry to have worried anyone out there! My wi-fi hasn't been working at Shady Pines, and I've been too exhausted to remember I can update the blog by phone. Oy.
I'm thinking my Blog 365 qualification for this year is over...which is actually fine. I'm still planning to post daily, but maybe I won't stress about it if I miss a day here and there. ::sigh::
Things are actually going pretty well here. Mom and Dad are both home at the Home. I have an air mattress so I'm no longer sleeping on the floor, and honestly, I'm thinking I'm not going to have to stay there a whole lot longer. My mom is needing a lot less assistance these days, so once she can get out of bed by herself at night, I should just be able to come before and after work. Dad is doing well, too. They're both getting PT daily. It's nice.
Here's the best thing that's been going on - my mom has always been terrified of dogs. She's been pretty tolerant of Maggie, but, like, when we lived at home between residencies, Maggie and I lived in the unfinished basement because she wasn't allowed in the house. When I got frustrated by the basement and started sleeping upstairs, she had to stay in her crate except when we went outside. Mom was really not a fan.
Maggie, however, has officially won my mother over. She's been staying out of her crate during the day, even when it's just her and my mom. My mom's still a little too skittish to touch her, but has been feeding her whatever's left of whatever meals she eats in the apartment. Maggie, of course, adores my mom, but being the really good girl that she is, is very respectful of Mom's personal space. It's completely adorable.
So the other day, my friend Laurie offered to keep Maggie while I was staying at Shady Pines. And I said to my mom, "Wow, isn't this nice? My friend Laurie from work says Maggie can stay with her while I'm here, if we want."
My mom looks over at the dog, thinks for a second, and says, "No, I think Maggie wants to stay here."
A definite win, I think, for me, my mom, and my dog. We gals have to stick together, after all, right?
I'm terribly sorry to have worried anyone out there! My wi-fi hasn't been working at Shady Pines, and I've been too exhausted to remember I can update the blog by phone. Oy.
I'm thinking my Blog 365 qualification for this year is over...which is actually fine. I'm still planning to post daily, but maybe I won't stress about it if I miss a day here and there. ::sigh::
Things are actually going pretty well here. Mom and Dad are both home at the Home. I have an air mattress so I'm no longer sleeping on the floor, and honestly, I'm thinking I'm not going to have to stay there a whole lot longer. My mom is needing a lot less assistance these days, so once she can get out of bed by herself at night, I should just be able to come before and after work. Dad is doing well, too. They're both getting PT daily. It's nice.
Here's the best thing that's been going on - my mom has always been terrified of dogs. She's been pretty tolerant of Maggie, but, like, when we lived at home between residencies, Maggie and I lived in the unfinished basement because she wasn't allowed in the house. When I got frustrated by the basement and started sleeping upstairs, she had to stay in her crate except when we went outside. Mom was really not a fan.
Maggie, however, has officially won my mother over. She's been staying out of her crate during the day, even when it's just her and my mom. My mom's still a little too skittish to touch her, but has been feeding her whatever's left of whatever meals she eats in the apartment. Maggie, of course, adores my mom, but being the really good girl that she is, is very respectful of Mom's personal space. It's completely adorable.
So the other day, my friend Laurie offered to keep Maggie while I was staying at Shady Pines. And I said to my mom, "Wow, isn't this nice? My friend Laurie from work says Maggie can stay with her while I'm here, if we want."
My mom looks over at the dog, thinks for a second, and says, "No, I think Maggie wants to stay here."
A definite win, I think, for me, my mom, and my dog. We gals have to stick together, after all, right?
Saturday, April 17, 2010
Well, now, this time it's not my fault.
I don't know what happened to yesterday's post. It never posted. It still refuses to post. @#$*&!!!
Oh, and? %.
Fortunately, I didn't say much. Mom is tired and frustrated, but good (they're wearing her out over there). I went to group PT with her this am; it put a whole other spin on "group therapy," of course. They'd abbreviated it "STG" on her schedule; we couldn't figure out what this was. Turns out it means Standing Group Therapy. Because apparently "Cantankerous Old People Doing Silly Tasks and Having Fun Despite Themselves Group" was too complicated an acronym. I laughed, probably inappropriately, more than once at the old guy next to my mom who kept missing his mark and saying, "Oh, shit!"
I'm a redhead again. And have a great new cut and a gallon of shampoo. And sore abs from laughing so hard this evening. But now, it's 1:30 in the morning (I started this post about 10 hours ago) and I need to be back at the hospital in a mere 6 hours, so I'm going to go to bed. More tomorrow. No, really.
Oh, and? %.
Fortunately, I didn't say much. Mom is tired and frustrated, but good (they're wearing her out over there). I went to group PT with her this am; it put a whole other spin on "group therapy," of course. They'd abbreviated it "STG" on her schedule; we couldn't figure out what this was. Turns out it means Standing Group Therapy. Because apparently "Cantankerous Old People Doing Silly Tasks and Having Fun Despite Themselves Group" was too complicated an acronym. I laughed, probably inappropriately, more than once at the old guy next to my mom who kept missing his mark and saying, "Oh, shit!"
I'm a redhead again. And have a great new cut and a gallon of shampoo. And sore abs from laughing so hard this evening. But now, it's 1:30 in the morning (I started this post about 10 hours ago) and I need to be back at the hospital in a mere 6 hours, so I'm going to go to bed. More tomorrow. No, really.
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Half a weekend
Gone already. ::sigh::
It was a lovely day, though. Beautiful weather. I got a new phone this morning! I've been getting a lot of propaganda from Verizon and how they can save me money and I'm ready for an upgrade and blah, blah, blah. As it turns out...I had to upgrade my texting plan because my dad was going over his allotment.
I heart this so much.
So I did. I also got him a free phone with a keyboard, to make all that texting easier. And I upgraded myself to a Motorola Droid. Which, I still haven't completely figured it out yet, but so far...love, love, love.
Had a very wonderful dinner with Sparrow tonight. Good food, good company, good conversation, and fried ice cream. Does it get better than that?
Meanwhile, y'all....I'm exhausted. I think it's left over from the week, because I slept pretty well last night. I woke up from one of those dreams that's all pleasant and comfortable and full of that symbolic imagery that I could just interpret for days and days. I'm aiming to do that again tomorrow...here's hoping.
It was a lovely day, though. Beautiful weather. I got a new phone this morning! I've been getting a lot of propaganda from Verizon and how they can save me money and I'm ready for an upgrade and blah, blah, blah. As it turns out...I had to upgrade my texting plan because my dad was going over his allotment.
I heart this so much.
So I did. I also got him a free phone with a keyboard, to make all that texting easier. And I upgraded myself to a Motorola Droid. Which, I still haven't completely figured it out yet, but so far...love, love, love.
Had a very wonderful dinner with Sparrow tonight. Good food, good company, good conversation, and fried ice cream. Does it get better than that?
Meanwhile, y'all....I'm exhausted. I think it's left over from the week, because I slept pretty well last night. I woke up from one of those dreams that's all pleasant and comfortable and full of that symbolic imagery that I could just interpret for days and days. I'm aiming to do that again tomorrow...here's hoping.
Monday, January 25, 2010
We interrupt this blog....
Blogger's having some technical difficulties tonight...so...I love you people, but I'm not going to re-write that whole post I just penned. It wasn't very interesting, I promise...
Sunday, January 03, 2010
Oops, there goes gravity
So, it's back to reality in NC tomorrow.
(My apologies both for the ridiculous title of this post as well as the Eminem reference from whence it came.)
I had a pretty un-busy Sunday, which was completely delightful. Mags and I slept in a LOT (I woke up at 9:30, dozed and refused to get out of bed for another hour). We went to Starbucks and then stopped at the Teeter to get a Sunday paper, with the goal of attacking the coupon circulars. Now, hear me when I say that cutting coupons is NOT my idea of a good time, frankly, but one of my goals for this year is to be more fiscally responsible (because, in trying to work out out a budget over break, I somehow can't afford my life, which is honestly not all that fancy. Electricity, heat, basic cable, no landline... I make way too much to be this poor). And then I looked at the ads, and the online specials, and plotted, and planned (and played on the internet), and then somehow it was 3pm. So I headed out. I went to the gym. I went to Staples. I went to Trader Joe's. I went to Walgreens. I saved a very not-insignificant amount of money, but most of that was at Staples, which I'll explain in a minute. But, between the ads and the coupons, and not including Staples (or the $.50 notebook I got there on clearance), I estimate I saved about $12. Not bad.
So, running a bit counter (although not entirely) to the fiscal initiative...I haven't been able to find the power cord to my old (in the tech world) and often cranky printer. I've looked in every box, crevice, and usual hiding spot I could possibly think of. And it's becoming more and more irritating to only be able to print things at work. So I got stuck in the middle of something today and was finally like, screw it. I'm going to look around, and if I can find a justifiable deal, I'll suck it up and buy a new printer. So I research it, and this week, at Staples, I find a very nice Canon 3-in-1, reasonably priced to begin with, that has a $50 instant rebate. And duplex printing, and wireless capability (thank heavens, because I already have enough things tethered to my laptop), and it prints photos straight from the card - or the internet - and, you know, some other fancy-dancy things. All for the same price that I paid for my old 3-in-1 a hundred years ago (well...2002 or 2003, probably). Cool.
So I rationalize the hell out of this purchase. I go, I buy it, I come home to set it up. And....okay. I open the box, I fuss with all the cords and cartridges, etc. I go to clear off a part of the table in my bedroom which is currently acting as a temporary home for a bunch of different things, not the least of which is the old printer. And....I'm moving some things....and what do I find?
The power cord for the other printer.
Of course.
In a spot where - I'm so not kidding - I've looked AT LEAST 30 separate times.
::sigh::
But, it does print a lot better. And the duplex printing thing seems valuable. Tree-saving and whatnot. So, okay....
Saturday, December 05, 2009
Friday, December 04, 2009
Silence.
Kudos to those who figured out how to read this!! Nice work.
Yep, I clearly have more to say about this.
It'll be the target, er, subject of tomorrow's blog post.
I really do have a point.
Well, as much as I ever do...
.
Yep, I clearly have more to say about this.
It'll be the target, er, subject of tomorrow's blog post.
I really do have a point.
Well, as much as I ever do...
.
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Technical Difficulties
We're having some inconsistent connection nonsense over here tonight. So I'll just give you this fun story (if I can): I flopped on my bed tonight to read my email, etc, and Maggie jumps up on the bed with me. She snuggles up for a while, and then gets up and starts rearranging the blankets, like she does when she hides stuff. I wondered what it was she was trying to bury...and then I realized...I think she was trying to bury me. I cracked up. A lot. Which interfered with the burying....
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Monday, August 24, 2009
I don't think "Cranky" was one of 'em
But he should've been. Because currently I'm also sleepy, sneezy, grumpy...and, of course, Doc.
Loooong ass day today. Lots of fire extinguishing. Left work around 7pm and had dinner with Ruthie, who filled me full of steak and sent me on my way. Got home, opened the door, and Maggie came out to greet me - I'm thinking the dog walker didn't shut her crate very well. Fortunately, no real messes, just a little bit of garbage stealing. So I get ready to go to bed, and my email won't work, and suddenly Time Warner is telling me my email account has been deactivated. WTF...I'm guessing the payment hasn't cleared yet, but it might have if, in the switch to paper billing from e-bills, they had sent me the bill before FRIDAY.
I'm just sayin'.
So now I'm on a "live chat" with some guy who apparently can't help me and is making me call someone. And now apparently THEY are closed. Damn it....
Loooong ass day today. Lots of fire extinguishing. Left work around 7pm and had dinner with Ruthie, who filled me full of steak and sent me on my way. Got home, opened the door, and Maggie came out to greet me - I'm thinking the dog walker didn't shut her crate very well. Fortunately, no real messes, just a little bit of garbage stealing. So I get ready to go to bed, and my email won't work, and suddenly Time Warner is telling me my email account has been deactivated. WTF...I'm guessing the payment hasn't cleared yet, but it might have if, in the switch to paper billing from e-bills, they had sent me the bill before FRIDAY.
I'm just sayin'.
So now I'm on a "live chat" with some guy who apparently can't help me and is making me call someone. And now apparently THEY are closed. Damn it....
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Darkness
Oh, for Pete's sake...
So I get home tonight....long day at work. Whiny patients. Lots of crap to deal with. Endless paperwork. 7am therapy patient.
Fortunately, I had my very first spinning class to look forward to tonight. And it was awesome. It wound up being a private lesson, because there were only two of us signed up and the other woman didn't show. And I LOVE it. She sent me home with a drop spindle and some roving, but I am so totally in love with the wheel. It's very....zen. I could just treadle for hours (and, in fact, did, for about an hour). I had lanolin all over my hands and left with about 11 yards of handspun from the wheel, and a huge ball of Blue Leicester Top roving to spindle. I am pleased. I have two more lessons, on the next two Tuesdays.
So I stop and grab some dinner on the way home, walk up to the door...and the dog is whining. And I notice it's awfully dark - usually the dog walker leaves the front room light on, and I always leave my porch light on. Hmm. So I go in, flip the switch, and....nothing.
Turns out, last week or so ago when I paid the bill that the power company finally sent me, the online bill payer never actually sent the payment. So they disconnected us. Also? My rent check "bounced" this month (more bank weirdness), and I came home at 7pm yesterday to a note telling me I was about to be evicted.
We have power again (when I started writing this, I was stealing my neighbor's wireless...). And are not being evicted. And I will get the bank straightened out eventually (because, you know, they're not open when I'm not at work...). But still....jeebus.....
In better news, only three more days until the weekend.....
So I get home tonight....long day at work. Whiny patients. Lots of crap to deal with. Endless paperwork. 7am therapy patient.
Fortunately, I had my very first spinning class to look forward to tonight. And it was awesome. It wound up being a private lesson, because there were only two of us signed up and the other woman didn't show. And I LOVE it. She sent me home with a drop spindle and some roving, but I am so totally in love with the wheel. It's very....zen. I could just treadle for hours (and, in fact, did, for about an hour). I had lanolin all over my hands and left with about 11 yards of handspun from the wheel, and a huge ball of Blue Leicester Top roving to spindle. I am pleased. I have two more lessons, on the next two Tuesdays.
So I stop and grab some dinner on the way home, walk up to the door...and the dog is whining. And I notice it's awfully dark - usually the dog walker leaves the front room light on, and I always leave my porch light on. Hmm. So I go in, flip the switch, and....nothing.
Turns out, last week or so ago when I paid the bill that the power company finally sent me, the online bill payer never actually sent the payment. So they disconnected us. Also? My rent check "bounced" this month (more bank weirdness), and I came home at 7pm yesterday to a note telling me I was about to be evicted.
We have power again (when I started writing this, I was stealing my neighbor's wireless...). And are not being evicted. And I will get the bank straightened out eventually (because, you know, they're not open when I'm not at work...). But still....jeebus.....
In better news, only three more days until the weekend.....
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Hello?
Huh. My Thursday blog has disappeared. I wonder where it went....not to worry, it wasn't especially useful....the gist of it was this: Crap, I knew I should've traded my '04 Jeep with 125K miles on it and no lein YESTERDAY....
Saturday, July 25, 2009
New and awesome
My mom got a new car today. These are the speakers in the tailgate. Not that my family does a lot of tailgating, but, that's just cool.It was a lovely Saturday here in NC. Slept in a little, did some stuff, went to Starbucks, then FedEx, then had to drive to the CH to jump through some hoops for a class I want to take. Spent an hour at the gym (my feet hurt). Came home, screwed around, showered, watched part of the 16 and Pregnant finale (I'm officially addicted to that show; still not crazy about Dr. Drew). Then went to wine tasting with Peng, which was delightful. Good company, good wine, and my stash is growing nicely. And Peng was going for a late dinner with Chef, so I met up with Ruthie again. We went clothes hunting at TJ Maxx (Ruthie's favorite hunting ground), and found a couple of tops for me, and this really awesome shawl/wrap thing (I'm thinking it'd be a nice beach cover up, which I'm always looking for) that has all this really nice Sanskrit lettering and it's really sort of om-ish an pretty...and then has "Freak" enbroidered in the one corner. I...don't get it, but I bought it anyway, because if I can successfully hide that corner, its gorgeous. We then went to a local burger joint for dinner and Smoothie King after that (have I mentioned that this is Ruthie's latest obsession?), and sat outside for a while and talked about out past lives (hers in surgery and mine at the Emerald Palace). All in all, it was a lovely evening.
Meanwhile, all the grapes I planted on FarmTown (a Facebook game I'm currently a little addicted to, for those who don't know) died because I left them alone too long. This made me smile a little when I got home and realized this. I thought, yeah, real life wins out every time.
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Technical difficulties
I'm having some issues keeping my internet working long enough tonight to actually post a blog, so I had this great plan of posting this picture of my nephew, which was really cute, but it won't even stay useful long enough to upload that...(I've had to reboot the whole thing twice just to get THIS in) Ooh! Wait! Maybe I can do it from Flickr...
Technology is our friend...
Technology is our friend...
Tuesday, July 07, 2009
Windy
So I'm in Chicago. And glad to be out of the car. But it's going to be a busy, busy week...
I had dinner with my cousins and my uncle tonight. I adore them, I do, but sometimes I wonder how I came out of this family (i.e., we were talking about a news story at dinner, and my cousin says, "Well, what do you expect, he's black?" I was like, really?? Because last time I checked white kids shot people too. And Hispanic kids, and Asian kids, and - wait for it - Greek kids).
I also set my parents up on Facebook. Apparently my mom's friends from work have been pestering her to join. Seriously, I find this weird. Not in a bad way, just...in a weird way.
I keep thinking of a news story I read a couple of years ago about how there was this big shift of teenagers over to Friendster because there were too many "old people" (my age) on Facebook. My father's going to be 77 tomorrow. I doubt this bothers the teenagers too much, though, because clearly they all came back...
Tomorrow, as I mentioned, is my dad's birthday (happy birthday, Dad!). We're going to go to breakfast. Claud and I are going to hang out in the afternoon. Thursday my God daughter and her mom are coming for lunch, and then the crew is assembling at Robin's for burgers on the grill (mmmm). Friday my cousins (different ones) are coming for dinner. Saturday the whole family descends, and on Sunday, I will knit. I'm hoping to work in a couple of other friends, too, or maybe more time with the same friends. Then back in the car on Monday, home and pick up Ms. Mags on Tuesday, back to work Friday. So at least I get a couple of days to chill out and unpack my house...
Whew. I need a vacation from this vacation!
In other, not so pleasant news, I got word tonight that my friend's boyhood friend is in hospice and has about two weeks left. Keep them in your thoughts and prayers. And remind all the men my age that you know that think they're young and healthy and invincible that they're exactly the ones testicular cancer strikes. Regular checkups, self exams - it's important stuff. To you, and the people who love you.
I had dinner with my cousins and my uncle tonight. I adore them, I do, but sometimes I wonder how I came out of this family (i.e., we were talking about a news story at dinner, and my cousin says, "Well, what do you expect, he's black?" I was like, really?? Because last time I checked white kids shot people too. And Hispanic kids, and Asian kids, and - wait for it - Greek kids).
I also set my parents up on Facebook. Apparently my mom's friends from work have been pestering her to join. Seriously, I find this weird. Not in a bad way, just...in a weird way.
I keep thinking of a news story I read a couple of years ago about how there was this big shift of teenagers over to Friendster because there were too many "old people" (my age) on Facebook. My father's going to be 77 tomorrow. I doubt this bothers the teenagers too much, though, because clearly they all came back...
Tomorrow, as I mentioned, is my dad's birthday (happy birthday, Dad!). We're going to go to breakfast. Claud and I are going to hang out in the afternoon. Thursday my God daughter and her mom are coming for lunch, and then the crew is assembling at Robin's for burgers on the grill (mmmm). Friday my cousins (different ones) are coming for dinner. Saturday the whole family descends, and on Sunday, I will knit. I'm hoping to work in a couple of other friends, too, or maybe more time with the same friends. Then back in the car on Monday, home and pick up Ms. Mags on Tuesday, back to work Friday. So at least I get a couple of days to chill out and unpack my house...
Whew. I need a vacation from this vacation!
In other, not so pleasant news, I got word tonight that my friend's boyhood friend is in hospice and has about two weeks left. Keep them in your thoughts and prayers. And remind all the men my age that you know that think they're young and healthy and invincible that they're exactly the ones testicular cancer strikes. Regular checkups, self exams - it's important stuff. To you, and the people who love you.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Relief
I love Facebook.
When I was in high school, my cousin came in to our family (not Danielle. I have other cousins. These are actual cousins). She was born in the States to a Russian woman who couldn't afford any more children, and so she made what I think is one of the most selfless decisions one can possibly choose - she gave her up for adoption. And so my cousin - we'll call her Athena - was born. Her new parents (my cousins) were at the hospital when she was delivered. They spoke with her mother. They left the most adorable message on our answering machine telling us what exciting news they had. A daughter! A little girl!! A sweet little baby of their very own, something they had been hoping and praying for and wanting for a long, long time.
Some months later, we went to visit, and I saw, on their refrigerator, a Family Circus cartoon. It was two kids talking, and the one was saying, "I'm really lucky. I got to pick my parents. I'm adopted." I thought this was just the best thing ever.
Four years later, another little Russian girl joined the family. Same situation - my cousins made it to the hospital in a whole different state while our other cousins worked around the clock to get the nursery ready. Same excitement. Same joy. And Aphrodite completed their family.
Aphrodite and Athena were a great addition. They were adorable kids. Athena was really sensitive, sweet, kind of emotional. Aphrodite was generally fearless and funny. They were a lot of fun to visit. And they've grown up into pretty awesome adolescents. I'm excited to know them as women someday.
Strangely, they look a lot like me. I'm half-"xeno" (white person), so my coloring is pretty different from the rest of the family. I was always a sandy blonde, pasty white, blue eyed kid in the middle of all of these dark haired, dark eyed, olive skinned people. Aphrodite and Athena, when they were small, and we were out together - strangers would always tell me what beautiful children I had. I've always thought of them as nothing less than related, but - like the cartoon said - the way they came to us always seemed a little more special.
And their parents, my cousins, are two of my favorite people. So you can imagine my dismay when, sometime when Aphrodite was very small, it was announced that they weren't telling the girls they were adopted.
.....?
I was dumbfounded by this. Not now? Or not ever? I couldn't understand why it wasn't open knowledge from the start. This was a great story! These were our girls! Why would we want to pretend they were anything other than what they were? I was so disappointed in my cousins.
And let me tell you, I know the damage big family secrets can cause. You might think you can keep it secret, but you never can. It always gets out - somebody knows, invariably. And in a case like this? When EVERYBODY knows? Come on. These things always hurt way worse (if they had to hurt at all in the first place) when the cat is let out of the bag. Because there must be something shameful about it if we had to keep it a secret, right? Whereas, if you just let the cat wander around from the beginning, things tend to be better. You deal with it, acknowledge it, move on. And in a case like this, where there's really nothing shameful, nothing to hide...not to mention, we have some other cousins who are...let's go with...opportunistic. If they had thought it to their advantage to drop that bomb on the girls one day ("Well, she's not your real mom anyway!"), I have no faith that they wouldn't have taken it in an instant.
This secrecy, as you can probably guess, has bothered me for years.
So, tonight, I'm on Facebook, and Athena and I are FB friends (duh), and she's posted a little "How well do you know Athena?" quiz. Which, of course, I have to take, because she's my little cousin (turns out I know her 80%). And one of the questions was, "Which country was I adopted from?"
I seriously almost cried. All I could think was Thank God. And then I happily clicked "Russia."
I sent her a message, though, after I finished the quiz. I asked when her parents told her, and I told her I thought it was great that she and her sister knew. And I told her how awesome it was that I got to have her as part of my family.
And then I thought of that cartoon on the refrigerator.
Which I couldn't find on Google.
So I'll give you this one instead.
When I was in high school, my cousin came in to our family (not Danielle. I have other cousins. These are actual cousins). She was born in the States to a Russian woman who couldn't afford any more children, and so she made what I think is one of the most selfless decisions one can possibly choose - she gave her up for adoption. And so my cousin - we'll call her Athena - was born. Her new parents (my cousins) were at the hospital when she was delivered. They spoke with her mother. They left the most adorable message on our answering machine telling us what exciting news they had. A daughter! A little girl!! A sweet little baby of their very own, something they had been hoping and praying for and wanting for a long, long time.
Some months later, we went to visit, and I saw, on their refrigerator, a Family Circus cartoon. It was two kids talking, and the one was saying, "I'm really lucky. I got to pick my parents. I'm adopted." I thought this was just the best thing ever.
Four years later, another little Russian girl joined the family. Same situation - my cousins made it to the hospital in a whole different state while our other cousins worked around the clock to get the nursery ready. Same excitement. Same joy. And Aphrodite completed their family.
Aphrodite and Athena were a great addition. They were adorable kids. Athena was really sensitive, sweet, kind of emotional. Aphrodite was generally fearless and funny. They were a lot of fun to visit. And they've grown up into pretty awesome adolescents. I'm excited to know them as women someday.
Strangely, they look a lot like me. I'm half-"xeno" (white person), so my coloring is pretty different from the rest of the family. I was always a sandy blonde, pasty white, blue eyed kid in the middle of all of these dark haired, dark eyed, olive skinned people. Aphrodite and Athena, when they were small, and we were out together - strangers would always tell me what beautiful children I had. I've always thought of them as nothing less than related, but - like the cartoon said - the way they came to us always seemed a little more special.
And their parents, my cousins, are two of my favorite people. So you can imagine my dismay when, sometime when Aphrodite was very small, it was announced that they weren't telling the girls they were adopted.
.....?
I was dumbfounded by this. Not now? Or not ever? I couldn't understand why it wasn't open knowledge from the start. This was a great story! These were our girls! Why would we want to pretend they were anything other than what they were? I was so disappointed in my cousins.
And let me tell you, I know the damage big family secrets can cause. You might think you can keep it secret, but you never can. It always gets out - somebody knows, invariably. And in a case like this? When EVERYBODY knows? Come on. These things always hurt way worse (if they had to hurt at all in the first place) when the cat is let out of the bag. Because there must be something shameful about it if we had to keep it a secret, right? Whereas, if you just let the cat wander around from the beginning, things tend to be better. You deal with it, acknowledge it, move on. And in a case like this, where there's really nothing shameful, nothing to hide...not to mention, we have some other cousins who are...let's go with...opportunistic. If they had thought it to their advantage to drop that bomb on the girls one day ("Well, she's not your real mom anyway!"), I have no faith that they wouldn't have taken it in an instant.
This secrecy, as you can probably guess, has bothered me for years.
So, tonight, I'm on Facebook, and Athena and I are FB friends (duh), and she's posted a little "How well do you know Athena?" quiz. Which, of course, I have to take, because she's my little cousin (turns out I know her 80%). And one of the questions was, "Which country was I adopted from?"
I seriously almost cried. All I could think was Thank God. And then I happily clicked "Russia."
I sent her a message, though, after I finished the quiz. I asked when her parents told her, and I told her I thought it was great that she and her sister knew. And I told her how awesome it was that I got to have her as part of my family.
And then I thought of that cartoon on the refrigerator.
Which I couldn't find on Google.
So I'll give you this one instead.
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