September 16, 2009

I'm not addicted to my toys - I'm not!

So, I'm way up in the Northwoods of Wisconsin for work. I had great plans to get caught up and work on some photo projects for my family while I was here. Instead, I wound up at a hotel without cell reception and WIFI. When I set my cell on the bed by my feet I had service, in my hand on the right side none. The WIFI in the meeting room would be strong for 20 minutes then cut out, and the help line was no help.

Need an idea for a quiet place to get away from it all? Call me - if I can get service I'll share....

September 13, 2009

And the day begins....

I would never be awake to see this if I didn't work nights....


September 11, 2009

In honor of today...

This morning my kids and I were talking about how remembering September 11 is so much different now that we've been there and seen these places. I thought in honor of today, I'd take you on a little sightseeing tour of some of the memorials we saw on our visit to NYC last month.

Eleven Tears: This memorial is beautiful, peaceful, and so simplistic, but no element of symbolism was overlooked. It's located across the street from the WTC in the American Express lobby at the World Financial Center. It is an eleven-sided pool with the names and descriptions of the eleven American Express employees who died on September 11 etched into the granite. In the middle is a huge, eleven-sided quartz suspended by eleven cables. Water drips down the cables and lands in the pool, making a ripple that extends out. Here is a complete description of the Eleven Tears memorial.

St. Paul's Chapel: This tiny little church across the street from the WTC has history dating back to George Washington, and became the rehab center during rescue efforts. Most of the pews were damaged by the firefighting equipment, and the decision was made to remove all but two. Now, chairs face a podium in the center of the church in a circle. Surrounding the chairs are exhibits documenting the events following September 11 from the church's perpective. The thing that makes this special is that it tells the story of how St Paul's Chapel provided and served the community during this time.

FDNY Memorial Wall: As a firefighting family this was especially powerful. Ten House sits literally across the street from the WTC site. A memorial wall on the side of the building recognizes the 343 firefighters killed on September 11. Even all these years later, people still leave momentos at the wall. It's amazing that the firehouse was even standing after the attack, and even more amazing the work these guys did that day.

WTC Site: If you follow the skywalks, you can walk completely around the WTC site. In this giant construction site, the WTC Plaza is beginning to emerge. The new 1 World Trade Center, called Freedom Tower has risen above street level. The tower will be 1776 feet tall when completed, and become America's tallest building. Work has also started to construct the two waterfalls that will be set in the exact footprint of the original towers as the main feature of the National Memorial and Museum.

Staten Island Memorial: We wandered upon this by accident. We took the ferry to Staten Island after dinner, planned to relax by the water, and then take the ferry back at night. We sat a few hunderd feet from the Memorial for more than an hour, and even commented on what an interesting piece of artwork it was, before we made it down the shoreline and found out it was a memorial. Two large "wings" are made up of each person's profile with names and photos in some of them. When you stand looking toward Manhattan, the wings perfectly frame the WTC site.

There are so many more memorials around the site and throughout the City. The Sphere from the original plaza was recovered and now stands in Battery Park. The Ground Zero Cross, a piece of steel in the shape of a cross that was recovered from the site, sits outside St. Peter's Church.

Seeing these things first hand makes the enormity of the events more clear, and in some ways more frightening - it's closer, more personal. These places also represent our ability to recover, rebuild, and remember the things that are important in life.

September 3, 2009

That's right...cover the guilt with shoes

My sister sent me this today, and I thought I would post it here, because I feel much less like a bad parent when I know that she is doing the very same thing that I would have done....

Well worth every penny…

In the last few days, my youngest son has been missing his older sisters who now both attend school all day. He is reminded that he is without playmates every time I slow down the momentum. I was reading a label at the grocery store when he piped in, “I miss the girls.” In the car when the music ended he said, “Can we go pick up the girls?” When we sent the girls off in the morning he stood at the end of the driveway asking, “When can I go to school?” He truly misses them.

So, with all the back to school commmercials over the past few weeks, my son has seen the “Sketcher” shoes commercial several times. When he asks for them my answer is always the same, “Your birthday is coming. We’ll see.” As parents, I would like to think that we don’t over-indulge our children. We do not partake in the back to school shopping spree. We often stay away from the backpacks and clothing with licensed characters on them. We don’t run out to purchase the latest toys and trends “as seen on TV”.


In my attempt to distract my son from his loneliness (and my feeling of being “chopped liver”) we have been doing a lot of bumming at the mall and the parks. Now, if you were to see a pair of policeman light up sketchers, where might you see them?

I caved after the third encounter with a three year old boy wearing “policeman light up shoes” on the swing next to us. Thirty-six dollars (yes, I did) and three stores later, my son was gleefully dancing around in his new “Sketchers”. He keeps them in the box and tucks them in at naptime with great care. Now, when momentum slows down, his shoes light up and save the day. So worth the $36.00!

September 1, 2009

I knew one of them would give me a good story....

As my oldest was getting ready this morning she announced, "I hate my schedule. I'm going early to change it." Why she could not do this two weeks before school started, when she got her schedule, I have no idea.

So I dropped her off at school an hour early with her "sucky" schedule, her locker shelves (again, you have two weeks to do this and wait till the morning that school starts), and a lock that she did not have the combination for. How's that for parenting....

Just get on the bus....

This morning all the children here are back to school.

Some parents must capture every last memory before their innocent baby goes out into the big world. As I was leaving the subdivision, I watched as one mom climb onto the school bus with her little one to take a picture, and took three more of the bus pulling away (I think she might have even chased it just a few steps before she realized and stopped). I also know some parents who spend the day celebrating "mom freedom day" with a few cocktails.

Me? I'll report on my kids later - I'm sure there's a bloggable story in there somewhere....

What about you? Happy to see 'em go? Can't let 'em go? Or somewhere in between....