Mommy musings

Two unrelated issues that have me preoccupied--in a "wow, it's nice to think and be creative" way:

1. I have started singing again! For the time being. My church choir is performing Benjamin Britten's "Rejoice in the Lamb," one of my favorite pieces of music. The text is a poem by Christopher Smart--it's nonsensical, mystical, and such a celebration of the English language. ANNNNNNNNNNNNNNNND: I have decided to audition for the solo! I am pretty out of shape vocally and will be up against some good sopranos who are in great shape vocally, but why in the world shouldn't I? I absolutely love this song, and I know it from my high school days. I actually auditioned for it in high school and flubbed the entrance, so I can hopefully redeem myself from that. I'm just going to work the song back into my voice and go for it. I do hope I get it, but only if I can do it justice. It's hard to do Britten justice--it's hard music to perform. Today I finished my practice session holding Anneke--not good for the ol' breath support, but it calmed her down. She's been listening to me sing her whole life, after all.

2. Racism: bad. Over the past few months two of my Arkansas connections have shared racist Obama jokes with me. I mean, come on people. Do you really want to provide such easy grist for the Smug Yankee Mill? I won't share the jokes, or the closeness of the connection. The first joke was old-school racist--it kind of made me sick and sad. I responded by laughing incredulously and saying, "wow, that's really racist!" The second one was spammed to me and was more along the lines of the veiled racism Nicholas Kristof describes in this column. I emailed back to say I found this offensive and bad for democracy.

It did alert me to how present racism is in this election, at least for some people. And I can't help taking the bait because I can't just allow people to talk this way around me--it makes me complicit. I know I'm probably preaching to the choir to most readers. And don't get me wrong--I'm proud to be from Arkansas and know so many people there who fight the good fight against racism in themselves and the outside world. But to the other folks who don't(and they're not just in Arkansas): really? with all the important things to be decided in this election, this is what it's about for you?

And on that note, the baby is up from her nap. Thanks for reading.

Swingin'

Check out Anneke's new favorite activity! Note her response when Daddy swung her "too high" for my taste.

Nine Years

 
 
This morning I read Steve Duin's column in today's paper about missing his daughter who has moved across the country to go to college. It was very touching, and after I finished I folded the paper and was like, "you mean they LEAVE?"

Which got me thinking about my parents, and how nine years and a few days ago I was at the home I grew up in having very, very cold feet about moving to Oregon the next day. My car was packed, and it was close to bedtime. I confessed my doubts to my mother, and she very reasonably pointed out that if I didn't like it I could always come back. So on 9/16/99 my dad and I finally arrived in Portland in my '97 Nissan Sentra. I will never forget the dread I felt as the city came into view on I-84.

It took a while to find my place here in Portland, but eventually I did, and nine years later I know a couple of things for sure:
1. These have been the happiest years of my adult life.
2. I will always miss my parents, and my family, and Arkansas.

I am also very glad it's going to be a while before Anneke thinks about moving across the country.

Where lampreys spawn

Today Dave, I picked up our copy of Portland Hill Walks and chose a 2 mile walk through Reed Canyon and Crystal Springs Rhododendron Garden. I highly recommend all you Portlanders go out and buy this book. It takes you through our town's hilly neighborhoods and has descriptions of local and natural history. For example, In today's walk I learned that the marsh water in Reed Canyon, though crystal clear, will give you giardia if you drink it and is home to spawning lampreys! Lampreys!

 

The only disadvantage for we stroller-pushing types is that most of these walks feature at least one flight of stairs. Isn't Dave strong? And in my opinion they're too long for the Ergo.

 

Anneke was not nearly as enthralled with the ducks as she is with our kitties. But she had fun.

 
 

We're definitely soaking up these last beautiful days. I am holding onto summer for dear life!

Good weekend

I gotta say, as of 9:45 on a Saturday night, this weekend has shaped up to be about as nice as a normal weekend can be. Friday night Dave kept Anneke while I went to a party. It was hosted by Frank and Been, who have always thrown great parties, and who have a newly remodeled house on Mt. Tabor with stunning views of the city. More importantly, though, I got to hang out with so many old friends--this is the group of friends who helped me really feel at home in Portland when I moved here nine years
ago.

THEN this morning Dave made oatmeal waffles. I mean, enough said.

THEN the three of us went to our favorite Asian supermarket, Fubonn. We strolled the aisles and picked up our usual Southeast Asian staples, plus some weird candy and soft drinks. We weighed the pros and cons of picking up some parrotfish from the seafood section (pro: parrotfish is cool; con: not sure if it comes from some evil overfishing outfit). We had lunch at Tan Dinh Vietnamese Deli, where the specialty is Vietnamese crepes topped with all manner of strange and yummy ingredients.

My day was capped off at my friend Emma's house, where we sat in her backyard and had a fine dirt-dishing/beer-drinking session. When I reluctantly left her house the early evening light made the city look like it was coated in honey. And when I arrived home Dave had Anneke fed and commented that, in reference to caring for the babe and getting anything else done, he will never question my time management skills again.

Oh, and Dave and I listened to a podcast for this show together, and they played our song--the one we danced to at our wedding.

(As I re-read this it kind of seems like a Stuff White People Like version of that Ice Cube song about not needing to use his A.K. Which is a very Stuff White People Like reference.)

At any rate, I feel very, very lucky and grateful for my family and for my friends, and for beautiful, late-summer weekends.

Growing

 

 

 

So today Anneke and I were hanging out on the bed, where there were various toys and clutter strewn about. There was a little wad of kleenex on the bed (gross) about two feet away from her. It took her about five minutes, but she managed to work her way over to it all by herself. Luckily she didn't seem to mind me swapping the kleenex for a book. She tried to work her way over to all the stuff on the bed--the remote controls, the phone, and it occurred to me that she is engaging with objects in a whole new way. Not too long ago things around her were not nearly as interesting. It was a little bittersweet to see her turning toward the world--her world--in that way. It was the first time I've sensed her becoming her own little person. At the same time I've found myself dreaming of who she will become, of how we will nurture who she is.
Here we are on the front porch. Her FAVORITE THINGS are the grape vines. She is enthralled with them. When we go out to the porch to nurse she always has to pause for a minute to take in the big, green leaves bobbing in the breeze. She looks at them and smiles like she's seeing an old friend. Then she tries to eat them.

6 months

Anneke reached the 6 month milestone on Sunday.

In a book Caroline checked out from the library there are pointers on how to photograph your family/children. One of the pointers is to compose pictures from the background to the front. If the background is not good or is distracting, move on. The final picture will be no good. I think of this every time I compose shots now.

Another tip was to take a picture of your child while they are crying. A nice contrast to all of the smiling pics you accumulate.

So here you go. Happy 1/2 birthday!