One day, you look up and realize you're living days of significance. Some are like looking through a lens that bends time, casting distorted replays of your own childhood filtered through the smiles of your children. Others are original episodes along your own timeline, a warm fabric stitched together in the small hours of innocent days.
It seems the past few weeks have been full of these memorable moments for us. They've been good, fun weeks, remarkable for the palpable sense of transition bristling in the air. Each of us as individuals and as a family have evolved in some fashion, riding the inertia of the momentous year. And this house seems a foundation for it all.
These splintered memories are swirling about me, asking to be captured before they take to the wind.
Sydney of the matriculating hormonesSydney is growing up so fast. For about a month or two now, when asked her age, I respond "she'll be ten in February." Normally the countdown to her next birthday begins about a month out for me. The gravitational pull of the big 1-0 is clearly tugging at me with the inexorable force of a black hole.
Syd is so maternal and amazing. I look at her face and sometimes struggle to see my little baby beneath the surface. Lori looked in at her the other morning and noticed that Syd still bundles her blanket about her neck when she sleeps – a quirky little habit she's had since she was one or two and one we're happy to see still persists.
However, she's clearly maturing rapidly. Beyond all her educational achievements, she's become good friends with three other girls in her class and I see deeper connections emerging. More than just playground buddies, they seem to share an honest bond. It's so special to see. They're intelligent, compassionate girls and they genuinely enjoy being together.
This house has become a catalyst for the development of that friendship. They had a second sleepover here this past Friday night. I took them all out for pizza at the District, came home to watch a movie, and they all camped out in the family room on their sleeping bags. They're all very kind and inclusive of Emelie, which is wonderful. As I left the room, they were giggling about their impending late-night activities. Weighing their options, Olivia grinned "Do you want to talk about boys?" I'm pretty sure my heart stopped briefly, but it was just so dang cute.
After discovering that my new cell phone (mentioned below) was cheaper to get by adding it as a third phone rather than replacing mine, Sydney has inherited my phone. This two or three days on the heels of Lori telling me Syd wore a training bra to school earlier in the week. Lord help me.
Syd graduated to Girl Scouts from Brownies a few weeks ago. While I see other girls in her troop losing interest in the whole affair, many dropping out, perhaps succumbing to an age that inspires them to think the experience just isn't cool, Sydney maintains natural interest and infectious enthusiasm. And that's what's so awesome about Sydney. Syd is a WYSIWYG personality (what you see is what you get). She has that rare blend of tremendous intelligence and uncomplicated ethics that let you know exactly where you stand with her and her with you. She is truly a joy.
The Gizmo RenaissanceI have never got more gizmos in a two-week period that I have in these past two weeks. Many of them are part of the new car I bought, but it seems to be a consistent technological escalation since we got the house, what with its smart fridge and digital everything. This weekend, to leverage the hands-free phone system in the car, I upgraded my cell phone to a Bluetooth enabled model. Since we've been doing work for Bluetooth SIG for the past few months, I figured it was time to put my phone where my mouth is.
Up to my waist in user's manuals, I've been learning the ins and outs of the new phone, the Bluetooth hands free system in the car, the GPS system, a new digital camera, Lori got a Bluetooth headset...it goes on and on. The desk drawer to the left of me here is now full of miscellaneous wall adapters and charging stations. It's like Tesla's junk drawer, for God's sake.
Today, driving with the girls, I played my iPod through the car system, made a call on the hands-free phone system, programmed our road trip on the GPS, and the girls watched Harry Potter on the rear seat DVD system with wireless headphones on, laughing and talking to each other far too loudly. A huge smile broadened across my face.
Ahh, better living through technology. Yes, I'm in tech geek heaven.
The feline rewardOur road trips this weekend have been dedicated to finding our first pet. For those of you who don't know, Emelie (with her new jack-o-lantern smile)...
...has been earning stickers this school year to get a cat. As a framework for constructive behavior at school, Lori established a sticker-a-day program that rewarded Emelie's focused attention and energy in class. 30 stickers was the kitty goal. It probably took her 45 or 50 days to do it, but after about sticker 15 or 20, Em batted 1.000, anxiously counting down the days like NASA narrating a shuttle launch.
After visiting the Irvine and Mission Viejo shelters yesterday, it became apparent that Emelie's biggest challenge was to find a cat she could take home the same day. She had a knack of becoming enamored with cats that had yet to be spayed or neutered, a procedure which necessitated a four- to seven-day wait. She simply could not muster the patience to leave without a kitty. After her all-nighter at the slumber party on Friday night, we were amazed that she didn't have a tantrum when we left empty-handed on Saturday. It was just another sign that she's matured greatly this year.
We set out today to the main county pound in Orange and, despite the somewhat more dilapidated environs, the selection was about quadruple of the other shelters. And, sure enough, we found our kitty.
Meet our newly-named Buzz.
Buzz is a two-year old tabby and about the coolest customer I've ever met. He'd only been at the shelter for four days, but after that experience, a few shots at the clinic, and a car ride home in a box, we figured he'd bolt to the nearest, darkest corner upon his release in the house. Much to the contrary, he poked his head out, walked the entire house calmly and then hung out with us the remainder of the day. He's hugely social and very, very sweet and affectionate. The girls, of course, were instantly, unconditionally and madly in love and I sense Emelie beaming pride over her accomplishment. Which was the whole point and something we reaffirm with her almost hourly...that this was for her hard work.
And today, after a lazy overcast afternoon lounging by the fire with our new purring partner, I'm struck by this lingering sense of transformation. Like we've all grown over the past few weeks. Nothing major, but enough micro-evolutions to be noticeable. And we all feel closer together. It's an entirely unique and pleasant sensation, this family bond. I'm blessed that everyone is healthy and in tune with this deep connection that grows daily.
It's not a high school graduation or a prom night or hitting the winning home run or a play opening or breaking an arm or seeing the Grand Canyon or anything that conventional in its memory-forging potential. Just a few modest weeks, days and hours that remind me what it's all about. What this is all for.
