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| Running with bird. |
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| Running from bird. |
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| Bird. |
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| Fun. |
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| Family. |
Showing posts with label Family. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Family. Show all posts
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Thursday, July 14, 2011
He's Gone Off the Deep End! My 5 Year Old's Swimming!
OK so I was just complaining that we haven't accomplished much this summer but that is almost sort of not true now, hurrah!
We have a swimmer!
Aidan (who is 5) jumped off the diving board yesterday into the 11 foot end and then swam to the side.
All.by.himself. OK well the jumping part was by himself and the swimming was by himself but he had a little help in the middle.
A HUGE far cry from the little boy who clung to me in the 5 foot "deep end" at my parents' pool just three weeks ago.
I took video of this. He says he looks like an alligator swimming to the edge and he's right, you only see his tiny head.
Having at least one swimmer for vacation this year is so much less stressful than having two non-swimmers and being at the beach and/or pool, right? And also, there is a chance that my 3 year old might have just grown out of chasing the tiny birds up the entire coast of the beach which means no more embarrassing running up the entire coast chasing him in my bathing suit!
Progress.
I think this is going to be a good vacation.
We have a swimmer!
Aidan (who is 5) jumped off the diving board yesterday into the 11 foot end and then swam to the side.
All.by.himself. OK well the jumping part was by himself and the swimming was by himself but he had a little help in the middle.
A HUGE far cry from the little boy who clung to me in the 5 foot "deep end" at my parents' pool just three weeks ago.
I took video of this. He says he looks like an alligator swimming to the edge and he's right, you only see his tiny head.
Having at least one swimmer for vacation this year is so much less stressful than having two non-swimmers and being at the beach and/or pool, right? And also, there is a chance that my 3 year old might have just grown out of chasing the tiny birds up the entire coast of the beach which means no more embarrassing running up the entire coast chasing him in my bathing suit!
Progress.
I think this is going to be a good vacation.
Saturday, April 30, 2011
BODIES.
Oh these bodies of ours. They can throw us for a loop so much can't they?
I'm sitting here with my giant jug of water that makes me look like a hamster when I drink it.
Hydrating because tomorrow is a really big race. St. Anthony's Olympic distance triathlon. One of my two really big races of the year (the other is the Augusta 1/2 Ironman in September.)
Right now it's 9 o'clock in the morning and we're supposed to be walking in the March of Dimes' March for Babies. I raised just over $700, just under my goal but still, our team as a whole raised about $6,000. (Thanks to all of you who donated directly and through Bondies for Babies! I love you!)
I wish I could see if our team won the family teams award like last year. My wagon is sitting in the front room all decorated because our theme was "NICU SURVIVOR." My son and I were going to wear camo.
It is the first time since my son was born that we didn't walk in this walk.
It feels weird and makes me want to cry.
My little one was up last night with a terrible fever and throwing up. I could have gone on the walk this morning with my older one, but I needed to take over the "next" shift after my husband pulled the all-nighter. Well I didn't need to, he could've handled it, but you know how it is. I got up and saw my husband sleeping on the floor in my little one's room and knew. I needed to be here.
My son got sick last night and I missed the walk today, but he slept in, we got up, I saw him eat again, I cleaned him up, sanitized his room, got everyone else fed and let my husband relax a little, instead of leaving at 6 a.m. to cram the 3 mile walk pulling a wagon into the day and worrying the whole way how he's doing and not enjoying that moment.
It's hard to let go of some of the things that are so important to me, like this walk.
But I'm trying a new approach to things and it's called (brilliantly), "letting go."
It's also called "cutting my losses," "living in the moment" or "come what may." But any way you put it, I'm trying to be at peace and guilt and sadness free with what happens and being one with my decisions.
It's not so easy though.
And it takes practice. I'm still practicing.
Now we're in sickness roulette, one of us may get it or NONE of us will get it! Who knows!? It's a wonderful game, isn't it!
And who knows, we might not race at all tomorrow.
But either way I'm ready for it.
And I'm hydrating with my giant water bottle.
Come what may, right? It's moment by moment up in here. I'm not anticipating anything and at the same time I'm anticipating everything.
So.
If no one is sick by 2 o'clock, I am picking up my race packet. If no one is sick by 8 o'clock tonight, I'm going to bed.
If no one is sick by 3 a.m., I'm waking up.
And if no one is sick by 7:30 a.m., I'M HEADED OFF INTO THE WATER in my orange swim cap. (ORANGE?! I WANTED PINK! But orange is my son's favorite color. That has always cracked me up and will definitely carry me through the swim. Even if I do look like fruit.)
Of course, I get almost everything that comes into this house so there is a good chance I may not be racing at all! However, the last time one of my sons pulled an all-nighter, no one else miraculously got it, so I'm clinging on to that. Strike that. Actually I'm just going to be one with whatever happens. Mkay? Now I'm just incessantly talking for the sake of hearing myself type.
For now, I hydrate.
If I go to bed tonight without any illness, I will post my traditional "Night before St. Anthony's" poem around bedtime and you'll know that I'm racing.
And tomorrow I will mobile post a picture from transition and you'll know I made it. (Of course I'll be tweeting from @christieo the whole time so you might know what's happening before then.)
But if it's Sunday and you're reading this, definitely one of us is hovered over the bowl, ok? So throw some "hope it passes quickly!" thoughts our way.
I'm sitting here with my giant jug of water that makes me look like a hamster when I drink it.
Hydrating because tomorrow is a really big race. St. Anthony's Olympic distance triathlon. One of my two really big races of the year (the other is the Augusta 1/2 Ironman in September.)
Right now it's 9 o'clock in the morning and we're supposed to be walking in the March of Dimes' March for Babies. I raised just over $700, just under my goal but still, our team as a whole raised about $6,000. (Thanks to all of you who donated directly and through Bondies for Babies! I love you!)
I wish I could see if our team won the family teams award like last year. My wagon is sitting in the front room all decorated because our theme was "NICU SURVIVOR." My son and I were going to wear camo.
It is the first time since my son was born that we didn't walk in this walk.
It feels weird and makes me want to cry.
My little one was up last night with a terrible fever and throwing up. I could have gone on the walk this morning with my older one, but I needed to take over the "next" shift after my husband pulled the all-nighter. Well I didn't need to, he could've handled it, but you know how it is. I got up and saw my husband sleeping on the floor in my little one's room and knew. I needed to be here.
My son got sick last night and I missed the walk today, but he slept in, we got up, I saw him eat again, I cleaned him up, sanitized his room, got everyone else fed and let my husband relax a little, instead of leaving at 6 a.m. to cram the 3 mile walk pulling a wagon into the day and worrying the whole way how he's doing and not enjoying that moment.
It's hard to let go of some of the things that are so important to me, like this walk.
But I'm trying a new approach to things and it's called (brilliantly), "letting go."
It's also called "cutting my losses," "living in the moment" or "come what may." But any way you put it, I'm trying to be at peace and guilt and sadness free with what happens and being one with my decisions.
It's not so easy though.
And it takes practice. I'm still practicing.
Now we're in sickness roulette, one of us may get it or NONE of us will get it! Who knows!? It's a wonderful game, isn't it!
And who knows, we might not race at all tomorrow.
But either way I'm ready for it.
And I'm hydrating with my giant water bottle.
Come what may, right? It's moment by moment up in here. I'm not anticipating anything and at the same time I'm anticipating everything.
So.
If no one is sick by 2 o'clock, I am picking up my race packet. If no one is sick by 8 o'clock tonight, I'm going to bed.
If no one is sick by 3 a.m., I'm waking up.
And if no one is sick by 7:30 a.m., I'M HEADED OFF INTO THE WATER in my orange swim cap. (ORANGE?! I WANTED PINK! But orange is my son's favorite color. That has always cracked me up and will definitely carry me through the swim. Even if I do look like fruit.)
Of course, I get almost everything that comes into this house so there is a good chance I may not be racing at all! However, the last time one of my sons pulled an all-nighter, no one else miraculously got it, so I'm clinging on to that. Strike that. Actually I'm just going to be one with whatever happens. Mkay? Now I'm just incessantly talking for the sake of hearing myself type.
For now, I hydrate.
If I go to bed tonight without any illness, I will post my traditional "Night before St. Anthony's" poem around bedtime and you'll know that I'm racing.
And tomorrow I will mobile post a picture from transition and you'll know I made it. (Of course I'll be tweeting from @christieo the whole time so you might know what's happening before then.)
But if it's Sunday and you're reading this, definitely one of us is hovered over the bowl, ok? So throw some "hope it passes quickly!" thoughts our way.
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Five.
I don't know when it happened but you got all growed up on me. Well I guess I know when, since it's today.
I guess I just don't know how.
You, my baby, are five.
Five!
And you're tall, too. You're catching up to me (which is not that hard since I'm five foot and one-quarter inch.)
You're beautiful, you're intense and you're passionate. I love that so much.
Watching you grow from a baby into a boy has been the most amazing beyond words experience I've ever had.
I've watched you learn so many lessons for yourself, from kindness and gentleness to charity and gratefulness. I've watched you learn your letters, begin to read, soak up book after book after book on space, the human body, the country.
You worry so much about everything and everyone and of course that worries me so I guess I know where you got that from.
You tell me I have a pretty voice and you tell me you love me and I melt.
You're wise beyond your years, little Aidan, and you have the world in the palm of your hand.
Right now you're learning the lesson of how to "not give up" on things and it's a hard lesson to watch you learn but it's one that you'll learn over and over again throughout your life. I know this because I'm still trying to learn it myself.
I watched you conquer it though in your little ways and you're getting a good start. (The force is strong within you.)
I don't think I want you to grow up anymore though, ok?
Just hang onto your lightsaber and let's just stay here for a while and snuggle.
Even if it's just for today. Or perhaps until Kindergarten starts this fall. Or maybe until it's time for you to go off to college. Or get married. Oh, be still my heart, time goes so fast.
Happy birthday, little man. I love you.
I guess I just don't know how.
You, my baby, are five.
Five!
And you're tall, too. You're catching up to me (which is not that hard since I'm five foot and one-quarter inch.)
You're beautiful, you're intense and you're passionate. I love that so much.
Watching you grow from a baby into a boy has been the most amazing beyond words experience I've ever had.
I've watched you learn so many lessons for yourself, from kindness and gentleness to charity and gratefulness. I've watched you learn your letters, begin to read, soak up book after book after book on space, the human body, the country.
You worry so much about everything and everyone and of course that worries me so I guess I know where you got that from.
You tell me I have a pretty voice and you tell me you love me and I melt.
You're wise beyond your years, little Aidan, and you have the world in the palm of your hand.
Right now you're learning the lesson of how to "not give up" on things and it's a hard lesson to watch you learn but it's one that you'll learn over and over again throughout your life. I know this because I'm still trying to learn it myself.
I watched you conquer it though in your little ways and you're getting a good start. (The force is strong within you.)
Just hang onto your lightsaber and let's just stay here for a while and snuggle.
Even if it's just for today. Or perhaps until Kindergarten starts this fall. Or maybe until it's time for you to go off to college. Or get married. Oh, be still my heart, time goes so fast.
Happy birthday, little man. I love you.
Friday, April 08, 2011
How Going to Disney is Like Running a Marathon
We are freshly back from our two-day Disney excursion where I realized that going to Disney World with the family is a lot like running 26.2 miles through the Disney parks itself.
We had a big group of us, my best friend and her family, some of their friends, one day with my husband and one day without and in the end 7 LITTLE BOYS, roughly the same age. We were completely outnumbered.
If you've run a marathon and gone through the trials and tribulations of such, then you will completely identify (I think) and if you haven't, then there is only one thing to do: run a marathon! (Obviously!) Just kidding.
Anyway, besides the fact that the scenery is mostly the same (except that the run does not go through Space Mountain like I got to!) here are the similarities to a day at the park and a day running through the park.
Like in the marathon, you have a good breakfast first.
Then you start out slow and get the feel of it because you're not quite sure yet what to make of it.
You have a great time along the way, you see lots of characters, take pictures and everyone is having a blast.
You're starting to feel comfortable now.
There is both running and walking.
You do all sorts of things you have never done before (like BE A PIRATE!)
You battle your demons.
And you find out what you're made of.
Sometimes you feel like you're flying.
And sometimes you feel (and look) like a super hero.
You find safety in numbers because you're all in it together.
Then there is some pain involved because you're doing this for a long time and therefore, you find aches and pains in odd places. Sometimes for days afterward (Like today. Because I was mama sherpa carrying everything and everyone.)
You hit the bathrooms a lot. You are sweating. Profusely. For most of the day.
You're becoming a hot mess.
Eventually you and everyone around you get pretty tired. You're not sure you can keep going.
But you dig deep and rally. Because hello! It's Disney! It's the happiest place on earth! Of course you have more left!
So you have some more fun. Which in the end always outweighs the work you put in to get there.
And when all is said and done, the day was pretty long, you're all sorts of exhausted and definitely a bunch of sweet hot messes and inevitably there is crying at the finish.
And usually it's the ugly kind.
But going to Disney (like the marathon and also even like labor if we're being honest) becomes only this fantastic memory in your mind and you forget all the pain there might have been involved along the way because of the wonderfulness of the end product, which is awesome, in and of itself.
Even if at some point something came over you and you did try to poke Mickey's eye out, stunning the crowd and workers around you.
Luckily, Mickey forgave you. He knows you're not yourself once you finish a long day like this.
But yes, in the end, you absolutely most definitely no question about it without a doubt, would do it all over again.
We had a big group of us, my best friend and her family, some of their friends, one day with my husband and one day without and in the end 7 LITTLE BOYS, roughly the same age. We were completely outnumbered.
If you've run a marathon and gone through the trials and tribulations of such, then you will completely identify (I think) and if you haven't, then there is only one thing to do: run a marathon! (Obviously!) Just kidding.
Anyway, besides the fact that the scenery is mostly the same (except that the run does not go through Space Mountain like I got to!) here are the similarities to a day at the park and a day running through the park.
Like in the marathon, you have a good breakfast first.
Then you start out slow and get the feel of it because you're not quite sure yet what to make of it.
You have a great time along the way, you see lots of characters, take pictures and everyone is having a blast.
You're starting to feel comfortable now.
There is both running and walking.
You do all sorts of things you have never done before (like BE A PIRATE!)
You battle your demons.
And you find out what you're made of.
Sometimes you feel like you're flying.
And sometimes you feel (and look) like a super hero.
You find safety in numbers because you're all in it together.
Then there is some pain involved because you're doing this for a long time and therefore, you find aches and pains in odd places. Sometimes for days afterward (Like today. Because I was mama sherpa carrying everything and everyone.)
You hit the bathrooms a lot. You are sweating. Profusely. For most of the day.
You're becoming a hot mess.
Eventually you and everyone around you get pretty tired. You're not sure you can keep going.
But you dig deep and rally. Because hello! It's Disney! It's the happiest place on earth! Of course you have more left!
So you have some more fun. Which in the end always outweighs the work you put in to get there.
And when all is said and done, the day was pretty long, you're all sorts of exhausted and definitely a bunch of sweet hot messes and inevitably there is crying at the finish.
And usually it's the ugly kind.
But going to Disney (like the marathon and also even like labor if we're being honest) becomes only this fantastic memory in your mind and you forget all the pain there might have been involved along the way because of the wonderfulness of the end product, which is awesome, in and of itself.
Even if at some point something came over you and you did try to poke Mickey's eye out, stunning the crowd and workers around you.
Luckily, Mickey forgave you. He knows you're not yourself once you finish a long day like this.
But yes, in the end, you absolutely most definitely no question about it without a doubt, would do it all over again.
Friday, April 01, 2011
The Ultimate Blog Party at 5 Minutes for Mom!!! (A Giveaway Post)
I love this time of year!
Time to meet new bloggers and new friends in a giant online soiree! (Pronouncing it in my best fake deep British voice, Welcome to the SWA-RAYYYY, dahhling!)
We're blog-hopping with 5 Minutes for Mom this week in their annual Ultimate Blog Party and if you're not involved in the party yet go git your partywear on and put up a post and go visit people, it's FUUUUUN!! There are prizes and everything!
(There are prizes here too!)
But first, if you're new here, I'll introduce myself and give you the short story and the low-down.
HI!
I'm Christie O!
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| 4 lbs 6 oz. |
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| We're having a mad science party and it is going to be AWESOME. |
I had a difficult time dealing with his prematurity (even though he was just fine and spent very little time in the NICU) and found out I was pregnant again when he was 10 months old. (Surprise!)
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| I swear he had that goofball smile straight outta the womb. |
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| He is his own man. |
And I gained oh, about 60 pounds (give or give some) during pregnancy and went on a mission after I regained consciousness from post-partum depression to lose it.
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| whoopsy. how'd that happen? |
I continued running (slowly.)
I was losing weight (finally!)
I got bored with running and tried triathlon (slowly.)
And loved that. So.MUCH.
Because I learned so much about myself. I learned how much I am capable of. How strong I am mentally. How to overcome fear like in open water swimming.
I am on a constant journey, through life, through motherhood, through wifehood, through healthy living. I don't know where the journey's going, but I'm enjoying the ride!
I am in constant awe of moms. I rarely ever feel like I know what I'm doing.
It wasn't until after my sons were born and then they were getting older and I was having to make difficult decisions and I never seemed to know the right answer and my best friends and sister were becoming mothers and women that I understood just how hard it is to be a mom and I finally thanked my own mom.
We sometimes judge each other too quickly but the truth is, MOMS ROCK!
I believe moms should be celebrated for their uncanny ability to diffuse any situation or have any item available as needed in her giant purse in a moment's notice, for getting all done in a day, for everything they are to every ONE!
I believe that the average mom wears a cape. Not the SUPER mom that we all want to be, the average mom that is ALREADY SUPER! So every month I share an awesome mom or group of moms with everyone because we need to celebrate each other's awesomeness! (You can read about this month's mom right HERE! She's truly awesome, she's feeling her way through breastfeeding now and I remember that all too well, it did not go easy for me!)
I love sharing stories about the craziness that is family life, the bad mommy moments, good mommy moments, the hard stuff, the easy stuff, and the revolution that is going from a 40+ hour a week career girl to stay at home mom/room mom/soccer mom/minivan mom in 1.2 seconds. I blog about prematurity, health and fitness, motherhood, crafts, recipes, American Idol, and everything else in between!
I love being inspired by other writers, mothers, bloggers and friends so please introduce yourself and leave your link so I can follow! I can't wait to meet you!
WAIT -- did someone say DOOR PRIZES?!
This week, I'm giving away two prizes, and they are two of my favorite things in the world!
1. A Bondi Band!
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| These are really cool sweat-wicking headbands with cool sayings on them! I randomly draw winner from the comments and you pick your saying! You can click on the picture to make it larger to see all the sayings. |
2. A necklace from my Etsy shop, Inspire Me Chic!
Same thing, I will randomly draw a winner from the comments, you pick your style! They are handmade leather necklaces with an inspirational circle charm on it. I wear "discipline" and "focus" depending on my mood and they work, truly they do!
The giveaway will close at the end of the day on the last day of the blog party and I'll announce the winners in the blog hop recap the next day!
Please introduce yourself and leave your blog link so I can come visit you!
Welcome!
Cocktail?
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| Don't go without the recipe for the best sangria ever!!! |
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
The Philippines (Spring Festival Part II)
My three-year-old's class had the Phillipines for his country and in the Philippines, they have beautiful flowery celebrations. I took this picture of a book the teachers were working with and wanted to do something like this.
But how?
So I'm walking through JoAnn Fabric and I spot a little foam crown and I think, "Hmmmm...."
I find some fake flowers, went home, and came up with this:
I took inexpensive fake flowers, pulled them off the stems and poked them through the foam and hotglued them in there so they'd stay. It was so simple, I actually did one of them sitting in the parking lot of their school waiting for them to get out and glued it at home.
That little cord thingy goes around the back of the little girl's heads to hold them in place, I seriously couldn't have found a cooler thing to use for a headpiece! And they were $1 each!
I couldn't wait to get it to school to try it on a little girlhead, so I had to use the closest head possible.
He didn't mind being the model but made it clear to me that he's "not a princess, mommy."
This is how it looked at the festival:
So I'm walking through JoAnn Fabric and I spot a little foam crown and I think, "Hmmmm...."
I find some fake flowers, went home, and came up with this:
That little cord thingy goes around the back of the little girl's heads to hold them in place, I seriously couldn't have found a cooler thing to use for a headpiece! And they were $1 each!
I couldn't wait to get it to school to try it on a little girlhead, so I had to use the closest head possible.
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| Hooray! It works! (ps. we're in a shirtless phase these days. Not "we," actually, just him.) |
This is how it looked at the festival:
We didn't even have to make the costumes, I was walking through Toys R Us on a completely unrelated birthday present mission and passed by this beautiful costume and there was only one left. It was $15. But there were tons of them online and free shipping! Hooray! I couldn't have made these for that cheap!
No one minded that they were actually "Bollywood" costumes, they just wanted them to be "colorful" and colorful it was! The parents were thrilled and the little girls loved being princesses.
We scoured for costumes online for boys/men and saw that they were always pretty plain except for either a sash or a scarf, so we went with an orange sash that my mom made (thanks mom!) I found inexpensive orange party taffeta fabric (and had a coupon) and we cut it out into strips and sewed them.
Of course none of the boys wanted to wear it.
And my boy, who was the star of the show in last year's spring festival and sang this year's "Planting Rice" song at home day in and day out, got total stagefright come performance time. Oh well.
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| Sash not on, not picking up shaker, not singing, must stare and say nothing. Maybe if I don't move, no one will see me. |
That was actually pretty funny because he's usually pretty animated. Oh well!
Anyway for the rest of the festival, the "Jeepney":
Anyway for the rest of the festival, the "Jeepney":
A beach community:
And a working volcano that one of the middle schoolers made for the little people class that my little guy is shoving fake money into in his post-cupcake stupor.
(Notice the sash is already off. So glad my mom worked on this for hours!)
One of the teachers also made this delicious chicken noodle dish (we all forgot it was Friday during Lent and chowed on it) and we had traditional Philippines music playing in the background.
I absolutely love Spring Festival at this school and how the children learn all about other cultures and the world. I'll have to upload some video so you can get the actual feel of it.
But I'm darned proud of those headpieces!!! Only wish I could've kept one to wear myself!
* * *
If you missed Part I of the Spring Festival, 20 Tiny Lincolns is here.
* * *
If you missed Part I of the Spring Festival, 20 Tiny Lincolns is here.
Saturday, March 26, 2011
20 Tiny Lincolns
When someone told me my son's entire class was dressing up like a bunch of Abraham Lincolns in the Spring Festival, I nearly died of hilarity.
Their country was North America.
So it made sense.
And then the Spring Festival came and I died of hilarity in real life.
The teachers were Secret Service.
It was awesome.
When I told you they go all out at the Spring Festival, I wasn't kidding.
Look at the White House:
And Mount Rushmore:
Made by an amazingly crafty parent (not me. That's way beyond my skillz.)
It looks really big in the picture but it's actually pretty small and you can put your head in the hole and take pictures.
Their country was North America.
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And then the Spring Festival came and I died of hilarity in real life.
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| Yep, that's my Lincoln |
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| Lincoln or Quaker? Both? |
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| 20 Lincolns all in a row, rapping |
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| My Lincoln. Getting jiggy. |
It was awesome.
When I told you they go all out at the Spring Festival, I wasn't kidding.
Look at the White House:
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| If you were ever wondering what could possibly be built with styrofoam and cardboard, now you know. |
It looks really big in the picture but it's actually pretty small and you can put your head in the hole and take pictures.
See him? That's my Lincoln.
The whole display was UNBELIEVABLE.
Next stop on the Spring Festival express: the Phillipines! That's my 3 year old's class. My mom and I did their outfits and I can't wait to show you!
Tuesday, December 07, 2010
When All Else Fails, Make a Pyramid.
If there is one positive that comes from saying goodbye to someone you're close to, it's that it brings all the people who loved that person too under one roof. At the same time.
The day of my grandmother's funeral was the first time ever in existence that all of her grandchildren, all of us cousins, were together.
All 8 of us, under one roof. At the same time.
And when all 8 of us get together, apparently things get a little nutty. But when you have a bunch of pent up emotions and you have an emotional day filled with many many lows, the kind of lows that go along with saying "Goodbye," you tend to get a little nutty.
It's almost like your normal self leaves your body and you do things you normally wouldn't do.
Both sides of the family have different ways of celebrating the lives of our lost loved ones or maybe I mean hashing out our feelings or maybe a little of both.
On my mom's side of the family, there might be a pub involved after the funeral, which in turn will mean that maybe someone might miss a flight, someone might gets in a fight and someone might get thrown into a cold shower with his or her clothes on. There might be crying, there might be sharing of stories, but always in the end, there is hugging and bonding and releasing.
On my dad's side of the family, you don't head to the pub. (Well at least not until the next day anyway.)
On my dad's side, you eat, you drink, and then, you make a pyramid.
I'm not quite sure why we made a pyramid.
But my cousin said, "Let's not take a stuffy old picture with all of us cousins." Like this one:
Like the kind that gets painted by an 1800's artist as a portrait and years later it looks like an ancient black and white photo with crispy edges.
No.
She said, "Let's take a fun photo! We should do a pyramid!"
And this is what I love about family.
Your roads may have taken all of you to various parts of the country, but you all look alike and when you come together, you all even act alike because you're genetically connected. And in my family we cousins have a lot in common together anyway, we're fortunate like that, and among the similarities, the same sense of humor.
Turns out we were all game for a little pyramid-making.
So, several hours after my grandmother's funeral, in my aunt's living room, there we were. Climbing on top of each other making a pyramid.
And no one even thought it was weird.
Or at least no one said anything.
But you don't just do pyramids if you're not into it.
So I'm pretty sure everyone was.
And if it's not enough that we have a picture of the pyramid, someone also took VIDEO of the pyramid so you can see the pyramid-making process. And if you listen clearly, you can hear me yelling, "HURRY!" to take the picture. Because I was on top. And I was balancing precariously on the back of a chair.
It was touch and go for a few minutes.
So here it is. This is how you avoid taking stuffy pictures with family you haven't seen in years.
Yup. When life hands you lemons, you make a pyramid.
The day of my grandmother's funeral was the first time ever in existence that all of her grandchildren, all of us cousins, were together.
All 8 of us, under one roof. At the same time.
And when all 8 of us get together, apparently things get a little nutty. But when you have a bunch of pent up emotions and you have an emotional day filled with many many lows, the kind of lows that go along with saying "Goodbye," you tend to get a little nutty.
It's almost like your normal self leaves your body and you do things you normally wouldn't do.
Both sides of the family have different ways of celebrating the lives of our lost loved ones or maybe I mean hashing out our feelings or maybe a little of both.
On my mom's side of the family, there might be a pub involved after the funeral, which in turn will mean that maybe someone might miss a flight, someone might gets in a fight and someone might get thrown into a cold shower with his or her clothes on. There might be crying, there might be sharing of stories, but always in the end, there is hugging and bonding and releasing.
On my dad's side of the family, you don't head to the pub. (Well at least not until the next day anyway.)
On my dad's side, you eat, you drink, and then, you make a pyramid.
I'm not quite sure why we made a pyramid.
But my cousin said, "Let's not take a stuffy old picture with all of us cousins." Like this one:
Like the kind that gets painted by an 1800's artist as a portrait and years later it looks like an ancient black and white photo with crispy edges.
No.
She said, "Let's take a fun photo! We should do a pyramid!"
And this is what I love about family.
Your roads may have taken all of you to various parts of the country, but you all look alike and when you come together, you all even act alike because you're genetically connected. And in my family we cousins have a lot in common together anyway, we're fortunate like that, and among the similarities, the same sense of humor.
Turns out we were all game for a little pyramid-making.
So, several hours after my grandmother's funeral, in my aunt's living room, there we were. Climbing on top of each other making a pyramid.
Or at least no one said anything.
But you don't just do pyramids if you're not into it.
So I'm pretty sure everyone was.
And if it's not enough that we have a picture of the pyramid, someone also took VIDEO of the pyramid so you can see the pyramid-making process. And if you listen clearly, you can hear me yelling, "HURRY!" to take the picture. Because I was on top. And I was balancing precariously on the back of a chair.
It was touch and go for a few minutes.
So here it is. This is how you avoid taking stuffy pictures with family you haven't seen in years.
Yup. When life hands you lemons, you make a pyramid.
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