a new way to give back: TYPOS FOR KIDDOS!

this is an example of a 'humdinger' as spotted
by moi in Target

i had this random, lack-of-sleep-fueled idea and i want to try it. will you help me? keep reading....

i don't know about you, but in the course of a day's reading—online, in magazines, store signs, TV news graphics, etc.—i come upon many typos of all kinds. this simultaneously drives me bonkers and gives me great pleasure. i wonder often if anyone is else catching these careless errors, or if i'm the only grammar nerd out there. bahahaha! thanks dad for catching MY typo. how embarrassing! but i guess i proved my own point. ahem: i wonder often if anyone else is catching these careless errors or if i'm the only grammar nerd out there. 

i was also recently thinking about ways to help friends of ours who had a baby boy a few months ago. the little guy was born with an extremely—i mean, extremely—rare condition and he can't leave CHOP (the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, a truly amazing place) until he receives an organ transplant. this breaks my heart on so many levels, now that i'm a mama, and though the little guy is tough and apparently surprising doctors on a daily basis, i still feel the urge to help in some way—both this precious baby boy and all the little ones at CHOP. 

thus the idea for TYPOS FOR KIDDOS! was born.

right now you're thinking wha??? here's the deal: put your grammar nerd glasses on and get reading. whenever you come across a typo of any kind—and believe me, you will—send it to me. either take a picture of it with your iPhone, take a screen shot if it's online, or send me a link, post it to Typos for Kiddos' Facebook page or even snail-mail it to me. for each mistake spotted and sent to me during the entire month of December—which starts tomorrow, kids!—i will donate to CHOP according to the list below: 

spelling errors: $1 each

misuse (or lack) of punctuation: $2 each

missing words: $3 each

overall piss-poor sentence structure: $4 each (this is a bit more subjective, but i know i have readers who will be able to spot these easily!)

total, full-on humdingers: $5 each (this includes wrong headlines, blatantly incorrect facts, double entendres, etc.)

all you have to do is a little copy editing! is there an easier way to give back this holiday season? i don't think so. all through December, i will post weekly updates as to the amount of money we've raised. on January 1, 2012, i will write a check to CHOP for the total amount and send it on its way.

**if anyone out there has deep pockets, is friends with a fantastic philanthropist or would personally like to volunteer to match the amount raised, that would be completely awesome.**

so, that's the scoop. are you in? i hope so! if you have any questions, want to send typos or just want to say hello, e-mail me at megalbagel(at)comcast(dot)net.

thanks in advance for your enthusiasm and participation! happy proofing!

mbm

autumncholy

the day after Thanksgiving, Michael told me he was feeling melancholy. it was nothing serious, just a feeling he couldn't quite put his finger on. driving around Pennsylvania, he said, seeing the way the cloud-filtered sunlight hit the trees and the houses filled him with a strange sort of wistfulness. i said i understood, but i didn't really, not until the next afternoon when i took Matthew out in his stroller. the weather felt spring-like, but the streaky-gray skies were all autumn. as we walked along the sidewalks on which i rode my bike as a kid, past the various corners that used to be my bus stops, gazing at the houses where my friends lived so many years ago, i was filled with the same kind of melancholy. in an instant, i knew exactly what Michael was feeling the day before.

it is a strange kind of feeling, and it seems to be tied specifically to autumn, at least for me. i used to know the feeling well, back in the days when i rode New Jersey Transit buses frequently, either between the city and my apartment in Ridgefield Park a decade ago, or back and forth to my gram's house in Morris County. i would stare out the window as the bus lumbered along two-lane highways lined with aging strip malls, or residential streets carpeted with brown, brittle leaves dispatched from overarching oak trees. every town the bus passed through seemed like it was sagging. some people might have found the scenery depressing, but i loved it. i felt comforted by it, even though somehow it gave me a dull ache deep down, almost like a homesickness—but it also felt like home. i couldn't quite explain it or understand it.   

anyway, it all came back to me on Saturday afternoon. and as Matty and i took our walk, i was thinking about how fast it's all going—the months, the seasons, life. years ago i had so much time to think and reflect and soak it all in. too much time, probably. and, as a result, the days seemed to go on and on. i was always anticipating something else, a date sometime in the future. now i look at the calendar and can't believe i've crossed off nearly another month-full of days. autumn is ending and i can't even remember it beginning.

the fleetingness of time seems to be highlighted at this time of year. for example, our Thanksgiving was lovely, but especially ephemeral. maybe that's what Michael was feeling on Friday. we were so excited about our kiddo's first turkey day and it really was great. but it seemed one minute we were in our PJs watching the Macy's parade; the next we were rubbing our tired eyes and bemoaning how much we overate (or, in Michael's case, eagerly awaiting the first chance to tear into leftovers).

we were even talking on Thanksgiving with my relatives about how, when we were all kids, Christmas seemed to take forever to arrive. as adults it's like, 'Christmas again?' but that's just how it goes, right? nearly all of our time is sucked up by stuff—things to do, things to remember, things to get, things to clean, things to make—and time gets lost in the shuffle. days, weeks, entire months—just gone.

is there a way to revert to the mindset we had as kids? is there any possible way to get that back, without completely abandoning our adult responsibilities? because i would really love that. i would make that my major goal in life, if someone could tell me how.

mbm

kiss off

i attended a meeting this morning at work to present a project our team has been working on for quite a while. the group we were presenting to gathers monthly to discuss diversity at our company. before we began our presentation, the group's leader passed around a photocopied article from last Friday's WWD, all about the recent Benetton "Unhate" ad campaign.

if you haven't seen or heard about it, the campaign features (or, featured; the campaign was pretty quickly pulled from all publications) various Photoshopped images of people kissing. people like Barack Obama and Hu Jintao; the president of Palestine and the prime minister of Israel; the Pope and the grand imam of Al-Azhar.

contrary to Benetton's usual MO (ahem), the images are extremely provocative. apparently they're very offensive, too, if you read the statements issued by the parties depicted in the campaign. of course the Vatican and the White House have to object, and Benetton had to pull the ads, but how refreshing would it be if everyone focused on (and embraced) the idea behind the campaign.

personally, i love it. i think it's pretty much the best way to illustrate the hope of, well, Benetton's team, i suppose, but of so many people in the world. just put your freakin' differences aside and stop hating on each other. what a great example world leaders would set for, say, teen bullies if they were more accepting of each other.

anyway, the leader of the meeting this morning was hoping to spark a conversation about the ads and the message they're trying to convey, as it relates to diversity. but everyone seemed a little nervous or uncomfortable by them. the conversation died pretty quick.

keep at it, Benetton. eventually the world will listen.

mbm

you go, sookie

"Do I sometimes hope I wake up in the morning and people are like, 'What's wrong with her? She looks emaciated.' Of course I would love that. I'm such a clothes whore I would love the opportunity to be a hanger. But I think I'm more confident than I've ever felt in my life. I always thought it was worth the fight. Now I know it is."

—Melissa McCarthy (LOVE HER), 

on her feelings about others' feelings about her weight

year two

newly minted. 

if you want to see how solid your marriage is, get pregnant and start looking for a home before your first anniversary. then, before your second anniversary, start paying a mortgage and raising a baby while both working full-time (and on opposite schedules).

some days—many days—it may seem as though you either A) aren't married at all (spouse? i have a spouse? where is he/she?) or B) were completely deranged when you agreed to get married in the first place (toothpaste in the sink, socks on the floor, who runs the dishwasher when it's not completely full, who forgets to order more baby formula, who's taking up all the DVR space, who goes to Target too often, etc.)

but then, of course, you have days—many days, but never enough—that you actually get to spend together, that border on magical, they're so perfect. pretty quick you remember oh, that's why i married you! you're pretty darn awesome!  

two years ago your biggest worry was remembering all the dance steps the instructor taught you for your first dance, "It Had to Be You." today, well, your worries are much different. but neither of you would rewind time and do anything differently (well, except that maybe you would have stayed in Aruba permanently, made a career out of honeymooning; everyone would have understood) because, as always, everything that happened in the last two years lead you to this perfect moment from Saturday night: you were eating a 'romantic' and celebratory anniversary dinner at home (wine, candles, meatballs) with a special guest—your sweet, funny seven-month old, who was eating his own dinner (lentils and brown rice out of a jar—mmm) in his high chair. suddenly he made a noise you'd never heard before and, after determining he wasn't choking, it seemed that perhaps he was trying to imitate his daddy's laugh. the more you giggled at him, the more he tried out his new, staccato laugh. this went on until you were in tears and your stomachs ached from laughing.

and, wow, if that isn't about the best feeling in the world—the knowledge that your love, for all its ups and downs, trials and tribulations, created this perfect little person who not only lights up your lives, but brings joy to everyone he encounters (recent examples: just this weekend, the woman he reduced to giggles in Hallmark and the woman who called him 'beautiful' in the grocery store). he's a constant reminder of everything that's good and right between the two of you. and, hey, sometimes you need a reminder.

two years down, the rest of your lives to go. it's not always easy, but you know in your heart the fun is just beginning...

mbm

five-thing fridays

© mbm 11.13.11

[in my defense, i did start writing this on Friday. i just got really, really busy before i finished.]

1. Starbucks freebies—today is buy-one-get-one-free holiday drink day! a few co-workers and i took advantage, though the Starbucks we went to didn't have skim milk, so we were forced to get not the Skinny Peppermint Mochas, but the two-percent milk versions. and, hell, might as well throw the whipped cream on, too...

2. Parenthood—the best show on television, in my humble opinion. watching the latest episode on DVR is one of the things i look forward to most every week (time with my son excluded, of course). this week i watched on Wednesday, after Matty went to bed. just me, a glass of wine, some dark-chocolate-covered almonds and the Bravermans. love.

3. getting into the spirit—i know i just railed against starting the Christmas season too soon, but i have to admit that i love when the city gets in the spirit. the Fifth Ave snowflake is already hung, the Plaza is decked out in greenery and lights, the Salvation Army guy is outside Crate & Barrel on Madison and 59th... you can't deny the magic.


4. the guy in the lobby—there's this maintenance guy who works in my office building, an older gent with a kind face and a quick smile. i know it sucks that i don't know his name, but he doesn't know mine either, and it hasn't prevented us from forming a friendship of sorts. we greet each other every morning, he asks, 'how's the baby?' quite often and he's always got a grin for me. one morning last week i was running late and when he spotted me rushing for the elevator he said, 'there she is!' is it weird that i find his presence comforting? 


5. my son—have i mentioned that he knows how to turn on and off the light switch in his bedroom? he's a genius. every morning i carry him over to the wall where the switch is and say, "turn on the light for mama," and he reaches out his little hand and presses the switch (it's one of those flat light switch things, not a classic one). when we leave the room, i say, "turn off the light for mama," and he reaches out his hand again and flips the switch. like i said: genius. 


hope you had a great weekend! 
mbm

autumn morning

before the weather turned frigid and soggy, the morning was quite beautiful—if you love gray, late-autumn days like i do. snapped these on my way to work:

mbm

i hate people

i know that seems harsh, but when i read things like the below, which i just saw on nymag.com, i really really do. some people. people who have total loss of perspective and make life difficult for everyone else just for the sake of making life difficult for everyone else.

Update, 10:30 a.m: A group of protestors is headed back to Zuccotti; another is ensconced on Wall Street. Police say about 60 protestors have been arrested this a.m. There was a scuffle on William Street, as demonstrators took over the street, but it's now been cleared. Meanwhile, there were several arrests outside Trinity Church; one woman there spilled her tea while she was being arrested, then grabbed the container and threw the liquid on two cops. The church is also playing host to several topless women, who say they're protesting the treatment of women at Zuccotti Park.

aren't they embarrassed by their behavior? where are their parents?!? gaaah!

mbm

AND she's in a movie with the Muppets

“I read about these actresses who get on a stationary bike two weeks after giving birth and I’m like, ‘What? Where did you push your baby out of?’ Since having Aviana, I have a muffin top, and that’s OK right now.”

—Amy Adams (whom i now love even more) 

mbm

bullseye

in case you don't know me well and aren't aware of my feelings on the issue, i am a firm believer in one holiday at a time. and by that i mean: no Thanksgiving merchandise in the stores weeks before Halloween; no Christmas decorations up before Thanksgiving; no Valentine's candy in stores on Christmas Eve. it takes away the specialness of each season. 

(i have such fond memories of anticipating, for several years during my childhood, December first, when neighbors on the next street over would flip the switch on their magnificent Christmas lights display. i would stand on the couch below the back window in the family room and gaze at the spectacle with awe and wonder. i can guarantee it wouldn't have had the same magic if they turned on the lights, say, on November first.)

to be clear, i have nothing against Christmas. i actually love Christmas. but i also love Thanksgiving, and it is totally getting lost in the shuffle. and i discovered this morning, via the news, that i am not the only one who feels this way.

have you heard about the employee uprising in response to the news that Target stores will be opening at midnight on Black Friday? originally, the stores were set to open at 5 a.m., but that plan was changed to accommodate "our guests' wants and needs," according to Target VIPs. now upwards of 85,000 Target workers have joined the online protest in an effort to get corporate to change its mind. i sincerely hope these people succeed.

as the campaign creator, Anthony Hardwick of Nebraska, so eloquently said: "A full holiday with family is not just for the elite of this nation—all Americans should be able to break bread with loved ones and get a good night's rest on Thanksgiving!"

never mind the fact that this guy isn't even scheduled to work on Black Friday. i think he's just (understandably!) frustrated by the mixed-up priorities in this country. it baffles me that people seemingly look forward more to being the first one in line outside Best Buy or racing through the doors of Macy's at the stroke of midnight Friday than enjoying time with their loved ones and reflecting on all that they're thankful for on Thanksgiving day.

you go, Target employees! Charlie Brown would be proud!  

mbm

file under "get a life"

from an article in the New York Daily News about the recent clearing out of Zuccotti Park and subsequent firing-up of so-called Occupy Wall Street-ers. 


"It's still on. It'll be bigger than ever. People are mobilizing now. They're wounded now and preparing for comeback," said Matt Baldwin. 


wounded? are you serious? being evacuated from a public park in which crazy people are living—and making a mess—while calling it 'protesting' does not equal wounded. 


STOP WHINING! GO HOME! GET A JOB! 


mbm

very special birthday wishes

my dad probably still has that shirt

it's my dad's birthday today. he is sixty-three. while most men his age might feel wary of being another year older, my father is looking eagerly ahead to sixty-five. he said so on Saturday when i saw him. why? "MEDICARE!" he practically shouted. "WE GET MEDICARE!"

okay, then.

dad, you always taught me not to look too far ahead. when i used to say things like, "i can't wait 'til Christmas!" or "how many more days until summer?" you would tell me, "don't wish my life away!" (and that was back when you were working!) so, my birthday wish for you today is to thoroughly enjoy and relish these next twenty-four months of your life. while you may lack Medicare, you have so many things to enjoy in the meantime, such as:

• the professional-level culinary talents of your wife (who, if she isn't doing laundry or shopping on Amazon, is always fixing you a meal)
• countless hours of cookie-cutter crime dramas courtesy of CBS and the USA network
• the eternal (coughfutilecough) mission to one day develop a consistently accurate golf swing
• the possibility that Eli is, after all, an elite QB
• that maybe someday in the near future your backyard will make the cover of Garden Railways magazine
• the many charms and overall adorability of your handsome grandson, Bubs
• more commercials from the creative geniuses behind the E-Trade and Progressive Insurance campaigns, which tickle your funny bone so
• many more sandwiches from Luca Brasi
• several (one would hope) more seasons of Glee
• the occasional, highly-anticipated company of yours truly—the daughter you raised to be a smart-ass, not sincere

you're the best, dad! happy two-years-til-MEDICAID! i love you very much.

mbm 

five thing fridays

"hello, handsome."

this week is tougher than the last two, peeps. but here we go. five things i'm thankful for:

my husband: i am thankful for him always (i am!) but this week especially. he's been on vacation, which is just so nice. life is better when he's around, no question. and i did a lot of venting this week, too, which he listened to patiently (and took my side). and then yesterday he created a meal for dinner, which he cooked in our Crock Pot, and did the grocery shopping, and cleaned the kitchen. he also rocked Matty to sleep when my efforts failed. i would be lost without this guy. i am dreading his return to a normal ("normal") work schedule on Sunday.

diet Coke: i am an unapologetic addict. i'm not drinking, like, six cans a day or anything. but i admit to two-a-day a few times this week. it rivals pinot as my go-to comfort drink. and, of the two, it's the only one i can consume while at work.

confident, competent people: they're few and far between, it seems, so when i come across one, i'm ever-so-grateful. (yes, that was snark disguised as gratitude.)

Shawn Colvin: random, i know, but i love her music. we saw her at City Winery last Sunday (we also saw her in March at William Paterson College in NJ, which was just not the right venue or crowd, so i wanted a do-over). even though she didn't play "This Must Be the Place" (her version has special meaning to me), i still loved watching her perform and her albums are pretty much all i've listened to all week. i go to the trouble like a light/or like a dare/trouble is just a friend to me, i know/it'll always be there... love.

my son: even though he has robbed me blind of hours of sleep this week, i cannot hold it against him. before Sunday, he'd never experienced the 'fall back' phenomenon before, for one; and those damn teeth will not come out, for two. this morning—eeaaarrrly this morning—as he lay with me in bed, he ran his warm little hand across my cheek over and over. he does this with everyone, he's big into touching faces (and examining dental work); but this morning, the way he stroked my face was about the sweetest thing ever. and then—then!—i had him in his Bumbo on my dresser while i did my make-up. he is loving mirrors at the moment, specifically his reflection (which he gets from his dad!), and in the midst of busily studying his face this morning, he started blowing raspberries! i've been blowing them at him since he was born, and he finally got the hang of it today. i love that he does something new every day. movies shmovies. he's all the entertainment i need. 

work ≠ life

i haven't been keeping up with my Lifeclass viewing—gasp—but have all episodes on our DVR, so i will be catching up. i did, however, catch about five minutes of last night's class and it seemed to be all about taking a deep breath and slowing the hell down, because life is precious and you never know when you'll either be thrown a horrible curveball or just stop breathing all together.

that is exactly, sort of, the theme of my week. it has not been a good one. and i feel slightly panicked because it seems i am faced with a choice—either be the kind of working mother i don't want to be (the kind who rarely sees her kid, rarely sees her husband, spends all free time on Blackberry—the kind who doesn't breathe!) or don't be a working mother at all. neither scenario is feasible right now.

what i don't understand is how there are people out there who put their jobs before their children. if your job means that much to you, why have children at all? they're not an accessory, they're not just eye-candy for your holiday cards, or tax deductions. they are dependent human beings requiring sufficient love, support and guidance to grow into happy, healthy, well-adjusted members of society. and i'm sorry, i just don't think you can parent well when you're responding to work e-mails instead of reading your child a bedtime story.

or maybe the fault here lies with employers. maybe people would have more time for their families if their bosses didn't have unreasonable expectations. i resent the notion so prevalent in our society that if you're not working endless hours, you're not working hard enough. i would like to counter with: if you're working so many hours that you hardly see your family, barely sleep and haven't seen daylight in weeks, there's something seriously wrong with you (or the boss making you do these things).

a woman on Lifeclass last night said in an interview that she actually sat down and played a card game with her daughter. this was a real departure for her—typically she'd be distracted, or trying to play and do something else at once. but she just sat there, gave her child her full attention and then, when her daughter asked to play again, she played again. and it was apparently life-changing.

i guess that's my whole point. when people slow down and devote time to the things that truly matter, they're happier. calmer. more fulfilled. take my dad for example. he retired a couple years ago and rather than spending the bulk of his time up in his home office on conference calls and going cross-eyed staring at his laptop screen, he's playing with trains in the backyard, working out like a maniac on the treadmill, going to lunch at Friendly's with my mother. i've never seen the man happier or more relaxed. he'd probably tell me he had no choice but to be obsessed while still in the working world. but WHY? why does it have to be that way? why do we let our lives be run by people who lack perspective? most people at the tippy-top of companies are idiots. can't we rise up against them?

i don't know. clearly i have a lot on my mind this week. i am just so adamant about not becoming the kind of person who needs something horrible to happen (like the woman on Lifeclass who left her two year old in a sweltering car because she was so distracted by her to-do list) before she realizes what's important in life. i want to always remember what's important, and i don't want anyone trying to convince me otherwise.

one of my favorite writers ever, Anna Quindlen, gave an excellent commencement speech at Villanova years ago about just this very thing. you can read it here. my favorite part is this:

"Don't ever confuse the two, your life and your work. The second is only part of the first. Don't ever forget what a friend once wrote Senator Paul Tsongas when the senator decided not to run for reelection because he'd been diagnosed with cancer: No man ever said on his deathbed I wish I had spent more time in the office."

mbm

loss

though i grew up in Pennsylvania and about half the kids in my senior class went to Penn State, i have no personal ties or connections to the school. i've never even visited the campus. so maybe it's easier for me, then, to say that i think it's right that Joe Paterno got fired.

believe me, part of me feels so badly for him. that such a long, amazing and vaunted career could end shrouded in such controversy and shame is almost unimaginable. but one can't help asking—why didn't he go to the police? who in their right mind, when told that a heinous crime was committed in his own team's locker room, wouldn't go right to the police, at the very least for advice about what to do? i mean, we're talking about an innocent child.

yes, he ostensibly did everything he was legally obligated to do. but come on. come on. and the fact that the Penn State students got violent last night just underlined the fact that something needs to change. i get that they're bereft at losing their beloved Joe Pa. but when will common sense prevail? maybe this whole i'm-an-athlete-so-i'm-above-the-law mindset so pervasive in professional sports has now completely polluted the world of college sports, too—and its fans.

the whole situation is so hugely disturbing and truly mind-boggling. i hope the nationwide outcry and obsessive coverage from ESPN to CNN to the Daily Collegian will serve as a lesson to those in similar situations in the future. losing football games is a bummer, sure; but losing one's conscience carries far worse consequences.

mbm

baby, keep it to yourself

i love this song. i've had it on repeat today. maybe i'll work on explaining why. 

Well I don't tell jokes and I don't take notes

You been sayin' there ain't much hope

You got nothin' on me

I got friends uptown and they don't talk down

They've been keepin' me safe and sound

We got somethin' to be

So in case you hadn't noticed, I'm all right

Not like it was before

Things used to be so hopeless, but not tonight

Tonight I'm walkin' out that door

I'm not gonna cry, I'm wavin' goodbye

And I know this time

You got nothin' on me

Well it ain't that tough, just more of the usual stuff

One heartache is more than enough

There ain't nothing to see, nothin'

I got friends uptown and they still come 'round

They've been keepin' me safe and sound

We got somethin' to be

So don't you try to save me with your advice

Or turn me into somebody else

'Cause I'm not crazy and you're not nice

Baby, keep it, keep it to yourself

I'm not gonna cry and I'm wavin' goodbye

And I know this time

You got nothin' on me

—Shawn Colvin, "Nothin' on Me" 

mbm

be calm in your heart

mbm

five-thing fridays

yeah, yeah. i'm a few days late. let's not get technical here.

1. my parents. they love being with my son and my son loves being with them. add this to the long list of reasons why my mom and dad are awesome. (even though whenever i see them now they make a beeline for Matthew. i used to get a hug and a kiss hello. apparently, those days are over.)

2. female bonding. i met some great girls during the wedding weekend—all wives of the other groomsmen. we were all in the same boat, especially on Friday afternoon, after our fellas took off all tuxed-up for wedding pictures (and a few hours in a bar, of course). there were pedicures and a round of drinks at the hotel bar and an impromptu ride in a big, black SUV to the wedding venue (clearly we were too posh for the shuttle buses) and lots of talk about pregnancy and motherhood (we're all newbies). it was such a blast. 

3. being thirty-four. it's true that the copious amounts of wine i consumed on Thursday and Friday night hit me harder than the same behavior did, say, eight years ago. but i also am free of the self-consciousness that i lugged around with me constantly, say, eight years ago. for example: at a bar after the rehearsal dinner, one of the aforementioned groomsmen's wives and i started an impromptu dance party. i can't remember what the song even was, but we were both new moms (our sons were born seven days apart), away from our babies overnight for the first time and dammit, we wanted to dance. the (much younger) crowd watched us, more fascinated than anything else, i think. but i didn't care. i just danced. same story at the wedding. i kicked off my heels and cut my typical (crazy) rug with abandon.

4. coffee. see: aforementioned copious drinking.

5. my son. when i got home on Wednesday afternoon, he was in his 'office' (aka the exersaucer) in the bathroom while Michael was taking a shower, and as soon as he saw me he smiled hugely and lifted up his arms, looking for a pick-me-up. it was the first time i saw him do it and my heart melted into a puddle. again.

mbm

refresher

sometimes ya gotta switch it up a little.

Saturday afternoon, around three o'clock, i was driving back home to New Jersey. the sun was shining and the trees were glorious shades of fire against the crystalline sky. i had the Shawn Colvin station playing on Pandora, and in the backseat were my husband and my son, both out cold, wearing the exact same sleep faces, and i thought: there is nothing else i need in my life.

we—Michael and i—were in the throes of a four-day togetherness binge. we're like two constantly-starving people who go bonkers when someone leaves a loaf of bread within reach; we're desperate to be in the same place at the same time (awake) for longer than an hour or two, and when it happens, we devour every morsel. 

this occasion was his friend's wedding, in Philadelphia. Michael was a groomsman, so we were there from the rehearsal dinner Thursday evening to the day-after brunch on Saturday morning. despite the (oodles of) anxiety i felt about leaving Matthew for two nights, we completely and utterly enjoyed ourselves. (and Matthew enjoyed himself, being spoiled rotten by his Grammie and Grandpa.) we met a lot of great people, we did some sightseeing in the city, we ate and drank like there was no tomorrow, and we laughed.

sometimes it's just nice—and necessary—to step back from or out of your day-to-day life. it's like hitting the 'refresh' button your perspective. after rushing around like a maniac on Tuesday night, trying to pack; then rushing out of the office on Wednesday afternoon to get on the road to PA before rush hour; then working from my parents' on Thursday and furiously—nervously—pounding away on my Blackberry the entire drive into Philly that afternoon, i really really needed to shut my brain off and just be.

mission accomplished.

i reconnected with my husband over the weekend, but i also reconnected with myself. and it gave me a chance to really clear some cobwebs from my brain. i realized i get so caught up sometimes in "getting ahead" or proving myself or trying to have some kind of life i'm not even sure i want, and it really brings me down. it's funny; when i spend time with people who don't live and work in New York, i realize i have much more in common with them than with people who do. or maybe i'm just more drawn to them, because they seem so content in their own skin and with where they are in life. for them, it's not a race or a competition. they don't seem worried about being judged or missing out. they just...are. i find that inspiring.

so between the change in scenery, the quality time with Michael and seeing Matthew's face light up when we walked through my parents' door on Saturday, i was feeling a twinge enlightened as i drove us back home that afternoon. so few things i fret about on a daily basis really matter. mostly they're silly, meaningless, waste-of-time worries. and even if i can't change exactly where i am and what i'm doing on a grand scale right now, i can take comfort in the thought that was going through my head on a loop as i glanced in the rearview mirror and saw my two boys sleeping peacefully: i have everything i need.

 mbm

success

© mbm, November 2009

To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and to endure the betrayal of false friends. To appreciate beauty; to find the best in others; to leave the world a bit better whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition; to know that even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded.

—Ralph Waldo Emerson

mbm

what do beavers have to do with anything?

 i cannot stop laughing over this bit from Modern Family. it's from the "Hit and Run" episode, which aired a couple weeks ago. 



mbm

yin yang

post-cleanup. hopefully no permanent damage was done. 

there are good things about getting up at four-thirty in the morning—such as, more quality time with the gregarious baby who woke you in the first place, and a feeling of accomplishment after getting yourself and said baby totally packed for the weekend before the Today show comes on.

and then there are bad things—such as, spilling the large coffee you got from the coffee truck (because, you know, you've been up since four-thirty) onto the fancy Mac keyboard that sits on your office desk.

it's just how life goes, right?

mbm

you think that i don't know

© mbm, October 2011

you've seen sad times, your eyes have told me so; blue and bad times, you think that i don't know. but there'll be glad times, just you wait and see. and there'll be a sun rise, if you lean on me. 

— Terry Callier, Lean on Me

aaaaahhhhh!

head. is. spinning. 

the snow on Saturday really threw me off. i spent all day Sunday forgetting it was still October. it looked and felt more like January to me and i felt almost melancholy as a result. such a weird thing.

i went to see my Gram and the power was out all over the place in her part of New Jersey—traffic lights were dead, McDonald's was closed and Gram was more than happy to see Matty and me in her room, considering she was without her trusty television. it was an odd, almost unsettling day. 

and this week, between Halloween yesterday and the wedding three days from now, my brain is a mish-mosh of things i cannot (but undoubtedly will) forget. my plan is to update this blog at my leisure from the hotel on Friday (there's a pool! and a Starbucks!) so look for a more substantial post then.

if i remember.

mbm