Content
*this kid.
was an impossibly bald, infinitely talkative, breathtakingly earnest baby when I met him.
He's a bit quieter now, but just as whip-smart. He looks at you a little less with his eyeballs and a little more through his eyelashes, and the toes of his big-kid shoes knock together sometimes when he walks. He can pump so hard the swing set tips, these days, but just because he is the Big Brother and the Firstborn doesn't mean there can't still be some heartbreak when the insides of the sandwich hit the floor.
Alex has an affinity for too-small pajamas, thermal even in the dead of summer, and hair that won't sit down ever. He's just a little afraid of hair washing, but it's nothing that can't be cured by having a toilet-perched shower audience. He can't pay attention to his dinner plate for anything.
His "do you wanna see me"s have become "I wanna show you something"s, a sure sign that times, they are a changing. I'm not "Taydee" anymore, but that's OK by me.
Tomorrow, he goes to kindergarten, and I don't think kindergarten is going to know what hit it. Have fun, Alex. You're going to learn to read and tie, I promise.
He's a bit quieter now, but just as whip-smart. He looks at you a little less with his eyeballs and a little more through his eyelashes, and the toes of his big-kid shoes knock together sometimes when he walks. He can pump so hard the swing set tips, these days, but just because he is the Big Brother and the Firstborn doesn't mean there can't still be some heartbreak when the insides of the sandwich hit the floor.
Alex has an affinity for too-small pajamas, thermal even in the dead of summer, and hair that won't sit down ever. He's just a little afraid of hair washing, but it's nothing that can't be cured by having a toilet-perched shower audience. He can't pay attention to his dinner plate for anything.
His "do you wanna see me"s have become "I wanna show you something"s, a sure sign that times, they are a changing. I'm not "Taydee" anymore, but that's OK by me.
Tomorrow, he goes to kindergarten, and I don't think kindergarten is going to know what hit it. Have fun, Alex. You're going to learn to read and tie, I promise.
*do you trust this face?
Because this face will give you a stomach virus the likes of which you've never seen. For which she will not be forgiven until at least 10 minutes from now.
*pit bull smile.
I don't feel like he always looks true to his genetics, but this one's all bully breed to me.
Proof that not all pit bulls are dangerous and angry. Some are grinny and stupid, carry around a stuffed koala that they have been expressly forbidden from playing with like a baby, and are scared of thunder, doorway thresholds, and the convertible top going up and down but will lie prostrate and bored in front of an approaching lawnmower. (Stupid, did I mention?)
I heart that wonky-eared mutt.
P.S. Check out those Italian greyhound gams! (One year later, it's as good a time as any to revisit this batshit amazing craziness.)
Proof that not all pit bulls are dangerous and angry. Some are grinny and stupid, carry around a stuffed koala that they have been expressly forbidden from playing with like a baby, and are scared of thunder, doorway thresholds, and the convertible top going up and down but will lie prostrate and bored in front of an approaching lawnmower. (Stupid, did I mention?)
I heart that wonky-eared mutt.
P.S. Check out those Italian greyhound gams! (One year later, it's as good a time as any to revisit this batshit amazing craziness.)
*wistfulness.
Remember when you were 11 going on 20, and your body was all arms and legs and metabolism, running furiously on 14 hours of sleep and three chili dogs and the energizing, screaming THRILL of dunking your dad in the water?
*lazy days.
The fact that I can't be a kid anymore kinda makes me want to have some.
Especially when they're this cool.
Especially when they're this cool.
*do you have what it takes?
I'm introducing a new concept on the Woodside, and it's called "brevity."
I miss it around here, but I don't have the time I need to really share the particulars of another fabulous night spent curled into a chair in my holey pants, watching Who's the Boss and eating cottage cheese straight from the carton.
So it'll be one a day, short and sweet.
Or in the case of this one, very short and very sweet.
I miss it around here, but I don't have the time I need to really share the particulars of another fabulous night spent curled into a chair in my holey pants, watching Who's the Boss and eating cottage cheese straight from the carton.
So it'll be one a day, short and sweet.
Or in the case of this one, very short and very sweet.
*summer of love.
It is difficult being such a busy star.
There are public appearances to make,
eyelashes to bat,
and opinions to express.
There were Mother's Day baubles to procure.
And of course there has been much time spent performing on countertops.
There was comedy!
And tragedy!
And melodrama!
The paparazzi can be tiresome.
But no worries!
Not when your bodyguard has your back.
There are public appearances to make,
eyelashes to bat,
and opinions to express.
There were Mother's Day baubles to procure.
And of course there has been much time spent performing on countertops.
There was comedy!
And tragedy!
And melodrama!
The paparazzi can be tiresome.
But no worries!
Not when your bodyguard has your back.
*rundown.
As I write this, I am coming off the heels of three consecutive 12-hour workdays.
That means all of my meals have come out of my freezer, all of my free time has been spent staring dazedly and without comprehension at Who's the Boss? reruns (which we can agree aren't at the far end of the comprehension scale), and all of my energy has been focused on ignoring the fact that the dog has developed what is either a twitch born of neglect or an incurable itch born of stink.
BUT! Production on the July/August issue is rolling to a close.
I can see the holiday weekend there, on the horizon, just out of reach.
Three spectacular days of breathing unrecycled air, basking in non-fluorescent lights, and reading, not editing.
HAPPY DANCE!
Oh, and just because I liked it:
That means all of my meals have come out of my freezer, all of my free time has been spent staring dazedly and without comprehension at Who's the Boss? reruns (which we can agree aren't at the far end of the comprehension scale), and all of my energy has been focused on ignoring the fact that the dog has developed what is either a twitch born of neglect or an incurable itch born of stink.
BUT! Production on the July/August issue is rolling to a close.
I can see the holiday weekend there, on the horizon, just out of reach.
Three spectacular days of breathing unrecycled air, basking in non-fluorescent lights, and reading, not editing.
HAPPY DANCE!
Oh, and just because I liked it:
*conversational distance.
Oh, hai there.
Wait. 'Scuse me one second.
SHINY THINGS!
Sorry, what's that you were saying?
Wait. 'Scuse me one second.
SHINY THINGS!
Sorry, what's that you were saying?
*to have and to hold.
The 60th Anniversary Weekendstravaganza culminated in a beautiful church service, including a sweet blessing of the happy couple during which a keen observer noted that all seven children inadvertently stood in birth order, Von Trapp style, and a rockin' party that required the donning of necessary finery.
Some chose the dapper approach.
Others, the studiously effortless look.
Some put on their prettiest frocks and their most uncertain faces.
And one wore sequins, the better to prove that she is both fabulous and gorgeous.
We gathered at the Elks Lodge, where there were fascinating things to behold.
History? From the past?
Thassright.
A Christmas tree? Decorated for Easter?
Werd.
Family and friends mingled and greeted.
They smiled and laughed put on their most gracious airs.
They marveled at the moment, the 60 years of happy memories.
Well, for the most part.
Oh dear. Some people just cannot be contained.
Some people just have to be the center of attention.
Some people just have to be the MOST charming and the MOST delightful and the MOST adorable.
It gets downright tiresome.
It's a good thing I'm obviously the favorite grandchild.
And then, suddenly, it was "places, people!"
We dined in the waning light, on lovely salads
and steak dinners
and sweet surprises to mark the occasion.
We were all very impressed.
No, really, we were.
Ahem. I said IMPRESSED.
There we go.
So we danced, and we sang, and we acted like fools. We made plans for the 70th anniversary, and thought perhaps we should do this more often than once a decade. But for now we'll take it easy. All that fun was absolutely exhausting.
Some chose the dapper approach.
Others, the studiously effortless look.
Some put on their prettiest frocks and their most uncertain faces.
And one wore sequins, the better to prove that she is both fabulous and gorgeous.
We gathered at the Elks Lodge, where there were fascinating things to behold.
History? From the past?
Thassright.
A Christmas tree? Decorated for Easter?
Werd.
Family and friends mingled and greeted.
They smiled and laughed put on their most gracious airs.
They marveled at the moment, the 60 years of happy memories.
Well, for the most part.
Oh dear. Some people just cannot be contained.
Some people just have to be the center of attention.
Some people just have to be the MOST charming and the MOST delightful and the MOST adorable.
It gets downright tiresome.
It's a good thing I'm obviously the favorite grandchild.
And then, suddenly, it was "places, people!"
We dined in the waning light, on lovely salads
and steak dinners
and sweet surprises to mark the occasion.
We were all very impressed.
No, really, we were.
Ahem. I said IMPRESSED.
There we go.
So we danced, and we sang, and we acted like fools. We made plans for the 70th anniversary, and thought perhaps we should do this more often than once a decade. But for now we'll take it easy. All that fun was absolutely exhausting.
