Raising your child on “the classics”

I take great pride in exposing my daughter to the “classics.”  By my definition, those are stories and music that are timeless, or those things that I really loved when I was younger.  This list includes:

Movies Like:

• Pride and Prejudice
• Tom Jones (EVERYONE should see this)
• Little Dorit
• Purple Rain
• Love and Basketball
• Lion King

Tom Jones Movie, 1997

Singers/Rappers like:

• Luther Vandross
• Teena Marie (my daughter LOVES Teena!)
• Phyllis Hyman
• The Jungle Brothers (yeah…THAT song)
• Elvis Crespo (yup…that song)
• Santana
• Missy Elliot

I was sure to raise my daughter on good television shows like the Cosby Show, Looney Tunes, In Living Color, and Animaniacs. (We like comedy.)  So, I was really disappointed in myself when I realized that I failed to introduce her to two of my childhood favorites.  When Bonnie Franklin passed, she looked at me and ask, “Who was that,” I told myself I would have to introduce her to the show.

Animaniacs

But when the commercial below came on and she asked me, “What is that,” I felt like a COMPLETE failure!

I told her, “That’s K.I.T.T.”

“What’s a ‘K.I.T.T.?”

That question cut me to the quick!  K.I.T.T. was not a “what.”  K.I.T.T was/is a ‘who’!  And I was sure I told her about K.I.T.T.’s sidekick, Michael Knight!  Clearly, lessons must continue!

What are some of the classics you share with your kids?

Do you Foodstagram?

I heard on the news this morning that there are chefs who are so frustrated with people (like me) taking pictures of their food that they are banning food photography in their establishments.  They call it “Foodstagraming.”  According to the Chefs, snapping pictures of the plate is distracting and disrespectful to fellow patrons.  It’s a mood killer.  I don’t see it that way.  It’s called “free advertising.”  If the food smells good and looks great on the plate (and I’m paying for it), I’m taking a moment to snap a pic and share it with my network!

What do you think? Do you “foodstagram”?

2013: The Year of Open Hands

Happy New Year friends!  I hope your 2013 is off to a great start.

I’m really not one for resolutions.  I can’t keep up with them.  It’s too stressful to set huge goals for a 12 month period of time.  If there is one thing don’t need in my life, its more stress!  The last months of 2012 showed me that there are some things in my life that I had to release in order to move forward in 2013.  I have a saying that I’ve often shared with friends: You can’t receive what God has for you if you are holding on to something else. Let go of what is in your hand.

What is in you hand?

I repeated those words to myself on New Year’s Eve.  For me, 2013 is a year of transition.  It is also a year of labor.  I’m going to have to work for the things God has in store for me.  Not that I haven’t before, I just need to be more deliberate about it now.  I’m looking forward to what this year has in store.

What does 2013 mean to you?

Sandy Hook Elementary

I received two calls Friday afternoon.  One from the school district, one from my daughter’s school, reassuring me that the schools are safe and the schools have plans in place to deal with potential danger at school.  These calls came shortly after I read about the shooting at the school in Newtown, CT.  My nerves were shot.  I can’t even being to imagine what the parents in Newtown are going through. This type of tragedy has occurred too many times.  It’s heartbreaking.

While it makes sense at this moment to talk about school safety and gun laws, there are other discussions that must take place.  We have to talk about how to recognize a potential threat before another disaster occurs.  We have to have to talk about mental health issues.  We have to talk about the brokenness that seems to be present in our young men (across class and racial lines).  We have to consider what we are “feeding” our children socially and spiritually.  We have to get to the root of the problem before we lose another generation.

The children who were taken in the tragic  events of Friday belong to all of us.  We ALL lost them.  We lost future educators, officers, doctors, nurses and law makers.  They woke up on Friday morning full of hope and open to the endless possibilities the future held for them.  We need to instill that same hope for the future for our children who survived this tragedy.  We need to reassure them and let them know they don’t have to be afraid.

This type of tragedy has a way of reminding us that God is out there.  We question why he would let something like this happen.  I don’t have an answer for that.  But since we are in a state has caused us to look up and question, we need to pray for those directly affected by Friday’s events.  Be sure to also pray for the first responders.  They saw everything.  Pray for the investigators. They have to piece this story together.  Pray for every teacher and administrator at Sandy Hook Elementary.  They will need help dealing with the loss, guiding the students when they return to school and reclaiming the school as a safe place to teach and learn.  Below is a list of children, teachers and administrators that were taken from us.  Pray for their families.  They need to be comforted:

Our Children:

- Charlotte Bacon, 2/22/06, female
- Daniel Barden, 9/25/05, male
- Olivia Engel, 7/18/06, female
- Josephine Gay, 12/11/05, female
- Ana M. Marquez-Greene, 04/04/06, female
- Dylan Hockley, 3/8/06, male
- Madeleine F. Hsu, 7/10/06, female
- Catherine V. Hubbard, 6/08/06, female
- Chase Kowalski, 10/31/05, male
- Jesse Lewis, 6/30/06, male
- James Mattioli , 3/22/06, male
- Grace McDonnell, 12/04/05, female
- Emilie Parker, 5/12/06, female
- Jack Pinto, 5/06/06, male
- Noah Pozner, 11/20/06, male
- Caroline Previdi, 9/07/06, female
- Jessica Rekos, 5/10/06, female
- Avielle Richman, 10/17/06, female
- Benjamin Wheeler, 9/12/06, male
- Allison N. Wyatt, 7/03/06, female

Adults:

- Rachel Davino, 7/17/83, female
- Dawn Hochsprung, 06/28/65, female
- Anne Marie Murphy, 07/25/60, female
- Lauren Rousseau, 6/1982, female (full date of birth not specified)
- Mary Sherlach, 2/11/56, female
- Victoria Soto, 11/04/85, female

God Protects Me from Nuts

Today, my Facebook post says, “There is NO WAY you can convince me that God Almighty does not exist and that I’M NOT one of his very special and beloved children. Keep an eye on my page…wait ’til I tell you what happened this morning.”

I live a very simple life. I play it safe. I don’t ride roller coasters, roller skate or bungee jump. You won’t catch me jumping out of a plane or wrestling any ‘gators either. The extent of my edgy and dangerous side starts and ends at exceeding the posted speed limit by roughly 10 mph, and driving while sleepy (before 10pm). So, I am amazed at how calm I was in the face of danger this morning.

I had to drive my brother to work this morning. It’s usually an easy drive through Downtown Wilmington to Route 13 in New Castle. The beginning stretch of Route 13, just past The Riverfront is still pretty rough. There are spots where the road has buckled, and the bumps are as big as my thigh. One of the other issues drivers face on this particular stretch of road are bad drivers. They like to drift over the dashed line into the next lane. They don’t check mirrors or use turn signals. This stretch of road will test your character and the overall integrity of your vehicle.

This morning, I hit the thigh-sized buckle in the road, fishtailed slightly, and avoided the vehicle that was drifting into my lane. But something odd happened after I hit that bump and jostled the contents of my car and my passengers. The car sped up. I was pressing the brake and the car was fighting to slow down. I looked down at the speedometer. The needle was holding steady at 50 mph even as I had the brake pressed almost to the floor. I managed to merge into the turn lane at the intersection of my brother’s jobs at 48 mph and had to fight the car down to 30 mph as I pulled into the parking lot. It was only then that my brother turned to me and asked me what was wrong. I turned off the radio and the heat and told him to listen. It sounded like the fan was working at full speed. I pulled into a space and felt the car still trying to get a way from me. I threw the car in park, it lurched violently to a stop and both my brother and daughter protested. “What are you doing?!” (They are convinced I drive like a bat out of hell and that I don’t know how to properly use my brakes.) The car was still on, the needle on the tachometer was pointed directly at 4000 rpm. I was confused. What the heck did that thigh-sized buckle in the road to do my car?! It broke my engine!

My brother suggested I call my dad or our friend Carl to see if they could fix it. Carl was closer, so we called him to meet us. Now, I’m not a mechanic, but I know my baby (the car…that’s my baby). She is not prone to throwing tantrums and having hissy fits on the road. I unlatched the hood of the car and my brother and I looked down at the engine in astonishment. THIS was the thing that caused the problem? They don’t usually need one of THESE to keep the engine running — at least, it wasn’t mentioned in the owner’s manual. My brother was about to reach down and remove the offending object that DARED to test my mighty Cavalier, and my character, but I stopped him. I had to get a picture because there is no way you would believe me otherwise. I called Carl back and told him we fixed the problem. “What happened?” he asked.
“Oh, a nut came loose and got lodged in something. I’ll send you the picture,” I said with a laugh. I disconnected and sent him the picture.

The moral of the story is: God protects me from nuts.

The nut in the engine as it “idled” at 4000 rpm:

God protects me from nuts.

I’m starting a rebellion. Who’s with me?

I was distressed in August, just a few days after my birthday, when I saw Halloween decorations were already on the shelves of local drug stores.  I shook my head.  I had yet to start school shopping for my daughter.

On Halloween morning, I went to the drug store to buy a bag of chocolate.  (Don’t judge me. I have needs.)  I walked to the seasonal aisle, and the Halloween candy was gone.  Christmas ornaments covered the shelves.  Thanksgiving was skipped!  No cute serving platters or plastic table linens decorated with autumn leaves or cornucopia, no turkey basters or other cool cooking gadgets.  Clearly, Thanksgiving is not a money-making holiday!
Now, a number of retailers plan to be open on Thanksgiving Day so shoppers can get a jump on Black Friday deals.   That doesn’t leave much time to enjoy the family dinner and reflect on all the things for which you are grateful.  A few local stations started playing Christmas music last week.

Over the last few years, my daughter has accused me of not having the holiday spirit.  Of course, she listens to Christmas music in June.  I try to explain to her, you can’t rush the “holiday spirit.”  It’s supposed to be a gradual building of excitement and anticipation, not a long drawn out advertising cycle.  I remember when I was a kid, how the crisp winter air, combined with twinkling Christmas lights and tinsel made me feel.  Christmas lasted 3 days, one week at the most.  There was something to look forward to, the gathering of family, good food, games, exchanging gifts, the music (alway Nat”King” Cole), all of these things worked together over the course of a week to create the perfect mood.  But now, the holidays are strictly for profit.  So I have decided to start a rebellion at home!

• I will not go shopping for Christmas gifts on Thanksgiving day.  My family and I will enjoy good food, have some laughs and watch some movies.  Maybe we’ll play a few video games.  We are going to live in the moment and enjoy the day.
• The Christmas tree WILL NOT go up before December 15th.  Ten days is more than enough time enjoy the building excitement that comes with the holiday.
• Christmas music will not be in heavy rotation before December 15th.  I just don’t see he point of playing music all month.
• Gift giving will be simple.  My name is not Rockefeller.  No big-ticket items.  Expensive gifts have NOTHING to do with the holiday (neither do the cheap gifts).  My gift giving will be deliberate and meaningful.
• Christmas will be observed on December 24th and 25th, we will enjoy the afterglow of the holiday on the 26th and wish our British family and friends a Happy Boxing day.

So, who’s with me?  Who is bold enough to enjoy an “in-the-moment” holiday season this year?  How do you plan to take back the holiday season? Share your thoughts below!

Sandy Taught Me

It did not take me long to see the lesson.  I thought I was doing great in my preparation for Hurricane Sandy.  Food was prepared, we had plenty of water, flashlights, batteries, and all of our technology was charged in case power went out.  I wasn’t uncomfortable with the preparation.  I’ve done this before.  I called my mother to make sure she had everything she needed.  She was ready but concerned about the storm.  I tried to reassure her.

“We’ll be fine mom.  This doesn’t seem to be any worse than Hurricane Irene, last year.”
“Yeah, but they keep saying on the news that they haven’t seen a storm like this before.”

I heard her, but put her words aside. I needed to stay positive.  This was just a thunderstorm having a hissy fit!  I wasn’t scared of Sandy! Pfft!  She wasn’t to going to get me nervous!  Then the wind started blowing, the rain started pelting the house.  I watched the news and saw the flooding, downed wires, major cities shut down and such.  Friends on Facebook were reporting outages and flooding in their area.  Before the height of the storm, one friend posted videos he took on his way home showing traffic lights blown off of the wire.

I underestimated Miss Sandy.

When I was awakened shortly after midnight with wind blowing down the street sounding something like a wind tunnel, I decided to pack some bags just in case my family and I had to evacuate.

Then the thought hit me: I haven’t lived long enough to say, “I’ve done this before!  This storm isn’t going to be so bad.”  I can say it.  But I can’t guarantee it.

I can hear a bunch of you shouting at your monitors “Speak to your storm, Nike! You have that authority to say ‘peace be still.’”  I know.  But, I’m not talking about authority.  I’m talking about WISDOM.

Wisdom says that every storm it different.  Every battle is different.  They may have similar characteristics, but there may be elements of the situation that one is unable to anticipate because the battle or storm involves different people, places, and things.

Sandy’s path shifted slightly and sped up.  The storm did not hit my town dead on as originally predicted.  Sandy taught me, that I can’t take anything for granted.

Wisdom says: Prepare as much as possible, and be aware of the differences from one situation to the next, expect the best and worst outcomes and be prepared to adjust to changes quickly.