As a staunch 'soloist' and single lady, children and couples often did very little in the department of 'impressed' in my brain. Children didn't make me coo and couples didn't make me saw "Awww." Mostly, both things kicked off my gag reflex. Some of that has changed - perhaps I'm growing up or perhaps I've been out of the 'game' for too long and I'm becoming a softy. Am I pulling a "Carrie-Bradshaw-considering-children/future/marriage-with-the-Russian" in Season 6? I don't think so - but these stories are working pretty well at softening all my guards.
First, I subbed kindergarten last week for two days. I floated amongst two different groups of students so I got to really 'crash course' the kindergarten flow. Mannie - who I was warned about before beginning the class as a pretty hyperactive kid - quickly became my favorite. It helps that they all barely clear my knees, so they're at perfect head-patting-ignoring-your-questions height. So, we're comparing some stories which includes a venn diagram (two intersecting circles). I draw the two stories and Mannie gets truly concerned and says "Dat looks like a BUTT!" I (and the class) try to ignore his sentence, so in true hyperactive fashion he yells "WHY DOES DAT LOOK LIKE A BUTT?!" I am truly dying inside I want to laugh out loud so hard. Other than that, every day I've subbed in kinders there has been a birthday party which has included crazy sugary snacks and treats.
Next, over the weekend I went with my mom to see some family. My uncle is in the final stages of fighting lung cancer that has spread all over his body. I don't think he's come to terms with the fact that death is incredibly close because he kept saying "Hopefully, next time we see each other I'll be in better shape." It was heartbreaking to see this man, who has lived such an incredible life, not yet be ready to admit it's almost over. I remember last summer when I came to visit him and we talked politics and oil - our views differed, but our humor towards the audacity of it all in D.C. was completely aligned. I didn't agree with him, but I loved the way he said the things he said. He truly believed in the great America of his day and it's promise of now. But - besides my reminiscing, the most magical moment of the visit with him was my aunt. She is short and fiesty. She referred to everything as 'ours' or 'we.' "We have chemo next week," "Well, we had another seizure yesterday," "Our legs aren't working with us right now." The love between those two was almost overwhelming. It was that epic love that spans wars, Presidents, decades and pop stars. My aunt told me a story about seeing Johnny Cash at a little concert and she went to the stage, with my uncle and his camera in tow, and as she asked JC for a kiss on the cheek and my uncle looked down to advance his film, Sir Johnny Cash himself kissed my aunt on the lips!! Not before autographing an album cover for her. I was cracking up - my uncle, the esteemed photographer - for the first time ever missing a historic moment like that!
Lastly, strawberries. Nothing makes you appreciate nature and food more than strawberries. I love them. A few weeks ago, my brother drug me out to our garden - which was barely even green - to pick weeds around strawberry plants I could barely see. I teased him the whole time, thinking all this senseless work, these didn't even look they would have any fruit! And boy, this weekend I stuck my giant, muddy garden shoe right in my mouth. Our garden has hundreds of strawberries growing in it right now, tons of them ripe and ready for the picking. My mom - of course in her post-op stockings - spent all morning Saturday picking out all the ripe strawberries and cleaning them. This morning, I had them cut up with a banana. There is something so natural about picking the food you eat. I went out this afternoon after I got home from the school and spent a few minutes picking out some really ripe, happy looking berries. I can't wait to eat them - I feel like I actually really worked for that food and it makes it taste even better!
In my next life - of perhaps some sort of modicum of adulthood - I want to have a garden full of berries. My favorite berries - black, rasp and straw - so that I can work on them all summer and eat them up on top of everything. Maybe after I graduate from berry garden mastress, I'll graduate to herbs. I hope the rooftops or yards of the next city I find myself in are ready for me - I'll be cultivating them just as soon as possible.
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