Deuces

My daughter crawled into bed in the early morning hours.  I felt her body nestle into my own. Despite being half-asleep she leaned in to kiss my forehead and gently stroke my arm.  With our eyes closed, I kissed her cheek back, and squeezed her small foot as we drifted, together, back into a sweet and deep slumber.   A short while later I saw my daughter curled on the floor.  She had fallen to the floor and, too sleepy to return to the warm comfort of my arms, fell back to sleep in the fetal position with a blanket haphazardly wrapped around her My mind immediately drifted to the memory of sleeping on the floor. For many years I slept on the floor of my parent's bedroom, adjacent to my mom's side of the bed. It is the side that always had a small nightstand or table that was home to her alarm clock, always set 20 minutes (at least) ahead.   My mom would wake in the middle of the night to go to work 5 nights a week.  I always did my best to ...

Lloyd bought me Paolo Nutini tickets as a belated birthday gift.  Man, I adore birthdays with gifts that come months after the day!  I was thrilled that one of my favorite artists was finally gracing us with US appearances. Lloyd really hooked it up, and it meant a lot since I know he had to stalk the live nation website the day the tickets went on sale (an earlier show date had sold out within 3 minutes).  I think he may start to love Paolo soon, too. Here's Paolo. Wiltern. Epic. Swoon. Caustic. Love.  http://youtu.be/Svb6J_-KtgI

My phone is running out of memory... Always.  But I don't want to permanently get rid of some of these short home videos so I figured out how this whole YouTube business works.  Though they're not recent, I want to leave you with these awesome little videos.  http://youtu.be/IPvRx5XXXug http://youtu.be/zpk2dCyl9I8

It is a shameful thing for the soul to faint while the body still perseveres- Marcus Aurelius Antonimus As it so often happens a song suddenly came to my mind so I asked: who sings that one song? And I sang... With some mumbles and wrong lyrics but in perfect harmony and he knew what I meant, and that's always what matters, when I say it wrong or sing it wrong but my harmony doesn't lie and somehow nothing is misunderstood. http://youtu.be/YQmyQqbQlFA

I read an article and it was all about how to tell what, or who, people value.  And one of the tests was to look at our email inbox and see which emails had been read.  It made my heart race to take the challenge:   The results left me bemused.  I don't check my personal email every day, but I specifically checked today because I was hoping Maria had gotten back to me.   Our email exchange reminds me of studying in Spain 15 years ago when we would email every day from our respective college campuses (because we didn't have email anywhere else!)   I smiled wide as I read each word, and then re-read.   We don't see each other often, but I've known her since I was 11, so she's family.  She's one of the few friends I have that I actually invite to family functions.  She knows we put the fun in dysfunctional so I'm no longer embarrassed by some of my family's antics or very, very loud discussions.   I laughed a little ...

They're the only sounds I want to hear lately.  The trombones and trumpets and all the soul and Parisian-inspired, oft blues-flavored, full-bodied, soulful jazz and slow-waltz, smooth as fresh-cream harmonies.   It's getting lost between Louis and Django and moonlight harmonies with Dinah and Billie.     I recently asked Lloyd if, when considering instrument choices for Sayler to try, we might consider trombone or trumpet.  We're in hung jury status at the moment- though I expect a verdict in a few year's time.   The heavy brass is in all the music I tend to enjoy when I need to decompress in solitude, and in the scores that accompany my scat singing I reserve for when I'm a healthy distance away from friends or co-workers. Let's be honest- my cool reputation is at stake.  But it's recently become 'our' sweet compromise- something her and I both equally take solace in and the only typ...

The best part of the weekend was this:       Aidan made joyful by the home-made spice cake he wanted despite his working moms pleas, otherwise ("but I don't want a store bought cake, mom...") and watching, from a safely dry distance, the water balloon fight that my mom so eagerly joined in on. Sayler seemed  to smile the whole day through, enjoying her time with cousins and taking particular joy in her time spent with her adult cousins, Ariel and Bret, who never say "no" to whatever her heart desires.    CJ put burgers and dogs on the barbecue, always considerate of the several vegetarians in the family. And I took extra special joy in time with Cambria.  Her docile nature, warmth, sweetness and the simple joy and comfort she finds in being held close with unfettered allegiance to everyone that loves her:   And today, Sunday, Lloyd and I went to the mall for dinner and shopping.  We couldn't remember t...