Plantings and Hope
So, here we are. Or, where are we? There’s alot going on in our house. There’s alot going on in the world. This is not going to be a post showing pictures of green blossoms, pregnant with life, announcing the certainty of spring. This post is more more about uncertainty. Libya, cease-fires, the earthquake in Japan, aftershocks, Fukushima and tsnamis. Let’s start small.  A couple of years ago I planted an oak tree sapling in front of our house-http://www.tedanddebbie.com/gardening/plantings. I planted it to symbolize the new hope of our country and our newly elected president. I actually got it into the ground on the day that President Obama announced Hillary Clinton as secretary of state. I had visions of watching this little tree grow year by year into a mighty oak tree. Taking care of a newly planted tree is like taking care of a family. It’s tough work. As parents of 5 boys we are faced with decisions every day. We don’t always make the right decisions. But, I’d like to think that we learn from our mistakes. I’d say now it was a mistake planting a California native Maul Oak tree in our public parkway. There are many reasons why it didn’t do so well but the main reason was that I didn’t take care of it very well.
I’m not claiming I have a Japanese garden but, one of my hobbies is Japanese gardening, including bonsai trees. I have an attraction the to the meticulous care it takes to make them look old, natural and almost wild. So, I’m taking the oak tree out of the public parkway and sticking it in a pot amongst my bonsais in our garden.
This morning, while dropping the boys off at school I was listening to NPR on the radio while debating with Henry the actual meaning of the the term “getting up and ready for school” meant, Hillary Clinton was commenting on the recent cease-fire in Libya. Clinton stressed that the situation remains “fluid and dynamic.” What the hell does that mean? So, where do we go and what do we do? Let’s start small again. Get up on time, make a good cup of coffee, maybe light a fire if it’s cold, drop the boys off at school and tend the garden. In the rear view mirror I catch a glimpse of a fading bumber sticker on the window of my car and think…and hope some more.
Ollie's 7th Birthday
The Last Star
When I made our Advent calender back in November of 2000, I made a mistake. I put on a 25th day. I remember being out in my workshop listening to the Bush vs. Gore election debacle on NPR. Something must have overtaken me, some radio spirit of Christmas future saying, “add another day, add another day.” So I did. That’s okay, elections results are supposed to be a reflection of who the people voted for, not a Supreme Court decision. Advent Calenders only have 24 days. So, the 25th of December is always reserved for our Ollie.
Waiting for the Big Day
It’s hard on Ollie sharing the spotlight on his birthday. Some of the concessions we’ve made with him are that he gets a present on his 4 brothers birthdays and we try to devote Christmas evening dinner to his birthday celebration. We used to do a big Christmas eve dinner but as our child volume increased our Xmas eve gift wrapping started to creeping into the daylight hours. We need to give some time for Santa to make a visit to our house, right?
Santa and Ollie
The other day in Ollie’s 1st grade class Debbie told the story of when Ollie was born. He was born at 1:10 am Christmas morning. Debbie and I did not tell any relatives that he had arrived. I don’t know how, but we somehow convinced everyone associated with Good Samaritan Hospital that we needed to get home by 7:30 to watch our other boys open up their Xmas presents. When we got home that morning we relieved our friend Beth who had graciously spent the night with our boys. We called up Debbie’s parents to come over to watch the boys open presents and have breakfast which was sort of tradition. When they walked in the door we said, “close your eyes, we got a gift for you.” Debbie put little new-born Oliver Moss Catanzaro in his Omi’s arms. Needless to say, they were both speechless and in tears. Happy birthday Ollie!
Ollie reading note from Santa
May all your wishes come true
Election Day
It’s finally here. Time to cast our vote. I must confess that I’ve been listening to conservative AM radio when I’m alone in the car. I feel it is important to get the right wing nut job stance on the important issues. I pretend I’m a Democratic operative when listening to Sean Hannity and the like. Sometimes I turn these angry men on in the house but Debbie quickly restores order with public radio.
Our Youngest Voter
We walked to our polling place, The Red Cross on 11th St. and voted in shifts, tag team style. I waited about 45 minutes and Debbie zoomed right in and out. Seeing my neighbors come out of with” I Voted” stickers on their chests reminds me of smudge marks being worn on foreheads on Ash Wednesdays of my youth.
Our Polling Place
Debbie was the mastermind behind our latest promo piece. The “Ted and Debbie Vote” stickers were designed by our web designer Sara Cumings . Debbie sent out 1,000 of these (maybe you got one) and backed it up with 10,000 email versions. I am still a little miffed about not having my favorite slogan of “Me Tarzan, You Vote” not making the final cut.
Did I mention my Manchurian Candidate take on this election? It’s still a little foggy but it goes something like this…American POW (John McCain) brainwashed by Viet Cong. Planting spooky seeds in their puppets belfry which will be unleashed after he hears a code word and then whamo! Or maybe the VC were really working with the Democrats and that code word has already been uttered ( perhaps Maverick) forcing McCain and the Republicans to embark on the worst run campaign in history centering on negativity, fear and a bizarre strange vice-president choice.
