February 27, 2013

• Rocks and Pebbles

  I have been scarce on the blog lately.

  A lot has been going on with the people around me, some of it good, some of it not so good. I have been feeling like a rock in the middle of a moving stream, watching the water rush past in all directions, but standing still and firm. Some days it feels like my rock steadiness makes a difference — like I shouldn’t move or the water might get too strong and drown something or someone downstream. Other days it feels like the water doesn’t even know I’m there, and everything would keep flowing just the same if someone came along and moved me out of the way.

  So basically I’ve been busy being a rock, and rocks don’t often feel like writing.

  [Now I'm thinking of the children's book "Sylvester and the Magic Pebble," by William Steig. If you're not familiar, it's the story of a little boy who discovers a magic pebble that makes wishes come true. He finds himself confronted by a dangerous situation (a lion in the woods) while holding the pebble, and subconsciously wishes he was a rock so that he couldn't be harmed. Poof - he's a rock. And rocks can't hold pebbles and make wishes, so he's stuck. 

  When our daughter was about 14 months old, we got a free copy of that book in a box of Cheerios. (And, yes - I was such a newbie neurotic mom at that point that I was cutting the Cheerios in half before giving them to her. The Mr. would NEVER let a reference to Cheerios from that phase of our lives pass without commenting on that particular neurosis.) Anyway, I used to flip through the book with our daughter, even though the story was far too advanced to read to a child of that age. Instead, we would look at the pictures, and I would give a very brief explanation as to what was happening on each page.

  Once Sylvester becomes a rock, his parents are heartbroken and they send all the villagers out to look for him. There is a picture of everyone (including animals) looking for him in the woods. Whenever we would look at that page, she would say, "Vester! Where ahhh you?" in the sweetest little sing songy voice. I still love that book, and we still have the free copy from Cheerios.

  When our son was in Kindergarten, his teacher read the book to the class. Then, she had them complete a worksheet that said, "If I had a magic pebble I would wish for......" Our son completed his to say, "....a baby brother and a baby sister so I could play with them."

  Thankfully, he never did come into possession of a magic pebble.] 

  So lots of what’s been occupying my mind lately is really someone else’s story, of which I am a part – but not the main character. Blogging doesn’t always feel right in those situations, as you might imagine.

  The regular stuff is going on as usual, of course. A little pre-spring sprucing of the joint — carpets cleaned, fresh pillows and cushions in the family room, a new quilt for the guest room. A bit of writing for a paid gig that comes up every so often. A lot of shuttling kids around to various sports and activities. A touch of volunteering at school and in the community. (I am actively NOT volunteering for a drop-off event at school on Friday night so that the Mr. and I can get a date night out of it. I am trying to avoid contact with so many different people and e-mails to avoid caving in on this one. Now that I found a new Mexican restaurant AND TEQUILA BAR to try instead, it’s feeling easier to stick with my original answer of NO THANK YOU.)

  I’ve also been running a lot and doing a better job tracking what I eat. The holiday, January birthday double punch took a little toll on the waistline, as it always does. Have no fear, I’m getting my butt in gear.

  I ended up loving the Barbara Kingsolver book, “Flight Behavior,” though it took me awhile to get into it. The beginning starts off with a bit of a religious tilt, which didn’t grab me. Plus, I was very mired in the rock business from above at that point, so my head wasn’t really in the game. But of course, I worked my magic on the library lease books and managed to get 2 consecutive copies of the book to read it all for freeeeeee. And once I got into it, I loved all the commentary on politics, religion, climate change, education, etc. I definitely recommend it. Now I am onto “Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk,” by Ben Fountain. I’m intrigued, but anxiously awaiting some more action in the plot. It’s a National Book Award finalist and so far (1/3 of the way in) a very good character study — but I’m hoping to get a little more hooked by the story soon.

  On that note, I’m off to read some more. Leave a comment to say hi, or tell me what you’d wish for with a magic pebble. 

   

  • 7:55 pm
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