I've officially been dragged into the cult of Amy Winehouse. “Tears Dry on Their Own” is just about the catchiest thing since “Cannonball,” by the Breeders. The “sha-la-la's” just kill me. And, of course, “Rehab” is an earworm of the first water. Nicely done.
The Boy had a nasty spill on Sunday while learning to ride his bike. Part of me wants him to suck it up, and part of me wants to wrap him in bubble wrap before sending him down the path. This is the eternal dilemma of parenting.
According to urbandictionary.com, “verb the adjective noun” is a slang term, meaning “to copulate.” Naturally, this got the old Freshman Comp teacher in me going. Imagine the possibilities: “We're gonna conjugate the subjunctive all night long”; “She's got a past pluperfect, if you know what I mean”; “You can dangle my participle anytime!”; “Nice genitives.”; “I'd like to split that infinitive...”; “He prefers to be the, uh, dependent clause...” Who knew Strunk and White were so dirty?
I heard this weekend that Longtime Friend in Midwest is engaged! Never one to do things the easy way, he found his betrothed in another hemisphere. Literally. They're both in America now, and devoting the next year to finding a way to live in the same time zone. Those dual-doctorate couples have a tough row to hoe. Suffice to say, LFM has paid some serious relationship dues. This is very cool news. His betrothed is a class act, and it's fun to see him this happy. He assures me that they'll have at least one wedding ceremony in this hemisphere.
Along similar lines, High School Friend on Wrong Ocean dropped by last week with her four-month-old son, whom we've nicknamed Baseball Head. Baseball Head was criminally cute, and it was nice to see HSFWO again – the last time was in 2000. Since there are no pictures on this blog, I'll just state for the record that neither of us has aged a bit. There's something life-affirming about seeing someone you've known forever land on her feet after a really unfortunate marriage. TB was smitten by her, and both TB and TG were absolutely wonderful hosts to Baseball Head.
Lesboprof got tenure! If you have a moment, drop by and shower her with hosannas. We've known each other IRL for longer than either of us would care to admit, and she's one of those people you just can't help but like. She, too, has paid some serious dues, in any number of ways. Congrats, LP. Someday, I suspect, you'll be lesbopres.
My brother and his wife just dodged a bullet on daycare. Their new daughter, Little One, was slated for a slot in a very good daycare not far from them. They had done their homework, crunched their numbers, and signed up early. At the last minute, they found out (by accident!) that Little One wouldn't have a slot there after all! Panic ensued, the grandmothers stepped in, and they somehow found an even better fallback with about two weeks to spare. I'm insanely glad they found a good spot for LO, but insanely angry at the way we treat the youngest children in this country. When TB was in daycare, we were stretched to every conceivable limit – time, money, stress, all of it. I honestly don't know how single parents do it.
I just gave a class at a local senior citizens' center. Seniors make great students. They have a wonderful blend of seriousness (they're in class because they want to be) and irreverence (they don't give two hoots what I think of them, so they just let the opinions fly). This time I remembered to use a bigger font on the handouts. It made a dramatic difference. It's the little things.
Opening Day is coming. Hope springs eternal.
