Be Excellent To Each Other

Example 1: A week or so ago, I was in line to get gas at one of the only local places that pumps for you and is relatively cheap.  Based on these criteria, it's generally pretty crowded there.  I noticed a two-pumper where the car in front was pulling away.  I threaded my car between the car at the rear pump and one in the next aisle, pulled the lever to open my little gas door, and waited for the attendant.  He appeared a moment later and I lowered my window to ask for him to fill it, regular.

Instead, he told me I'd actually cut the line. I apologized and asked him to close my gas door as I placed the car back in Drive.  As I did so, the woman I'd inadvertently cut hung out the driver's side of her Buick and yelled "Hey, Asshole!  Move your car!".  The attendant kindly informed her that I didn't know and was moving - and that there was no need to swear.  She responded with "Oh.  Never mind." while I circled around to take my place behind her, remaining silent.

Example 2: I was at Stop and Shop just past Frozen Corn, guiding my shopping car into the hairpin turn toward Orange Juice and English Muffins.  As happens all the time at the grocery store, I nearly collided with another shopper coming the opposite way.  I smiled the polite apology smile and he mutters "Jesus-Fucking-Christ" under his breath. 

The economy is improving at a snail's pace, we're at war, and people are shooting congress members and ordinary citizens with automatic weapons at supermarkets. It's damn cold. Around here, we've got at least three feet of solid ice piled up along every roadside and driveway.  New storms have been coming in with a frequency of about once a week.  I get it. 

But is this what it's come down to?  I mean, I'm from Boston.  In a recent survey, we were voted the sixth rudest city in America. I can take it. But is this how we want to treat one another?  Is this what we want our kids to see and think is normal?

I just need to put it out there and hope that if enough of us do, more will come around:

Be excellent to each other.

All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing

Copied verbatim from Selfish Mom. Please take a minute to read this.  Then take another to copy and paste (AND SEND) Amy's well-written email and sign your own name.

Nothing good ever comes from me checking CNN before bed.  It’s usually my last stop, just to see what stupid thing Biden did or which vapid celebs are getting divorced.  But tonight it was this, about a mother of two who has been in prison in Iran for five years charged with adultery, who may be stoned to death at any time.

I’m on vacation and exhausted and have to get up early and don’t know what to say about this that isn’t already blatantly obvious to anyone with half a brain.  It would be easy to just read about this impending atrocity and feel bad for a few minutes and then move on, feeling helpless.  And really, there may be nothing to be done.  But it’s worth a try.  This site suggests sending an email to Navi Pillay, UN High Commissioner for the Office of Human Rights.  Then tell your friends to send an email, and tell them to tell their friends.  Tweet it, Facebook, blog it, email it.  Iran is not completely immune to international pressure, so you never know.

Here’s my letter, use it or write your own.

Dear Ms. Pillay,

I am writing to you because I just read about the case of Sakine Mohammadi e Ashtiani, who is waiting in prison in Iran to be stoned to death.  While I know that there are many different views in the world about the death penalty that can be debated, I refuse to believe that anyone of any sense would think it anything less than barbaric to kill someone because of an alleged adultery, or to kill someone in such a horrible and tortuous way as stoning no matter what the crime.

I urge you to do whatever is in your power to pressure Iran to reverse this woman’s sentence and let her go free to return to her children, who have been without their mother for five years.  I cannot imagine why a group like the UN exists if not for this. If there is nothing that the UN can do about this – or if the UN is unwilling to try to intervene – then you should all pack your bags and go home.

Thanks,
Amy XXX
SelfishMom.com
FilmingInBrooklyn.com
Momtourage.com

I’m off to try to get some sleep, and hope that my dreams don’t include being buried up to my neck and having stones hurled at my head until my skull fractures and I die.

Thank you for posting, Amy.  I'm sending my email now. We're all in this together.

Nearly Wordless Wednesday - What Can Brown Do for You?

This is The Bink after our neighbor's dog treed him.

These are my sons and neighbor children trying to talk The Bink down from the limb on which he was perching. This picture was taken from the same spot as the first picture, minus the zoom.
Pretty spry for a 13 year old cat.

This is the UPS truck onto whose roof we thought The Bink might jump if parked beneath the tree.

This is the incredibly accomodating and concerned UPS driver who was prepared to catch The Bink when the truck only served to scare the shit out of him and make him jump at least 10 of an estimated 15 feet.

This is The Bink uninjured and unimpressed by an exciting day.

The Mommy Club

Ever since the boys could understand, we've had the same conversation every time we enter the mall: Stay where you can see me. If you get lost, find a policeman. If you can't find a policeman, find another mommy....

After gym class today, The Gremlin and I headed over to the mall to exchange my empty Clinique blush, buy a baby present, and generally kill some time.

After we'd gone about our shopping we headed to the food court. Gremlin got a Chick Fil A kid's meal and I got a crepe from Appleseeds. We sit down, I set out our food, and immediately, Gremlin realizes he has to go to the bathroom. Of course you do.

I look at the stroller, covered with jackets and Macy's bags and back at our two lunches. My options are to pack everything up and bring it into the bathroom with us (eww), scarf it down quickly, hoping Grem doesn't have an accident in the meantime, or leave it on the table. I go with option c and immediately look around for a mommy.

I approach two mommies sitting at a table with their kids and tell them that we've got to go to the bathroom now. They give me an empathetic look, ask where my stuff is, and ensure me they'll keep an eye out.

Such a small thing, really. But such a help. Mommies take care of people.

Where ever I am, I'm always aware of the children around me. Are they with an adult? Are they about to trip? Will they bump their heads on that corner? I'm the person that makes a point to tell that mom that her daughter in the stroller is only wearing one shoe. In some small way, I'm helping another mommy and making sure their kids are safe and well. And I'm hardly the only one doing it.

Motherhood is the earliest sorority. I think about The Mommy Wars, the PTO Moms and the Stepford Wives we hear about. But when it comes down to it, the vast majority of us are trying to do the right thing for ourselves and our children. We help each other and we make the world a safer place.

Find a policeman or find a mommy, indeed.

Random Act of Kindness - A Mother's Pride

Just this year, the boys' school inaugurated new, extended hours corresponding with a normal, full kindergarten day. Not many kids beyond the kindergartners stay until the end of the day. RC gets out of school two hours earlier than HRH.

Today, we were returning to school just a few minutes into Barack Obama's first press conference and I may have dawdled for just a minute in the car. I entered the building as two or three other mommies and children were exiting. HRH was one of two remaining students.

As we, ourselves left the building, HRH stopped and asked me to wait, while turning and heading back into the building. Just inside the door waited the remaining child. HRH handed the boy a drawing he had made that day and said to the boy, 'I want you to have this because my mom is here and yours isn't here yet.' HRH returned to me and said that he gave the boy the drawing because he wanted to make him feel better.

I don't have to tell you how proud this makes me.

Strength in Numbers

If you've got a sec, could you please head over to my new friend, Meghan's Place? A good friend of hers is nearly 30 weeks pregnant and her little yet-to-be born boy requires in utero surgery to repair his failing kidneys.

We all spend about nine months praying for nothing more than a healthy baby. And most of us get just that.

Pass along some good wishes, strong healing thoughts, and some powerful prayers to help out Meghan's friend Hanna and her baby, Andrew.

Thank you.

We Can't Have Nice Thingz - The (letter between R and T) Edition

Five Weekz. I don't know what I'm complaining about. I mean, my lovely, lovely laptop waz whole and complete with all 26 letter keyz pluzz all thoze otherz for a whole five weekz.


Now we have thiz:
And, following my attemptz at repair, we have thiz:



(Iz it juzt me or doez four piecez for a button the zize of my ring finger pad zeem a little excezzive?)





Damn you, June Cleaver Nirvana and your damn Pot Luck! If I weren't on your zite, RC might have actually recieved my attention and not climbed onto my lap to flick the (letter between R and T) right off my keyboard!

What waz that? You were zerving me up an AWARD when thiz occurred?



Um. Never mind. I'm delighted! You make my day everyday! Ezpecially thoze witty and wonderful pot luckz!

Vacation Moments

HRH: His Royal Halibut...we couldn't keep him out of the water. RC in his Hawaiian Elmo "bagging suit"

My mom and I went out one night and Andy got the boys out of bed to catch a rainbow. I hope you can see it.I can't recommend the Pirate Adventure highly enough for ages 3 to about 7 or 8. Arrr.
Yes, I was wearing a blue golf shirt and khaki shorts also. No, we didn't do this every day. They boys and Andy were a coincidence, then I saw it and decided to geek out and join in. Andy called us the Griswolds.

Bless him, Andy got up every morning around 6:30 with the boys to go fishing. By Wednesday, they had yet to catch anything. He thinks it had less to do with his skills as a fisherman and more to do with the large number of rocks being thrown into the water beside the fishing lines.

At this point, it was time to find a boat. Let me give a shout out to another local, Cap't Danny and Clamneck Charters, who have a very kid-centric 1 1/2 hour catch-and-release fishing trip staying inside Lewis Bay. Each kid must have caught at least a school of porgies.We had a fantatic deck off our bedroom where we were able to set up a telescope and show the boys the moon close up.

I don't think they made it to bed at the correct time the entire week. Vacations are about saying 'yes' more than you normally can.

Maybe they'll be astronauts or astronomers.

Or maybe they'll just remember another family vacation on the Cape.

Random Act of Kindness

Taking a moment to acknowledge that there are some nice people in the world.

Yesterday in the greater Boston area was like standing on the top of Mt. Everest (I would suppose). The wind was blowing around 20-ish and gusting up to 40-50 miles per hour. It was around 40 degrees but with the wind chill, it felt like it was in the teens.

In the middle of all this, I decide I've got to go to Target and finish a little Easter Bunny shopping. So off I go with RC in tow.

I'm pushing the cart with our bags underneath and RC standing precariously in the basket section. As we're exiting the store, one of those huge gusts of wind blows by and nearly pulls the shopping cart out of my hands. It also takes the bag with the Easter baskets and a couple of candies, spilling the contents into the parking lot. I can't let go of the cart because RC will blow away and I can't grab my stuff. Out of nowhere, a very nice lady yells as she runs by me "you get him, I'll get that!" and proceeds to grab my errant purchases on their way to Starbucks.

It was a relatively little thing but it helped me out quite a bit.

Happy Easter.