Stories

This past week I called and talked to my grandmother for an hour. Now in her 90s and in an assisted living facility, she had words to burn, telling me stories about not being able to find wedding clothes after the war, or having her mother make a dress that smelled terrible when wet. While she forgets names here and there, I keep thinking these are not names from yesterday, these are names from 60 years ago. She can describe in detail a train ride to Memphis or a makeshift alter for the first church service she attended in town, or the pink buttons on that smelly dress. She called my dad a pain for crying all the time before he went to first grade, she described bundling my then 8month old aunt up to go out, and the ten sets of identicle bake ware she got for her wedding that was the only suitable wedding gift in town.

She sits every day in the same room, her cat curled up on top of the chair by her head, and it only took me an hour to call.

She might talk about yhat conversation for another 2 weeks- her granddaughter getting her PhD in Arizona called for a chat.

Kittens

Kitten: a baby cat.
Likely adorable and fluffy, draperate for attention.
See also: dagger claws.

I'm a cat person. I like dogs ans pretty much all mammal pets, but my favorites are cats. They're independent, don't care if you're desperate for their attention or not, and kind of like dealing with cuter adults. Some friends in the cohort rescued and bottle fed a kitten that was abandoned in a construction site. Yesterday, I went over to visit said kitten, and she's so big! Compared to when I saw her last, she's active and fluffy and chases anything. I bear the scars of hand chasing which she was enthused by for hours last night. She eventually made up for it by falling asleep on my stomach and purring. So we're even.

Tonight, I attempted yet again to make friends with the apartment calico. She's beautiful, but terribly cautious of me. I talk to her every time I go get my mail and she is ok with that until I get about 6 feet away. Then she runs. When I went to drop off some letters tonight, I tried again, but she bolted. As I walked away, a new stray, a little teenager who is black and white with a little black splotch on his nose, came up to me begging for pets. So I knelt down to oblige, and within minutes, the pretty calico came almost close enough for me to pet her. We didn't quite bridge that gap, but she seemed to think that if I was nice to that cat, I'd be her friend too. With any luck, that little kitten's blessing will make me more cat friends.

Speech Christmas

After returning from the Land of Lincoln, I'm struck by how comforted I felt from being around long time friends. The way that speech usually works is that you get to know people over years and much of the time (as in my case) they stick around longer than their four years of eligibility. That means that the people from around the country that I "grew up with" in the activity all come back a few times a year to reconnect and judge the new crop of kids. It honestly feels like coming home to a family that has been waiting for you all this time. Open arms and honestly glad you made it. It had been a year since I put pen to ballot, and I have been so drenched in school that I forgot how good it feels to smile because you see a familiar face.

It's not common enough that people who know and appreciate each other welcome one another with open arms. Next time you see someone you genuinely appreciate, tell them, welcome them home.

Have you had a dance break today?

It's the end of the weekend, and by my clock it looks like it's probably officially Monday. But in your stressful week ahead, especially for you speech kids looking at nationals, I have a suggestion: take a dance break. It sounds silly I know, but trust me. Put on some of your favorite tunes, something with a beat and flail your body. Don't worry about "looking good" whatever that means, and instead shake out all of the tension. Jump up and down, do some crazy kick move, shake your booty, flap your arms around- what ever it takes to make you laugh at yourself for doing this alone in your living room or with friends. After a song or two, rehydrate and get back to work.

I can't tell you the number of times I have used this when those stressful points of the year come up. It's like slipping back into childhood for a few minutes to regain some energy, get your creative juices flowing again, and to bring some levity to the situation that looks insurmountable.

So, have you had your dance break today?

Happy in green

After a spontaneous social night on Friday I climbed back on the train to go home. Typically at 11 at night, the comfort of being in a public location place especially on one of the drunk holidays. But I entered the train to see a young family bouncing a beautiful one year old girl with a full head of hair. It was late and clearly she was awake for the excitement, but they were still trying to get her to sleep. Right after I walked on, three people who carried most of their belongings with them followed too. They quietly sat on the parallel bench to where the family stood. One man, carrying a dozen peach colored roses and wearing a green beaded tie looked at the family. In his bright blue eyes, you could watch flashes of nostalgia, maybe thinking of his own family or children. When the little girl turned to look at him, he grinned, showing all the gaps in his smile. Her mom turned to see who she was looking at and old her to wave. The familiar exchange of "can you say hi?" And an eager other party making faces and waving back in encouragement ensued. Later when the little girl dropped her stuffed animal as they were about to exit, the humility of the gap-smiled man to pick it up and hand it to her was precious. The family left, waving to the three on the bench seat, dragging the wagon behind them.
The three exited a few stops later, toting a dozen roses and whispers of memories with them.

Flash from the past

I'm one of those people who remembers movement and mannerisms. If the timing's right I can even mimic them which makes me fun to have a parties. What I didn't know until this past week is that I remember those movements somewhere deeper in my brain than regular things.

On Friday, my parents came into town and we went to a spring training game. Because some of the tickets they bought were going to be unused, we invited one of my high school classmates to join. He lives in the area and our parents are close. About the middle of the third inning, mom and I were getting some concessions and I see a guy I haven't seen in 6 years walking- there he is. I didn't remember him by his face as he was walking away from me, but I remembered the way that he walked. Which when I say it like that sounds really creepy. Oops. It's almost that even as we graduate and in his case grow into our bodies, the way they move doesn't change, just they way the display. His mannerisms were all the same, how he crossed his arms over his chest, his anxious foot tapping hadn't changed from high school. In that way he was still so familiar. Coming from years of sharing classes, and choirs, and game nights- to a baseball game in another state. The movements were the most second nature piece to the puzzle.

Little toes

Last week I was on the train.
It was late, nearly 10 by public transportation standards.
a woman pushed a stroller in to the car carrying her two little girls. One was about 2, the other maybe 4-5 months.
The oldest had an adult leather jacket wrapped around her back, and the youngest some footie pajamas.
For half the ride, the young mother pulled the littlest from her seat and held her to face her sister. They giggled. After 15 minutes, mom put the littlest one back, and pulled out a book. A few moments of quiet.
Her oldest started screeching for attention, hold on a few more minutes. Some quiet moments.
Kicking her dirt crusted feet against the durable kid-proof plastic.