Up to all sorts of things.
Today was a good day. First of all, the weather was GORGEOUS. Hubs, booger and I went to brunch at Primo's around 10-ish. (It's very family-friendly there for brunch on weekends. The place is always packed, but the service and food is still great. Plus, Clay loves the cheese grits.)
After enjoying a yummy meal, we proceeded to the park, where soaked up the sunshine. Hubs and I took turns chasing booger (who was chasing the ducks) around the wide open spaces. I keep a blanket in the trunk of each vehicle for spontaneous picnics and impromptu lying around, so we grabbed it and spread it on the grass.
When it was my turn to enjoy some prone time, I had the best fun watching hubs and booger fee-foddling around. I don't often see my child from such a distance. Usually, we are right close up together. I noticed that Clay has such an expressive little posture. He's gotten so big, and the wind was blowing his fine little blond hair around. He would trot one way and then another, looking out at the water, pointing at boats and ducks and other kids.
And I was lying there, I realized, on the blanket that my Aunt Polly made for me by hand when I was about ten years old. And I stretched back and looked up at the sky, which was really blue. And I knew that, as the universe turned around me, I was right where I wanted to be, and I had the best of everything in the world.
We chased each other (and those poor ducks) around for about 45 minutes, then headed on home.
THEN I got ready for the Little Light House Tea Party, a fundraiser which was being held at the Fairview Inn's on-site restaurant, Sophia's. I'd been to Sophia's for dinner before, but never during the daytime. They had a lovely buffet of salmon and cucumber toasts, chocolate-dipped strawberries, scones with jam and clotted cream, petit fours, and tons of little finger sandwiches and desserts. The food was wonderful, and the event was filled to near capacity. Some of the ladies had really dolled up, too, and it was fun to see all the dresses, shoes, and hats!
After the program began, one of the school officials introduced Laurie Smith, the keynote speaker. Now, I'd heard her speak before (we even presented her as a speaker for an event at my former place of business), and I had enjoyed hearing about her experiences in television and design in the past.
However, I think her address at the event today was a bit out of place. First, she talked alot about how she got an undergrad degree in broadcast journalism, and then got some great work with Turner Broadcast and CNN. She was doing so well that her boss at the time offered to send her back to school (on the company's dime) to get her MBA. But she knew that wasn't what she wanted, and she went on at length about her misery over that fact. Then, she talked her dad into bankrolling an apartment and tuition for design school in New York, where she felt alive but terribly confused and adrift. (Poor her.) And so on and so on. It just seemed like life kept opening up great doors for her, but she was never totally satisfied, never really happy.
Here's what's wrong with all of this - From the outside looking in, this woman has kind-of a fairy tale life. Her dad was able to fund her "self discovery" until she finally found what she really wanted to do, and then she became famous. But frequently during her speech, she bemoaned her various states of being throughout her journey (miserable, exhausted, etc.), and it sounded kinda . . . well . . . WHINY.
The real problem? She's talking to the parents of a bunch of special needs kids. These kids have Downs, cerebral palsy, etc. THESE are people who know hardships. Who know misery, uncertainty, etc. If I were one of them, I would have found it almost insulting to hear her prattle on about how hard it was to be 29 and unmarried. Seriously?
She should have framed her whole speech along the lines of life (and blessings) can be unexpected, emphasizing more that you never know what tomorrow will bring, there's a larger plan that you may not see, etc. Then, I think the parents could have taken away a more positive (and relevant) message. As it was, the speech definitely felt wrong for the group.
Anyhoo, I had a really good time, regardless, and it was nice to be able to support such a worthy cause! If you don't know much about The Little Light House, you should check them out! They are doing wonderful things over there!
After enjoying a yummy meal, we proceeded to the park, where soaked up the sunshine. Hubs and I took turns chasing booger (who was chasing the ducks) around the wide open spaces. I keep a blanket in the trunk of each vehicle for spontaneous picnics and impromptu lying around, so we grabbed it and spread it on the grass.
When it was my turn to enjoy some prone time, I had the best fun watching hubs and booger fee-foddling around. I don't often see my child from such a distance. Usually, we are right close up together. I noticed that Clay has such an expressive little posture. He's gotten so big, and the wind was blowing his fine little blond hair around. He would trot one way and then another, looking out at the water, pointing at boats and ducks and other kids.
And I was lying there, I realized, on the blanket that my Aunt Polly made for me by hand when I was about ten years old. And I stretched back and looked up at the sky, which was really blue. And I knew that, as the universe turned around me, I was right where I wanted to be, and I had the best of everything in the world.
We chased each other (and those poor ducks) around for about 45 minutes, then headed on home.
THEN I got ready for the Little Light House Tea Party, a fundraiser which was being held at the Fairview Inn's on-site restaurant, Sophia's. I'd been to Sophia's for dinner before, but never during the daytime. They had a lovely buffet of salmon and cucumber toasts, chocolate-dipped strawberries, scones with jam and clotted cream, petit fours, and tons of little finger sandwiches and desserts. The food was wonderful, and the event was filled to near capacity. Some of the ladies had really dolled up, too, and it was fun to see all the dresses, shoes, and hats!
After the program began, one of the school officials introduced Laurie Smith, the keynote speaker. Now, I'd heard her speak before (we even presented her as a speaker for an event at my former place of business), and I had enjoyed hearing about her experiences in television and design in the past.
However, I think her address at the event today was a bit out of place. First, she talked alot about how she got an undergrad degree in broadcast journalism, and then got some great work with Turner Broadcast and CNN. She was doing so well that her boss at the time offered to send her back to school (on the company's dime) to get her MBA. But she knew that wasn't what she wanted, and she went on at length about her misery over that fact. Then, she talked her dad into bankrolling an apartment and tuition for design school in New York, where she felt alive but terribly confused and adrift. (Poor her.) And so on and so on. It just seemed like life kept opening up great doors for her, but she was never totally satisfied, never really happy.
Here's what's wrong with all of this - From the outside looking in, this woman has kind-of a fairy tale life. Her dad was able to fund her "self discovery" until she finally found what she really wanted to do, and then she became famous. But frequently during her speech, she bemoaned her various states of being throughout her journey (miserable, exhausted, etc.), and it sounded kinda . . . well . . . WHINY.
The real problem? She's talking to the parents of a bunch of special needs kids. These kids have Downs, cerebral palsy, etc. THESE are people who know hardships. Who know misery, uncertainty, etc. If I were one of them, I would have found it almost insulting to hear her prattle on about how hard it was to be 29 and unmarried. Seriously?
She should have framed her whole speech along the lines of life (and blessings) can be unexpected, emphasizing more that you never know what tomorrow will bring, there's a larger plan that you may not see, etc. Then, I think the parents could have taken away a more positive (and relevant) message. As it was, the speech definitely felt wrong for the group.
Anyhoo, I had a really good time, regardless, and it was nice to be able to support such a worthy cause! If you don't know much about The Little Light House, you should check them out! They are doing wonderful things over there!
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