Rain Anyone?

Gray, dreary. Who was it who sang "Rainy days and Mondays always get me down"? Oh yeah, Karen Carpenter. She had something there.

It's been raining a lot here in the Bay Area lately. Last Friday it was not just a little drizzle. No, this was solid rain throughout the whole day. Rain across the bridge, rain on my car, on the road, outside my office window, on my face, my clothes, my jacket.

Rain everywhere. Dripping, pouring, spitting. Wet, wet, wet.

If I was in Manila, I'd still be stuck in traffic, with 5 lanes of traffic going in one direction and one going in the other. Water might be up to the middle of my car door and I'd have to keep one foot on the accelerator to keep the exhaust pipe from filling with water. Gutters would be full and overflowing. I'd see trash floating in the streets.

Boy am I glad I'm here where roads drain reasonably well.

We are Such Geeks

I just had the greatest laugh with my brother. We were sitting in the living room, looking at the Ask Marilyn column from last Sunday's Parade magazine. It had a little math problem in it and we both looked at each other with the same thought: "Let's solve it." I grabbed a pen and paper and started talking out loud as I started to work. He quickly got frustrated with me and grabbed his own paper and pen and it was off to the races.

Did I mention that we both used to compete in Math and Science contests in high school? Oh yeah, we were in the elite group that got to travel to other schools for the Nerdy Olympics. He was much better than me but, fortunately, two years younger than me so I never had to compete directly against him. For me, it was really an opportunity to get out of class and meet 'smart boys.' :)

Needless to say, he figured it out way before I did for several reasons:

a. I've forgotten some basic algebra. Whoops. It's all coming back to me now. Really. In my defense, it was five equations in five variables.

b. I was laughing so hard I couldn't concentrate or write. And that's not just an excuse!

Since we'd had so much fun doing that, I pulled out a book that I'd stashed away a long time ago. It had been quietly gathering dust, waiting for just a moment like this. Yes, you got it, a book of brainteasers. We found another algebra word problem and pounced on it. In my eagerness to demonstrate that I can still do it, I went through my solution out loud. By this time, we were both laughing so hard that M stuck his head into the room to check if we were alright.

You've never seen two people have so much fun with math.

Ahhhhhh, the memories that brought back. The good old days.

I love my brother.

The Eternal Question: Why?

My son, P, the philosopher in training:

Why do we have to wear underwear? (while putting on his jammies after bathtime)

Why do you have hair on your arms, Papa? (at the dinner table)

Why, as parents, do we feel compelled to answer these questions?

Why?

Things I Saw Today

1. Steam rising off T's neck after our noontime run. Outside temperatures were in the mid-40s.

2. Clouds sitting on top of the hills, looking like duvets.

3. The blue sky, for just a little while, before it got all gray and dreary again.

4. Smiles - from my boys, my husband, my brother, my colleagues.

5. Chocolate chip cookies - in a container, on top of my fridge.

Guess where I'm headed now.

Unblocked

So I've been hitting the wall in terms of thinking of new things to blog about. Good thing I had the day off today in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. and that D, my older son, had it off too.

This afternoon, after a morning of me working on the computer and him coloring away in his room and then watching way more TV than I should have let him watch, he looks at me and says, "Mama, I know what we can do and it's not TV or computer games." Then he leaned in close and whispered in my ear, "Let's cook together." Now, do I have a sweetheart on my hands or what?

We had a blast making chocolate chip cookies, measuring out the ingredients, mixing them up and rolling the dough into balls. Savoring the fruits of our labor with a glass of cold milk rounded out the experience. Then he said, "Let's snuggle, Mama."

What self-respecting mommy can say no to that?

I don't know how long he's going to want to snuggle with his mama but I'm going to take advantage of every opportunity he gives me. All too soon, I fear, he'll be pulling away and wanting to go his own way.

As M came home from work, we were rocking out to Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. His request: "You Wreck Me." Atta boy!

Just Keep Breathing

When I started this blog, the title was all about trying to keep going while keeping all the different aspects of my life in line and going forward at the same time. I think the words 'Just keep breathing.' an awful lot - while running, in aikido, in the pool, on my bike, when on the brink of losing my temper with two squabbling kids, when stuck in traffic, you get the idea.

The idea, of course, being that as long as I kept breathing, kept trying to stay calm, stay collected, stay focused, everything else would seem like not such a big deal.

In
and
out.

I still like it. It still applies.

Vacation Musings: At the Beach in Cebu

There's a gentle breeze blowing in my face and the smell of salt, fish and suntan lotion is in the air. I'm at the beach, in the shade of a giant umbrella. I've heard voices from all over the world: American, Australian, German, Chinese, Korean, Japanese. The tide is coming in. The heat is bouncing off the sand. It is mostly quiet and I am relaxing. No kids to worry about. Nice.

The colors around me are brilliant, as if someone has taking a Crayola box and painted the world around me. Bougainvilleas in full bloom are bursting with violet, orange and red. The coconut tree fronds, palms and ferns are a lush, shiny green. The blue of the sky is reflected in my eyes and I feel some people staring - caught by the uncommon hue.

I look at the people around me: white skin burned red, some still frighteningly pale, some tanned a leathery brown, brown skin than tans easily. Sculpted stomachs and flabby ones compete with each other for space on the sand and in the water. One piece bathing suits are losing out to bikinis on the women - regardless of the wearer's shape. I sit here writing and breathing and just relishing the moment.