Monthly Archives: December 2010

by - 1 Comment

Chasing the Whale

The Great Whale

I suppose every literate person at one point in time decides that he or she should read the wonderous tale of great Captain Ahab. Well, this winter break, I have decided that it is my goal to finish Moby Dick.

I have made it farther than I ever thought possible. I made it through the chapters about cetology and learned more about the whale than I ever wanted to know. I do have to admit, however, that I did skim it a bit. Does that make me a bad person? I have to say, no. I have decided that it makes me an efficient reader. I made it through the chapter glorifying the color white, effectively ignoring the statement that all things white (including people) are superior to all things dark. I accepted that because of the historical time period in which the book was written.

Now I am almost 300 pages in and I have hit a lull. There is a part of me that thinks I should just give up. The other part, however, says that I should soldier on. My fear is that I will become obsessed with finishing, much like Captain Ahab has done.

On a lighter note, I do love me some Queequeg! There is something very inspiring about the pagan cannibal. He gives me joy. Maybe I will finish itjust to find out what happens to him.

Wish me luck in my pursuit! Off I go to harpoon myself a book!

by - 0 comments

A Child’s Spirit



Before the Cast

 Ah, the beautiful girl, waiting for her cast. I have learned so much from her, watching her deal with her brokenness. If it were me, I would be pouty and depressed.

Her spirit has been so full of love and light. The only time when she has expressed frustration is when when she said to me, “Mama, I want to be able to play tickle and run again.” Then she cuddled up to me and put her head on my shoulder. I just held her until she got over it. Other than that, she hasn’t shown any indication of discomfort or sorrow.

Princess Pink Bound

Now she is able to walk sometimes on her casted leg, as long as she uses her boot. Boy can this girl get around like a pro! Her problem solving skills are amazing to behold.  She figured out how to crawl off of her bed, drop onto her bottom, and scootch along the floor. The girl can pretty much go anywhere she wants now.

The first time that she did it was a shock to me. It was in the morning before work. I was in the shower, well, showering. I heard this knock on the door. As far as I knew, I was the only person in the house that was awake and she couldn’t get out of bed. I felt a whole bunch of panic, thinking that someone was sitting there, ready to rob me or something worse.

“Nutter-butter?” I said, hoping for a response, but none came, other than just another knock on the door. “Butter-boo, is that you?” Still no answer, just a knock. A little bit more panic came over me. Holy crap! Someone was going to kill me! I know, totally irrational. If someone was going to kill me, they sure wouldn’t knock. It was early, though, and I wasn’t quite awake.

I hurried and got out of the shower, trying to think positive thoughts about what was going on outside my bathroom door. When I finally wrapped the towel around myself and opened the door, there was my daughter with a HUGE grin on her face. “Mama, I figured out how to get out!” she said proudly.

I never thought your love for a person could grow exponentially every single day. My daughter amazes me.

by - 0 comments

Of NaNoWriMo, Princess Pink, and Other Things

I know it has been a while since I have written. It has been very busy for me lately.

NaNoWriMo went much better than I thought it would. I was able to write 37,000 words and really enjoyed doing it. I had a few days of complete blockage, but I was able to work through it. I also had a couple of people read parts of  my novel and I think I have a good start! With six days left and a plan to get the 13,000 words written, I was fully ready to complete the first draft and “win.” Unfortunately, the day before Thanksgiving, my dear daughter fell off a purple dinosaur and broke her leg.

Yes, you read it here. A purple dinosaur broke my daughter’s leg. Well, technically it wasn’t the dinosaur’s fault, but it was a huge player in the catastrophe.

I thought I knew what it meant to have your heart hurt until you thought it would burst and you would die from it. I was wrong. Watching my daughter deal with the pain of a fractured tibia was the worst heart-pain I have ever experienced in my life. I do believe that I cried as much as she did when I had to help her stretch her leg out so that they could get the xrays.

After the trip to urgent care proved the necessity of a trip to the emergency room, we loaded my poor girl back up into the car and drove to the Cardon Children’s Medical Center. They got us in quickly and made sure that our daughter was well taken care of. We even got a visit from one of the therapy dogs, though I believe it was more for me than for my daughter.

The fractured tibia required a splint for a week. I took three days off of work. Thankfully my wonderful mother and father-in-law drove up to take care of her for two of the days. I am so thankful for their help! Because of them, I was able to get what I needed done at work. My girl did a fabulous job with the pain of the broken leg and staying off of her splint. Finally, the day came when she had to go to the orthopedist. The doctor’s office was wonderful, too. Everyone was so friendly. They got us in quickly, got the xrays done (again) with no pain for my girl (thank goodness).

I was not prepared for the casting process, however. Her fracture was slightly askew, so they had to realign her bones. I listened to her pain as they molded her cast to set her bone correctly. That was not fun at all, but at least it was not as bad as the day she broke her leg. Guess what color her cast was? If you said princess pink, you’re right!

And let me tell you, my girl is amazing to me. She hasn’t let this broken leg get her down. She’s kept her sense of humor and truly loves all of the attention she receives from everyone around us. Now we are sitting with four more weeks of princess pink and a child who has shown me how to deal with discomfort with a happy heart.