An Acrostic Poem for Sam

Today is the day after Sam's 17th birthday.  Three years ago I wrote an acrostic poem for Sammy that I still love to read.

The form of an acrostic is easy:

a-cros-tic n.  1.  A poem or series of lines in which certain letters, usually the first in each line, form a  name, motto, or message when read in sequence.  2.  A word square. -- a-cros`tic adj. -- a-cros`ti-cally adv.

I especially like this form of poetry because it's all descriptors.  When I wrote the poem about Sam,  I remember getting stuck on the letter "R," I couldn't come up with a single word.  So, I put my draft on the kitchen counter and soon my mother-in-law and I had more "R" words than we needed.  True to the open form, we just glommed all the words together.  I read it today and can't believe I had such a block.

If you are celebrating someone or missing them or even struggling with them, write out his or her name and think about them, think about who they really are and what they mean to you right now - then put some words on paper in line with the letters you have written.  For me, writing poetry is first reflection, then form.  It's also an opening - so scribble, scratch out - just stick with it for one day. 

I've adjusted the poem below only slightly - Sam was a freshman in high school the year I wrote it.  Today he is a senior, but little else has really changed about him.

Sam, Almafi, Italy, 2009

An acrostic poem for Sam on his 17th birthday:

S – Strong - inside and out

A – Agile – on the football field or on the dance floor, you got the moves

M – Muscular – is it those power bars…or possibly your hard work in the gym

U – Uber-senior – it’s who you are this year, and that’s a good thing

E – Eater of Cheeseburgers – you the man

L – Lover of Sherman – who you love to snuggle with the most

D – Dashing – your smile says it all

A – Arguer – just for the sake of it…especially with me

V – Video game master – let’s see, what’s your favorite game right now…?

I – Intelligent – you have a mind that’s all your own

D – Dancer – you love a good time with your friends

S – Skier  - One of your favorite things

T – Tall – Just like me, only more so

R – Rock – and Roll…rhythmic, reliable, reasonable, rational, reserved

A – Athletic – and a good sportsman…the most important piece

U – Unusual – who is that in there? Sometimes we wonder….

S – Sweet – Sam-a-lama-ding-dong….even at 17

S – Super – you are the best middle son I’ve ever had!!

Sam, Deer Valley, Utah, 2009

Feeding the O-Line and Getting Them Back in School

Question of the day:

How much did I spend on pizza during the month of August, 2009?

a.  >$270

b.  >$500

c.  <$1,000

d.  >$1,000

I wish I was the type of person to keep this kind of information handy.  But a basic calculation starts with:  always at least 5 pizzas, always just cheese, always delivery.  That gets us to an average of $65.00 per order.  I want to say we ordered at least 10 times last month - but that seems tragically low and unimpressive.  I went to my calendar, hoping I could piece together the individual days that the boys were all here.  It is truly just a big blur.  And part of the problem:  I now have TWO O-Lines to feed....possibly I'm confusing them, possibly they were all here at the same time, along with the rest of the football team....possibly....

So, since I am unable document, I'm going with the conservative (c.)  above.  But let's not forget about the cases of Gatorade, the Bubba Burgers, the family-size bags of  Doritos Scoops, and the Pumpkin Bars....

I love Sam and Nick, my two very own O-Linemen, and any others who walk through my door with them. 

But I worry - who's going to feed them while they're in school?

GO COUGARS!!!

The Smell of Pumpkin Bars is In the Air!

It feels like fall here in Northern Virginia.  No turning leaves or cold frosty mornings, but I felt it yesterday afternoon  - it's just there - the slant of the sun, the slight shift in the temperature -- our world is turning towards autumn. 

Autumn is a fragrant time, so I like to fill my house with fall scents:  Pumpkin Bars and Yankee Candles....

First up, Pumpkin Bars.  The recipe below is straight forward and claims only a few basics from the pantry.  Pumpkin Bars taste fantastic, but focus on the smell of baking pumpkin - it's rich and inviting.

If baking isn't in the books right now, light an Autumn Wreath scented Yankee Candle.  We like the cinnamon and apple smells, but there's also something spicy to this scent that many of the other fall fragrances can't match.  Autumnal, indeed!


Pumpkin Bars

Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
4 beaten eggs
1 (16 oz.) can pumpkin
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup cooking oil

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Stir together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, soda, and salt.
In a seperate bowl, beat until combined eggs, pumpkin, sugar and oil.
Add dry ingredients to pumpkin mixture and beat until well combined.
Spread batter in 15x10x1 inch baking pan (do not substitute another size pan - you will have soup in the middle!!) This size pan is easy to find -- I bought mine at the grocery store.
Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until the middle is firm.
Cool completely.  Frost with cream cheese frosting (recipe follows).  I sometimes buy the cans of ready made Cream Cheese Icing.

Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients:
2 (3 oz.) pkgs. cream cheese, softened
1  stick butter, softened
2 teaspoons vanilla
One box confectioner's sugar

Beat together cream cheese, butter and vanilla until light and fluffy.  Gradually add sugar, beating until smooth.  Spread over cooled cake.

ENJOY!!

Why Blog Now?

Why blog now?

Blogging has been around for years. I've been around for years. Why did I start blogging two days ago? The short answer is this:

5:00pm - 7:00pm

It's the time of day when I'm waiting for things or people to happen.  Waiting for the boys to come home, waiting for dinner, waiting for the meeting to start, waiting for time to pass.   I don't like it - the passivity of it -- waiting on someone else to get my evening moving.  Remember how active I am?  I can literally roam around the house with no focus during these hours.  Wierd, but it's been happening for years.

So what to do between 5:00 and 7:00 - and I'll be honest here, sometimes it's between 4:00 and 8:00?  Drink wine?  Eat snacks?  Watch Oprah?  Take long walks by myself?  Write?

I decided (after trying many of the other options first) to write.  Up I went to my beautiful room, to my desk and my yellow legal pad and lovely pens and well, fell asleep just thinking about journaling.  It has always felt so useless to me.  And when I re-read what I have been able to  force to paper over the years  -- eeks -- what was I thinking?  Really, it just means nothing to read it. 

I write other stuff, too.  Short stories, essays, poems, letters.  But I never attempt to publish, because I never perfect.  My tenses are always wrong.  I split infinitives.  I use "there" when I mean to use "their" -- how embarrasing is that?  But, if you've stuck with me, remember how I don't care how I look on the tennis court or on a long run? 

Those of you who read the Washington Post may be familiar with an advise column by Carolyn Hax called "Tell Me About It."  I love this column (actually, I love all question/answer columns no matter the topic).  In one series of questions a reader asks:

People always say you have to make yourself happy.  What goes into that?  How does one make oneself happy?

(Aren't you glad you're not an advice columnist right about now?)

Carolyn responds:

Figure out the things that make you feel confident/fulfilled/energized; that give you a sense of purpose or accomplishment; that tap into your natural ablilities and strengths and that don't put you at the mercy of any one person, and orient your life around those.

Wow - that set me back a step or two.  Especially the "...that don't put you at the mercy of any one person...." 

So writing does that for me - it energizes me and gives me a sense of purpose, and I think that it taps into some natural gifts that I have been given.  AND it keeps me from the mercy of my dear family, who are building their own beautiful lives while I am cooking dinner for them.  Sharing what I have written gives me the first part - confidence.  Spelling, verb tenses, participial phrases - they won't hold me back anymore (although I'll be looking things up)!

So on I go, how about you? Fill-in-the-blanks below:

_____________ make me feel confident/fulfilled/energized

_____________ give me a sense of purpose or accomplishment

_____________ tap into my natural abilities and strengths (w/out putting me at the mercy of another person)

Participate....run your OWN race!!

Getting Started

Well, it was a great day -- full of outdoor activity which is what I love! My friend, Mae, once refered to me as "such a jock!" We got a good laugh out of it - because while I like to move and be active, I'm pretty much not great at most sports. So, I run, but I'm slow. I bike, but my butt gets tired. I yoga, but I barely touch my toes. I play tennis, but I never know where my serve is going. I ski, but I'm always in control. I golf, but I miss the ball.

What I do, though, is participate - even if it's not pretty (it just usually isn't). I live my life on this principle - participation - and it's how I raise my children.  Try, see if you like it, give it a good chance, and then, in the words of Joan Benoit Samuelson, "run your own race." Don't run the race of the guy next to you, run your race. Don't run the race of your classmates, run your race. Don't run the race that I set up for you, run your race. You get the point. There is so much pressure to be perfect and to conform to the idealistic norms that society sets. I get sick of all of the stress that we manufacture (and believe me, I manufacture plenty on my own). This is not to say don't try, or don't compete or don't care about winning - just own the pace and the race, let the guy next to you do the same.

Let me tell you about my first marathon (this is where my kids roll their eyes completely to the back of their heads), but it is a prime example of the "participate at all costs" principle.  Remember, I run, but slowly and not especially well, so stick with me!

It was the Chicago Marathon, known to be one of the flatest and thereby fastest marathons in the country.  30,000+ runners, 26.2 miles....finishing was a definate question for me.  But at the pasta dinner the night before the race, set in the enormous McCormick Place Convention Center, I sat with veteran runners, people who had run marathons in every state; one guy had run the Chicago Marathon for the past 26 years with his brothers.  The table was overflowing with stories of wonderful times on the marathon course, new friends made, memories to last a life time.  These people were pros, I tell you.  I was the baby, the pup...this is what I heard:

Ah, your first marathon, you'll love it.
Ah, your first marathon, the crowds will carry you through.
Ah, your first marathon, the best race you'll ever run.

And I was convinced.  It's a trait of mine, to believe the good things people say, even if they're not true, even if they couldn't possibly be true.  I want things to be good and, OK, easy.  But Joan got up as the last speaker, almost as we were leaving, trying to reason with us as we high-fived each other over our water glasses:

There are going to be more than 30,000 runners out there, she reminded us.  Don't run this race for anyone but you.  Not your running partner or your friends back home, or (she should have said) the new friends you are making as I speak.  Run for yourself.  Because, at the end of tomorrow, each of you will have your own time and your own experience.

Hummmm, she did put a teensy bit of fear in me, but I prefered to listen to my new friends.  I slept well that night.

Round about mile, say 21, I was cursing the man from Chicago who told me the crowds would carry me away.  Nope, it was my own tired legs moving step by miserable step doing all of the work.  And what about the euphoria of my "first?"  Wasn't feeling that, either. Then, in what I now think was a compromised state rendered by dehydration and exhaustion, it came to me.   I remembered what Joan said.  And she was right on.  This IS hard, and I am all on my own. 

I did cross the line - THERE was the euphoria I was waiting for, along side of the fainting and vomiting.  But I did it, I participated, and my new friends were well on their way home by the time I came to.  I've quoted Joan ever since.  Her reason in the face of unbriddle excitement brings me back again and again.

So, get out there, people!  Run your own race, play a game, start a blog - PARTICIPATE!