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orichalcum at 11:48am on 16/08/2004
orichalcum at 11:48am on 16/08/2004So, I've spent a lot of the past few weeks really with this coming to a head on Wednesday, when I discovered that the recovery CDs I had spent 2 weeks waiting for didn't work, the computer repair people weren't sure they could get my data back, we had gotten another letter from the car rental agency we're in a dispute with, and my smart, well-educated students in Gender and Sexuality and Antiquity still expressed surprise and amazement at the thought that my husband would follow me to a new job and possibly take a less good job.
This weekend, which I spent in the Hamptons, allowed me to take some deep breaths and remember all that I have to be thankful for, even though many of the worries are still scurrying around in the back of my brain in unpleasant ways.
So, I'd never been to the Hamptons before, as those aren't really my kind of circles. But Carol, the aforementioned family friend, has a cousin who has a cottage in the Hamptons but spends most of his time in Europe, and so her family gets to use it frequently during the summer. The house itself is one of those places which would be nice if anyone took the time to actually keep it up, as Carol noted, but it had 3 large bedrooms and a big lawn, so we were set. We were in the town of Bridgehampton, which is one of the less classy of the various Hampton towns - imaginatively named EastHampton, Southhampton, West Hampton, etc.. Our group consisted of Carol, her husband Joe, 9-year old Gemma, Gemma's 9-year-old friend Julia, and 4-month old baby Ella.
Children are...tiring, although in a good way. Ella's at the stage where she needs to be held constantly or start crying, so I spent many hours this weekend holding the baby so Carol and Joe could take care of other things. This was fun and relaxing, despite baby Ella's strong grip on my hair and periodic attempts to eat my engagement ring. She's about 15 pounds now, so walking with her for any distance is actually fairly tiring.
Gemma has fallen into the "how dare you interrupt me while I'm reading?" stage, which I can only look at with amusement, even if I think I've rewritten my own memories to believe that I was much more helpful with regard to doing chores. Amusing quotes from the weekend included "this is the book which taught me how to mummify my Barbies."
The beach was wonderful despite the hurricane-influenced waves, which made swimming in the actual ocean, as opposed to the bay, a little difficult. And then we went over to the house of other family friends, Richard and Kathy Leeds, and grilled butterfly legs of lambs along with fresh asparagus, cucumber, fingerling potatoes, portabellos, and cucumber from Citarella for 8 adults, 3 kids, and 3 babies. It was a tiring, but good day. Now I have candy-cane sunburn stripes on my legs. You'd think that after 26 years I would be able to successfully apply sunblock to all of my body, having grown up on the beach in San Diego.
Both Gemma and Julia are city girls, in ways that I had never imagined. They were scared of the upstairs, as a strange and alien invention, and even more terrified of the basement and garage, which surely had scary spiders and insects in it. They were terrified that a burglar would break in through their first-floor window in the night, and their parents didn't allow them to cross streets by themselves. Gemma is used to walking in on people in the bathroom, because she's used to crowded spaces. On the other hand, Gemma loves calamari and sushi. I hadn't thought about what a difference growing up in a city apartment would make.
1. I have a wonderful husband and family, and great friends.
2. I got my computer back, with all the important things on it, for non-egregious amounts of money.
3. I can rely on financial help from my dad if necessary for things like the car rental.
4. For the rest of the year, I don't have to wear respectable teaching clothes!
5. Madame and Monsieur Ubiquitous now have a happy, healthy Baby Ubiquitous!
6. Babies are fun and sweet, as are 9-year-old girls. And this weekend, I got to practice, and then go home to be a 1.5INK again.
7. I’ve got money in my pocket
I like the color of my hair
I’ve got a friend who loves me...
I’ve got a good mother
and her voice is what keeps me here
Feet on ground
Heart in hand
Facing forward
Be yourself --Good Mother, Jann Arden
This weekend, which I spent in the Hamptons, allowed me to take some deep breaths and remember all that I have to be thankful for, even though many of the worries are still scurrying around in the back of my brain in unpleasant ways.
So, I'd never been to the Hamptons before, as those aren't really my kind of circles. But Carol, the aforementioned family friend, has a cousin who has a cottage in the Hamptons but spends most of his time in Europe, and so her family gets to use it frequently during the summer. The house itself is one of those places which would be nice if anyone took the time to actually keep it up, as Carol noted, but it had 3 large bedrooms and a big lawn, so we were set. We were in the town of Bridgehampton, which is one of the less classy of the various Hampton towns - imaginatively named EastHampton, Southhampton, West Hampton, etc.. Our group consisted of Carol, her husband Joe, 9-year old Gemma, Gemma's 9-year-old friend Julia, and 4-month old baby Ella.
Children are...tiring, although in a good way. Ella's at the stage where she needs to be held constantly or start crying, so I spent many hours this weekend holding the baby so Carol and Joe could take care of other things. This was fun and relaxing, despite baby Ella's strong grip on my hair and periodic attempts to eat my engagement ring. She's about 15 pounds now, so walking with her for any distance is actually fairly tiring.
Gemma has fallen into the "how dare you interrupt me while I'm reading?" stage, which I can only look at with amusement, even if I think I've rewritten my own memories to believe that I was much more helpful with regard to doing chores. Amusing quotes from the weekend included "this is the book which taught me how to mummify my Barbies."
The beach was wonderful despite the hurricane-influenced waves, which made swimming in the actual ocean, as opposed to the bay, a little difficult. And then we went over to the house of other family friends, Richard and Kathy Leeds, and grilled butterfly legs of lambs along with fresh asparagus, cucumber, fingerling potatoes, portabellos, and cucumber from Citarella for 8 adults, 3 kids, and 3 babies. It was a tiring, but good day. Now I have candy-cane sunburn stripes on my legs. You'd think that after 26 years I would be able to successfully apply sunblock to all of my body, having grown up on the beach in San Diego.
Both Gemma and Julia are city girls, in ways that I had never imagined. They were scared of the upstairs, as a strange and alien invention, and even more terrified of the basement and garage, which surely had scary spiders and insects in it. They were terrified that a burglar would break in through their first-floor window in the night, and their parents didn't allow them to cross streets by themselves. Gemma is used to walking in on people in the bathroom, because she's used to crowded spaces. On the other hand, Gemma loves calamari and sushi. I hadn't thought about what a difference growing up in a city apartment would make.
1. I have a wonderful husband and family, and great friends.
2. I got my computer back, with all the important things on it, for non-egregious amounts of money.
3. I can rely on financial help from my dad if necessary for things like the car rental.
4. For the rest of the year, I don't have to wear respectable teaching clothes!
5. Madame and Monsieur Ubiquitous now have a happy, healthy Baby Ubiquitous!
6. Babies are fun and sweet, as are 9-year-old girls. And this weekend, I got to practice, and then go home to be a 1.5INK again.
7. I’ve got money in my pocket
I like the color of my hair
I’ve got a friend who loves me...
I’ve got a good mother
and her voice is what keeps me here
Feet on ground
Heart in hand
Facing forward
Be yourself --Good Mother, Jann Arden
content
(no subject)
I think, given the combination of extremely large moving vehicles, cell phone use, lack of sidewalks in most modern residential areas, and tendencies to use those large vehicles at high speeds in residential areas, the no crossing the street rule seems like a good way, urban or suburban.
In other news: I have discovered that the term exurb defines perfectly how I grew up, but it is too ugly a word to even contemplate.
(no subject)
Yikes about the computer...after all that waiting for the CDs, too! Gargh.
I used to love second floors, but that was just me, growing up in California ranch-style houses.
*hugs* Will you be around tomorrow? Will try and call. *hugs*