christmas eve randomness for you
So because it’s Christmas Eve around here I thought I’d give you a present.
Enjoy.
puckered lips have proven to enhance thumb dexterity
Ollie was hard at work, probably helping Luigi set free a princess whose name escapes me at the moment. What he wasn’t hard at work doing, but was accomplishing with ease and aplomb nonetheless, was looking absolutely adorable. And it’s those lips that get me. So scrunched, so pink.
And just wait till you help him with his activity book. One moment you’re thinking that life maybe lost some of the magic since you haven’t seen it since at least last Wednesday and then Ollie’s trying to answer the very important question, Which animal would you take on a walk? while being given an array of animals to choose from, one being a spider.
He looks at the spider on the page and then he looks at you before he says, Who would take a spider for a walk?! Only his lisp makes it sound more like, Who would take a thpider for a walk?! And he’s saying it with the same level of preposterousness one would ask concerning taking the devil himself on a walk. As in: it’s. not. done. And you both laugh and then you both see the magic, though he had most likely never stopped seeing it. But since you’re that much further from the day you were born, you miss it now and again.
And a spider? On a walk? Who, indeed.
Oh and my sister just walked into the room with very cold hands because she was outside and it’s Christmas Eve and I made her do this with me, cold hands and all. I know, I am very demanding; just ask my sister.
hug it out
And now you see that I am wearing a pink sweater. That I love. Given to me by a lovely and wonderfully spirited friend of mine named Mindy.
But the sweater, it’s pink. And that is interesting only because for a while when I was younger and my mom would say that my brain was less developed, I was under the impression that I was definitely too cool for pink. I guess it was partly because I had three brothers who certainly weren’t wearing pink and I just thought that it was way too girly a color for me. I stuck to darker colors. More earth tones.
Which, I guess would have been great if I went out to hunt on a regular basis. But I didn’t. Not once.
But then I don’t remember when it was, exactly, that I just decided that I was a girl anyway and so it was okay to wear pink. Bright pink, even. But I did. I woke up one day and put on that color and the world seemed brighter even if it was just for a moment when I caught sight of my own sleeve.
And I wonder if the way I suddenly liked pink will be a little bit like the way we can wake up and suddenly feel better. Like maybe I will be walking around and all of the sudden realize that I haven’t thought about something that hurts for at least since breakfast. Now if it were only teatime, that would be something I guess, but we’re talking it’s all the way to dinnertime and hey now, that’s great. And then I will take a deep breath and not feel such a pinch at the end of it and the world will seem brighter even if it’s just for a moment when I catch sight of the slight pink light that comes at the beginning of a new day.
And maybe that is just one more reason to like the color pink for me.
And would you like to have hair that stays when you run your fingers through it?
Or rather, would you like to look like you were in the movie, Girl, Interrupted?
Cause here’s how:
Color your hair really dark. Like if you’re reading this while it’s nighttime glance out your window and match the shade of the sky. And then dye it that color again the next month. Oh, and do that for a good year and a half so your hair is nice and saturated. And then go to California and decide that you want blond hair too. Spend $500 on getting it blond again and then send the receipt to A Chorus Line because they are the ones who made it so dark in the first place and you can’t afford $500 on your hair after you bought the plane ticket to get to California in the first place.
Good.
Now it’s maybe not the healthiest it’s ever been, but it’s blond, right?
Good.
Okay, last ingredient: don’t shower. Don’t even think about showering. You don’t need to anyway; that’s why God made headbands. But take the headband out and run your fingers through your hair and voila! you totally look crazy.
shower now, please.
in Funny Stuff, photography, Thoughts and Feelings
as California, caption, christmas eve, cold hands, color, Don, God, hair, Luigi, Mindy, moment, Ollie, pink sweater, puckered lips, those lips, walk
Jess.. I have to say.. there’s something to this magic you speak of. I have a 9 year old…. *he’ll be 10 next June* and it never ceases to amaze me how little bits of this magic get through to a cynical guy such as myself. My favorite is that “discovery moment”.. like that split second where they figure something out.. or are SO impressed that they learned something new. LIFE is about those moments.. and I think sometimes I forget how wonderful it is to embrace them while I can.
this is so true…and how special that you have a little one to remind you of the magic regularly:)
Pink is beautiful on you, and Mindy did a great job with picking a cute sweater. I miss Jenna, please send her a happy holidays from me! Your hair, and the shower, I have no comment..LOL! Love ya ME! Lastly send thanks to Ollie, for making you learn something, and for bringing, YOU, my friend out of her funk, for a little while! He is an extraordinary kid!
JR, I will certainly convey your Christmas cheer to jenna–and you are just. the. best. I hope Pittsburgh appreciates you and treats you right this week!!!
I’ve always found it to be a wonder that you are such a girl, surrounded as you were with so many brothers and looking so strongly Latshawish.
In the last photo you bear a strong resemblance to Ollie. Something about the eyes. I’m glad that he has you for an aunt, who can share the magic of discovery with him.
well now thank you for that–I don’t mind looking like Ollie one bit! and LOL about it being a surprise to look like a girl because I look so latshawish–does a latshaw, by definition, look like a man? I guess if you are judging by my pop (the original, at least that most people know of now), that could be the case!
Love, love, LOVE!!! Can’t wait to see you tomorrow, on CHRISTMAS!!!!!!!!! I love this blog, but I love you MORE!!! ( as said on my blog from you to me…. ) Yep, you need a shower, but I love you, and your STINKY smell!!! You usually don’t have one, but I guess today you do….? Love, love, LOVE YOUUUUUUUUU!!!!!!
lol, maybe today I do! but I will remedy that soon enough with a SHOWER!!!!! You are the sweetest of Lyrics, my dear, and I am honored to have your words grace this blog. CANNOT WAIT TO SEE YOU TOMORROW!!!! Maybe we can sing a few rounds of My nema-nema, my nema-nemasis…XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO LOVE YOU!!!
I have said this before and I will say it again…quite often Lyric and Ollie are the ONLY two people in the world that can make me feel better about life. They make me laugh and sometimes their sweetness makes me cry. They are just the most wonderful niece and nephew a girl could ask for. Jess, you look beautiful in pink. I hope you have some warmness in your heart today…here’s to shaking the dust(or mud)of 2009 off our feet and hoping that there is lots and lots of magic in 2010.
thank you, mer–and you are dead-on with your assessment: Ollie and Lyric are absolutely wonderful. I (we) am (are) so blessed.
*in case you don’t know, merry and I are both aunts of Ollie and Lyric; their dad being my brother and their mom being her sister*
i miss you too JR! i hope you are having a great christmas!
Showers are wonderful (although I do prefer a bath), but sometimes you just have to have a grunge day!
I love pink on you!!
love ollie. love jenna. love you.
Well, when you were little everyone else I knew that had that face (your pop, your brothers) was male. It was so interesting to see that you resembled them so strongly and yet you were definitely feminine. It made me smile. And now that I have gotten to know you more through your writing, it isn’t just that you look feminine, it’s also that you are feminine (as in, liking pink, among other things).
I’ve known other women that grew up with only brothers and ended up being kinda tomboys. Not you!
yeah–definitely not me!
but I did learn to throw a pretty mean football, handle snakes (well, one), and stomp through creeks:-)
Cool about the football. And really, shouldn’t everyone stomp through creeks occasionally?