T.O.C Reunion

T.O.C is Three Old Chicks, a select society comprised of me, and my BU roommates Sass and Sarah. We convene every 6 weeks or so to play mah jongg, drink copious amounts of cheap wine, and usually we include some other sort of fun adventure. Since this reunion was a birthday celebration for both of them, and since they are godmoms to Leilei and Libby, respectively (must point out that Leilei has two godmoms, Leilei's beloved Auntie Gail being the other), I thought it would be nice for us all to go to the Big Apple Circus.

Whoa, it was fantastic! Acrobats from China, a dog act, a French guy who rode a teeny little bicycle through a wheel of fire, cracking jokes as he rode . . . Run, friends in the Boston area, to the Big Apple Circus! (but get your tickets at Bostix. much more affordable than the box office)
http://http://www.bigapplecircus.org/

After we dropped the wee ones off chez moi, we went chez Sarah, and came up with the brillant concept of a themed nursing home complex. (We were contemplating our encroaching old age)
We envision a sort of compound, where old people can join communities based on shared interests--for example, there will be a music-themed house (Rock n Roll Heaven), a nineteenth century lit house, an old movies house, an international house, a sports house . . . and you have to commit to live in your house for a month, but then you can change, just to keep things interesting, y'know. The houses will be linked by some sort of Disney-like monorail.

At the end, when you just don't care anymore, you can go to the Napping House, where you can sleep uninteruppted, till you shake off your mortal coil. I hate the way they keep making Audrey get out of bed to wheel herself anxiously up and down the corridor all day, until she falls asleep uncomfortably in the chair again. I just want to sleep! Sass pointed out you can get bedsores that way, so we thought some sort of rotisserie thing could be developed so you can rotated comfortably.

Come to think of it, perhaps Disneyland itself could be converted to this nursing home of the future. They already have the movie park, Epcot, etc. Cinderella's castle could be the napping place!

Good night, sweet dreams!

Post-Marathon Musings

I fell decadently comfortable watching the Marathon on TV, especially since Aimee, the American Liver Foundation team member matched with Libby and Leilei, was braving the weather--instead of me! She finished strong, raised over $3,000 for liver disease research, and was an inspiration to the girls and me. Thank you, Aimee, and all the Liver Team members! I hope to rejoin you next year--well, the spirit is strong, but the knees, etc. are weak, so . . . we'll see!

Libby and Aimee hung out together at the Salute to the Team dinner the Saturday before the race. Libby was proud to stand when the "patients" who are matched with runners were recognized. And I, as always, was proud of my Dragon Baby.

An Old Mom Moment

This morning. Leilei and I riding the Orange Line to school and work. Leilei sitting next to a middle-aged guy, who is quite openly looking from her to me and back again.
"How old is her father?" he asks me, dispensing with "excuse me" or "good morning" or any other introductory pleasantries.
"25," I reply, quick as a cat. Quite a snappy response, given that I haven't had my coffee yet.
"Oh, uh, " he responds. I see that even rude as he is, he isn't quite sure how to formulate his next questions.
"I'm actually much younger than I look," I chirp, beaming like sunshine.
The doors open, and Leilei and I exit, chuckling together.

Leilei's First Easter

What an incredible year for Leilei! Transported across the sea, presented with elderly and eccentric (according to some sources) parents, introduced to siblings of various ages and temperments, pets, friends of the family . . . thrown into the mad social whirl of holidays, birthdays, etc. New country, new language, new school, new climate. To top it all off, Halloween (scary but lots of candy), Christmas (totally awesome, though very long and involved), and now Easter--completely incomprehensible, but apparently involving Jesus, a large rabbit, enormous quantities of candy, and eggs: to be hunted, colored, whacked across the lawn with sticks (yes, we do that. did I mention parents are eccentric? mostly the mother). Oh, and new clothes, and a closely supervised visit to church.

Leilei does not generally attend church. It has been tried, but she just isn't ready. I know this, because she screams REALLY loud whenever something displeases her, and must be bodily dragged down the aisle of Holy Name Church. As a treat (?) I told her she could try again to attend Mass on Easter Sunday.

There was one incident, and she had to be temporarily removed from the premises, but she rallied, and returned triumphantly to her place in the pew. The picture above shows my beautiful girls leaving church: note somewhat tired, but philosphical expression on Kit's face, Libby's exultation that the whole ordeal is over, and Leilei's determination to kick up her heels no matter what!