Awake

Happy Birthday to April, The Prologue

My sister-in-law's birthday was yesterday. In the evening, after work (and after picking up some beautiful new plants for my patio!) I went over to The Homeplace to show mom and dad my new flowers and tree. They were just wrapping up a spray-down clean-up of the deck and Gazebo Thing. The sun was setting but still warmly shining down on the deck. We started to discuss the arrival of The Fun Squad (Seth and April's family) the next day and what our plans would be to celebrate April's birthday. Mom and I were sitting on a bench chatting away and, somewhat curiously, The Dadoo was sitting off by himself writing on a notepad with a strange little smirky smile on his face. Finally, I asked him, "What are you writing? You look like you're up to something!" He said that him and mom had decided that they were hopeless at a faithful musical rendering of the traditional Happy Birthday To You song and he had recently taken up, starting with the January birthday of their other daughter-in-law, Jackie, writing lyrics to the more easily rendered Happy Happy Birthday. So, finally he shared his work with us, and after a few rewrites and the addition of a second verse, we called her up and sang this song:

Happy Happy Birthday
Happy Day To You
You're an amazing woman
That's why we're calling you!
(Hey!)

Happy Happy Birthday
Happy Day To You
Thirty-Eight Days Til Hawaii
And the beach'll be ready for you!

Yeah, we're dorky. But we like it that way. :) Happy Birthday April!

O, The Fickle Material Of The Heart

O, the fickle material of the heart:
It seems to change from day to day.

Is the heart a chameleon
Bleeding into background
Hiding discreetly in stillness
From would-be lookers-on?

Or is it a fiery mass of energy
Shining brightly, brazenly, like the sun
Simultaneously warming and blinding
Until it burns out, sucking all life into a vacuous hole?

Sometimes I think it a precious vase
Knocked down quite purposefully
Intentionally, blatantly, and quite rudely
From its pedestal to the ground below.

And then what is the heart
After such a fall
And another and another
And again another after that?

Is it mostly glue now
Mostly cracks
Primarily broken
And only really tentatively put together again?

It seems more resilient than that
Don't you think
Even at times when darkness falls
And things never fail to get themselves broken?

Perhaps it's as the anatomist declares
A functional network of cells
Designed to bring oxygen and life
To a living being.

Prone to injury and disease
But designed to beat faithfully
And happily bring health and vitality
Til every cell in the body is well.

Perhaps it is all of these things
At different times
In moments good and bad
Full of sorrow and bursting with joy.

I only know that the heart
Whatever it is made of
Is full of memory
And overflowing with thought, will, and desire.

So perhaps metaphors are pointless
Maybe analogies useless
Whatever the material of the heart
It is to be cherished, protected, and most of all...

Well, used.

So use it well.

As The Spa Turns Over, The Pilot

Amber is giving a massage to a Nervous Client who won't stop talking.

Nervous Client: "Blah blah blah blah blah blah. Blah blah blah. Blah. Blah blah blah blah blah blah blah. Blah blah blah."

Voice In Amber's Head #1: "Why is it so loud in here?!!"

Voice In Amber's Head #2: "I'm sorry, Captain. He just won't shut up."

V.i.A.H. #1: "You know what you need to do."

V.i.A.H. #2: The infraspinatus muscle strip?! But it's so early in the massage!

V.i.A.H. #1: Do it! Do it now!

V.i.A.H. #2: Yes, Captain! Applying stripping to the left infraspinatus now.

Unconscious Client: Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

V.i.A.H. #1: Nice work. As you were.

A blooming patio

I've just begun to add some plant life to my life and my home. I picked up a Calla Lily and an Improved Meyer Lemon Tree from Al's Garden Center a couple weeks ago. The lighting situation on my patio is limited—only morning sun in one corner—but I'm glad to report that the Calla Lily is thriving and the Improved Meyer Lemon has a new bloom this week. I'm hoping when the weather warms up, the fruit will ripen.

Here are a couple of pictures I took this morning. (I couldn't resist the beauty of that mid-morning light.)

Happy Sunday. I know I am thoroughly enjoying putting off doing my taxes and writing this blog instead! :D

Jackie and Maddie Mae Visit

Jackie and Maddie Mae came for a visit to Oregon over Spring Break. Sadly, Brant was not one of the party as he was busy studying and what-not. They spent most of the time with her family, but we got a special day with them on Friday. We started the day with pedicures at The Pointe...just Mom, April, Jackie and I, while Seth and Dad watched the girls. After that we spent the day hanging out and just being together. It was a special day indeed. :)

Enjoy the slideshow. (Or click here for a full-screen slideshow.)