independence day.

fireworks., a photo by Luna Soledad on Flickr.

All Americans know (or should anyway) that the 4th of July is the national holiday marking the long ago day (in 1776) when the Declaration of Independence was signed and adopted and the United States became the United States declaring its independence from English rule.

However, according to Wikipedia.org, there’s a few interesting tidbits I did not know:

"In a remarkable coincidence, both John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, the only signers of the Declaration of Independence later to serve as Presidents of the United States, died on the same day: July 4, 1826, which was the 50th anniversary of the Declaration. Although not a signer of the Declaration of Independence, James Monroe, the Fifth President of the United States, died on July 4, 1831. Calvin Coolidge, the Thirtieth President, was born on July 4, 1872, and, so far, was the only President to be born on Independence Day."

Things that make ya go, “hmmm.”

"Oh, great. This is going to be like shooting baskets with Magic Johnson watching."

...Bill Pullman (on watching Independence Day with President Clinton)

happy everything.

Happy Holidays! Originally uploaded by Luna Soledad

Happy Holidays, Happy Hanuka, Merry Christmas, Feliz Navidad, Frohe Weihnachten, Happy Kwanzaa, and a very Happy New Year to all, albeit belated. And while I'm at it, Eid Mubarak too!

2010 was a roller coaster to say the least, reaching it's steep crest around Thanksgiving and barreling downward at warp speed so that by Christmas, the phrase "stop the ride, I wanna get off!" bounced around in my scattered brain. I'm sure 2011 will be much the same when the last cans of pumpkin and yams are plucked from the grocery shelves with the madness of last minute holiday panic, though at present, I am more of the mind of, "Good riddance!"

Like most, I compiled a list of the usual new year's resolutions to include loosing weight, exercising, avoiding another back surgery, curbing my profanities (I know, go ahead and yuk it up friends), saving money, being a better mommie, a better friend, and a better housekeeper - okay, well a better mommie and friend (one mustn't set oneself up for failure), and blah blah blah...

But more importantly, I resolve to make more time for friends and loved ones, more time for love and laughter, more time for magic memories and the stuff that really matters in this world...

To all who love and support me despite plentiful flaws, who still take my calls and return my emails though it may have been eons since last we spoke, who have still made time to see me even though I have yet to make it out to Bertie county, and those sacred special peeps whose very presence, not proximity, in my life keep the wheels of my inner soul greased and in motion... I LOVE YOU and I THANK YOU. More than you could ever know.

Let the good times roll!...

"Our job is to love others without stopping to inquire whether or not they are worthy. That is not our business and, in fact, it is nobody's business. What we are asked to do is to love, and this love itself will render both ourselves and our neighbors worthy if anything can."

...Thomas Merton

my young playa.

Daniel & Mallory.
Originally uploaded by Luna Soledad

Thanksgiving this year, like many fond holidays past, we spent with my 'sister-of-soul' and family up in Petersburg, Virgina.

It's an easy two hour drive, perhaps a bit more, however none to our surprise, Liam chatted away the entire drive. If no one is participating in his conversation, he's usually content to carry on with himself, though he does prefer a healthy exchange and will insert himself into whatever other dialog may be happening in the car. A perfect example is when I mentioned to Kevin that I had a headache and needed to eat something soon...

Liam: "I have a headache too."
Kevin: "No you don't. You're fine."
Liam: "Uh huh, I do. I ate a lot of food and it made my head hurt."

He's also getting a bit more brazen in his constant interruptions when we grown-ups may dare to get a word in edgewise... "Excuse me I'm talking!" he says.

Very excited to see Tio Juan, a Sergeant First Class and former Drill Sergeant in the US Army, Liam wore his "army pants" (e.g. camouflaged cargo pants) to show him. In the car, Liam also announced that he had a surprise for Tio Juan.

Kevin: "What's the surprise?"
Liam: "I can't tell you. It's a surprise for Tio Juan."
Kevin: "Well can you tell me?"
Liam: "No. It's a surprise."
Kevin (to me): "You try."
Me: "What's the surprise?"
Liam: "I can't tell you. It's not your surprise."

Alrighty then.

Recently, Liam has learned to count to 10 in Spanish (and German) and likes to randomly practice his language skills. Pausing in mid-count, he asked out of the blue, if Tio Juan spoke Spanish...
Me: "Yes, he does. He also speaks English."
Liam: "English? What is English?"
Kevin: "English is the language that we speak."
Liam: "What does English sound like?"

Hmmm...

A side note: En route, I saw a fantastic bumper sticker on a Volvo station wagon which read: "Honk if you love silence" ...Now that's just the sort of sarcastic wit I can appreciate in my world. ;-)

We arrive around 2:30, thrilled to release the children into the waiting audience that is anyone besides us and see if we remember how to carry on an adult conversation. --But first, Liam has to give Tio Juan his surprise... which turned out to be a cotton bowl and wad of cotton he had collected on our trip to Grandma's farm. Awww.

And then (my eyes are watering and heart bursting with pride writing this), we watched our sweet little four year old boy as he stood tall and saluted his Uncle. Juan beamed, returning the salute. Then he let Liam try on his Drill Sergeant hat and his Texas Calvary hat... then Liam wanted to know about Tio Juan's tanks...

These days with three teenagers, everyone has a boyfriend/girlfriend and so the house was full with young people and even friends and neighbors - which was great for us because it was like having a house full of unsuspecting babysitters. --Liam worked the house and monopolized everyone's time (particularly Nicki's boyfriend Jake) and honed in on Daniel's girlfriend Mallory... while Isabel, the unnaturally good and quiet child for a change, set about carving out her walking path, sampling the food being prepared, and decided who she liked best by swatting at them. --Oh, and getting the cap off of a two-liter of Coke and chugaluggin' it. (Why her Occupational Therapist thought it wise to teach her to unscrew lids is beyond me. Yeah, thanks for that.)

At last the smorgasbord of food was prepared, the table set, and per tradition at Elvia's, we all took turns telling what we were thankful for... Isabel was thankful for food and Liam was thankful for windows. Huh? --Anyway, Thanksgiving being what it is, we all gorged ourselves on the traditional favorites and had no room for dessert, though that didn't stop us. Isn't that what it's all about after all?

So, after a wonderful day with friends and family, wonderful food, laughter and memories... we were trying to find the energy to head back to Raleigh when we noticed our son busy rearranging the room of people by simply taking a hand and dragging that person to the spot he wanted to reposition them. Curiously we watched...

Liam then walks over to where Daniel was sitting on the love seat sofa with his sweet, pretty fifteen year old girlfriend and takes Mallory by the hand, pulls her from the couch and leads her over to a fold out chair just two feet away. On cue, she sits as the little prince then strategically places himself in between the object of his affection and her beloved and proceeds to serenade her with the most romantic song he knew... "Happy Birthday to you..."

O.M.G. We are in SO much trouble.

"The life of man is the true romance, which when it is valiantly conduced, will yield the imagination a higher joy than any fiction."

...Ralph Waldo Emerson

she has risen.

before the beheading.

Originally uploaded by Luna Soledad

She who? The Easter Bunny of course!

Yes, Liam decided this year that the Easter Bunny is a girl. And well, why not? Delivering baskets full of chocolate goodness certainly sounds more like the kind-of job a girl would happily do... assuming it wasn't her time of the month and she was willing to share her chocolate!

For me at least, there are always two deciding factors in whether or not I will share my chocolate: 1) how much I have, and 2) most importantly, what kind it is.

...Hershey's? Cadbury? Sure! Help yourself! ...Lindt? Maybe. Are you feeling lucky? ...Kinder Shokolade? Godiva chocolates? Gourmet truffles from a German Konditorei? Uhm, sorry, do I know you?! Er, were you missing a hand when we met or did I do that?

So, Easter. I always feel guilty doing the Easter Bunny (and Santa Claus) thing because I can't help but feeling that I'm a big fat liar perpetuating commercialized paganism and that one day it's all gonna blow up in my face when the magic is shattered with cold, hard reality. But until that time, the holiday facade is impossible to ignore because everywhere you look, it's in your face, up in your grill... Easter Bunny on TV, Easter Bunny at the mall, Easter Egg hunt at preschool, and the little ones get sucked in like bubbles down the drain tugging mommies and daddies right along with them by their heart-strings. And we all want to see our children happy, right?

Personally, I subscribe more to the "Eddie Izzard" way of holiday thinking and could care less about church or the easter bunny, but who am I to deny my children this deceitfully yummy right of passage?

So yeah, my kids both got baskets overflowing with (Lindt) chocolate eggs and chickens and lambs, Jelly Belly jelly beans, Robin's Eggs, gummy bears, cars, wind-up toys, and a big chocolate bunny... and of course, yellow marshmallow peeps. And something cuddly -- Isabel, a pink talking puppy and Liam, an Easter monkey. Yes, that's right, an Easter monkey.

Less than two minutes after their little feet touched down upon the bottom stair, a feeding frenzy of sugary bliss was underway.

Less than two hours after the feeding frenzy, my coffee has barely kicked in... candy wrappers litter the floors and the children are bouncing off the walls and running through the house, shrieking like maniacs with sticky hands and chocolate ooze dripping from their chins... and I'm left wondering why exactly we do this again?

Oh yes, because we all like to see our children happy! =)

The pagans had big festivals on Easter and Christmas.
Christians had big festivals at Easter and Christmas.
Jesus died on one and was born on the other. Hm-hm-hm-hmm?

Cos... Jesus I do think did exist.
He was a guy who had interesting ideas in the Gandhi area, the Nelson Mandela area - relaxed and groovy.

The Romans thought, "Relaxed and groovy? No."
So they murdered him.

Kids eat chocolate eggs because the color of the chocolate
and the color of the wood on the cross...

Well, you tell me.
It's got nothing to do with it, has it?

People are going, "Remember kids, Jesus died for your sins."
"Yeah, I know, it's great."
"No, it's bad."
"It's bad. lt's terrible. Whatever you want. Just keep giving me these eggs."

And the bunny rabbits, where do they come into the Crucifixion? There were no rabbits going, "You putting crosses in our warrens? We live below this hill, all right?"

Bunny rabbits are for shagging, eggs are for fertility.
It's the spring festival.

...Eddie Izzard, Dressed to Kill

portrait of a leprechaun.

portrait of a leprechaun., originally uploaded by Luna Soledad.

For my Irish hubby's birthday today, we had lunch at Napper Tandy's.

I could hardly believe my lucky charms when we happened upon a leprechaun. Alas, there was no gold to be found.

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

"Leprechauns, castles, good luck and laughter. Lullabies, dreams and love ever after. Poems and songs with pipes and drums. A thousand welcomes when anyone comes... That's the Irish for you!”

...Unknown