Glee (noun): open delight or pleasure

There have been three recent teen deaths in our community.  Two have been proven suicides and the last is undetermined, but most likely, alcohol related.  Very sad...very sad indeed.  I can't imagine how their families are dealing with the pain.  I feel it deeply.  I have five children of my own; three are still teens living at home.

So I was thinking this past week on why I should be grateful for my own teenagers...why I should be thankful that they are who they are.  At first, I thought this could be tough.  There are days where I could just get in the car and drive away from the madness.  Other days, I feel like throwing them all in the trunk and driving them to some far away desert, with no water or electricity or toilet facilities.  But then, somewhere in my brain (and heart) a switch turned on....and I was enlightened.

My 16 year old daughter loves the show "Glee".  Did I say "loves"?  I meant LOVES!  It doesn't help that she has fallen for two of the actors; Chris Colfer and Max Adler.  She is extremely artistic and considers a perfect day is when I leave her alone so she can draw, create, and play games on her laptop, all while watching 12 hours of Glee episodes.  She is not interested in alcohol, drugs, or parties.  How darn lucky am I??

My 14 year old son plays football, loves to come home after school and considers the perfect weekend as being one where I leave him alone to play games on the Playstation and watch the Patriots kick butt.  That's it.  He is still shy, loves to eat, loves to be home and is not interested in drugs, alcohol, parties, girls or dating (yet!).  How many parents can say that?

I also have a 13 year old daughter.  She will be someone to watch as she is the social butterfly.  Still a bit shy but makes friends easily, is into fashion and makeup, loves her family, loves her animals and although she likes boys, is not "into" dating them (yet!).  She also has found a common interest with her sister in the show "Glee".  I have to give a shout out to "Glee" as they have brought my girls together again and it warms this mother's heart to hear them in each others rooms either discussing the next episode or watching past ones.  Thank you...thank you...THANK YOU!

When I think back on this last week, with the tragedies and funerals, I was originally sad and extremely depressed about life.  Then I found my soul.  I picked up my children from school and listened to them laughing and I was born again.  My kids were safe...and good...and gleeful.

I am rich beyond words.  I am gleeful myself.

A whale of a good time.

Recently in a large city in Australia, a poster featuring a young, thin and tan woman appeared in the window of a gym.  It said, “This summer, do you want to be a mermaid or a whale?”

A middle-aged woman, whose physical characteristics did not match those of the woman on the poster, responded publicly to the question posed by the gym.

To Whom It May Concern,
Whales are always surrounded by friends (dolphins, sea lions, curious humans.)

They have an active sex life, get pregnant and have adorable baby whales.

They have a wonderful time with dolphins stuffing themselves with shrimp.

They play and swim in the seas, seeing wonderful places like Patagonia, the Bering Sea and the coral reefs of Polynesia.

Whales are wonderful singers and have even recorded CDs.

They are incredible creatures and virtually have no predators other than humans.

They are loved, protected and admired by almost everyone in the world.

Mermaids don’t exist.

If they did exist, they would be lining up outside the offices of Argentinean psychoanalysts due to identity crisis. Fish or human?

They don’t have a sex life because they kill men who get close to them, not to mention how could they have sex?  Just look at them … where is IT?

Therefore, they don’t have kids either.

Not to mention, who wants to get close to a girl who smells like a fish store?

The choice is perfectly clear to me:

I want to be a whale.

P..S. We are in an age when media puts into our heads the idea that only skinny people are beautiful, but I prefer to enjoy an ice cream with my kids, a good dinner with a man who makes me shiver, and a glass of wine with my friends.

(My personal comment to this story?  Yeah.  Hell yeah.  HELL FREAKING YEAH.)

Open Season

Hibernation is over at the zoo....well it's actually been over since spring has "sprung".  Sometimes the zookeeper goes on vacation....sometimes just her brain or mind or heart or soul goes along as well.

But the zoo is once again open.  The animals have awoken from their winter slumber and are again causing panic and mayhem around here.  Well that's not actually true.  They've been causing mayhem all winter but like a tree in the forest, let me ask you:  If the zookeeper doesn't write about it, does it really happen?

I savor my bad memory.

Welcome back.  It's open season on the wild things that surround me.  Oh it's on kiddos...it's so on!