Thursday, September 30, 2010

Because I know you're dying to know...

Here's an update on the chair.

This is what it looks like right now. (And what it's looked like for about a week.)



And here's the fabric I chose, pinned and ready to sew the first piece (the inside of the right arm). Of course, the trickiest piece comes first. (Dear Kate, thank you, thank you, thank you, for the tip about PrudentBaby's how-to's. I followed the instructions exactly for piping, and it worked beautifully!)



I got this fabric for $6/yard. Originally $24/yard.

That sound you hear is me, patting myself on the back.

Saturday, September 11, 2010

Remembering

Nine years ago today, I was getting ready for my Pastoral Counseling class (I was a junior in college), listening to the radio, when I heard the news of the plane crashing into the World Trade Center. It wasn't too long before I heard them reporting it again. (I was only halfway paying attention, and I didn't realize it was a SECOND plane.)

The enormity of it was lost on me at the time. Thinking it was just one plane, I assumed it was a fluke, an accident.

Once I got to class, one of my classmates asked the rest of us if we'd heard about the terrorist attack. I thought to myself, Geez, this is how rumors get started! Something goes wrong with one plane, and next thing you know, it's a terrorist attack!

Oops.

I spent a good part of the day in front of the TV, and as the day wore on, I couldn't shake my fear that something had happened to Bob. You see, he was living in Brooklyn & working in Manhattan at the time. I emailed him. And waited. And then I called his apartment. And waited. (Phone calls were not getting through. The lines were completely swamped.) Finally, in mid-evening, I got an email saying that he was fine. He'd walked his friend Shira home, and he would call me when he got back to Brooklyn.

I was so grateful. He called, we talked, and when we got off the phone, I finally allowed myself to feel the fear that I'd been trying not to face. What if something had happened to him? It was that day that I thought, "Maybe my sister is right. Am I in love with Bob?"

(She had asked me that, point-blank, in the spring of that year.)

At that point, I'd known Bob for about ten years.

I'd never once thought that marrying Bob could be an option. I had no idea he might have feelings for me.

(As my dad pointed out later, any fool could see I had feelings for Bob.)

Perhaps as a result of Bob's post-traumatic stress, things were said more directly and more quickly than they might otherwise have been. September 11th was a Tuesday, I believe. By Saturday, our cards were on the table, so to speak.

We began dating (long-distance), and were married in July 2002, following a (suspiciously short, apparently!) six-week engagement.

On September 11th each year, I am grateful again that Bob was not near the Twin Towers that morning. I think of my classmate in that Pastoral Counseling class whose father HAD been in the Twin Towers that morning, and who was missing for weeks before they found him in a New Jersey hospital.

I grieve for the families who lost loved ones.

And I wince at the prejudice & hatred aimed at Muslims. Surely we can agree that prejudice & hatred do no one any good?

Friday, September 10, 2010

My life would be improved if...

these three inventions existed:

1. A [safe, of course!] stair-climbing machine for babies. Will would be happy all day, every day.

2. A car-simulator, to help Caroline go down for her nap in the afternoon. At home, she gets tired, but never sleepy. In the car, she's out like a light.

3. Some sort of sprayskirt like kayakers wear. It would attach to the high chair, and fit tight around Will's waist, so that the seat of the high chair would not end up full of smooshed bananas and crushed Cheerios. Yes, the food would end up on the floor, but the floor's easier to clean.

What do you think? Are you with me?

Sunday, September 5, 2010

Stalling

The chair is now stable. I can sit in it, and it doesn't fall over ... or even creak. It's comfortable! I like it.

So the time has come to start the upholstering process.

And I'm scared to death.

It's not even a scary part yet! I need to start taking the old upholstery off the thing, and I'm just completely intimidated.

Buying fabric would be much more fun.