Showing posts with label Family. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Family. Show all posts
Sunday, August 18, 2013
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Sofa Bed Night
One of the rituals of our tiny tiny family is Sofa Bed Night.* At least once every two weeks - usually on a weekend - we haul all of our bedding into the living room, pull out the sofa bed, and crash for the night in the living room. Falling asleep to the flicker of the television is comforting to me. And Jeff and I often switch "sides" on sofa bed night, so the bed time snuggling is different.
Sofa Bed Night is often inspired by an unfinished project in the bedroom - 10 loads of unfolded laundry piled on the bed, changed sheets that haven't quite made it to fully made bed stage. We had Sofa Bed Night last night because we're in the middle of fixing the underbed drawers and clothing is everywhere.
I love Sofa Bed Night.
What I don't love is Sofa Bed Night the morning after. My body is always a little tight and ouchy because our double stuffed futon mattress just doesn't compare to the Bob-O-Pedic. The living room is littered with bedding and other night time detritus. I can't use the couch as a couch which only exacerbates the ouchy tightness. And, the mess in the bedroom is still a mess in the bedroom.
*Sofa Bed Night is a ritual we learned from my younger sister, ELR and her family. Not only have Jeff and I adopted it as one of our rituals, but my older sister HTP and HER family have also adopted it as a special treat. Feel free to adopt Sofa Bed Night for your family too!
Sofa Bed Night is often inspired by an unfinished project in the bedroom - 10 loads of unfolded laundry piled on the bed, changed sheets that haven't quite made it to fully made bed stage. We had Sofa Bed Night last night because we're in the middle of fixing the underbed drawers and clothing is everywhere.
I love Sofa Bed Night.
What I don't love is Sofa Bed Night the morning after. My body is always a little tight and ouchy because our double stuffed futon mattress just doesn't compare to the Bob-O-Pedic. The living room is littered with bedding and other night time detritus. I can't use the couch as a couch which only exacerbates the ouchy tightness. And, the mess in the bedroom is still a mess in the bedroom.
*Sofa Bed Night is a ritual we learned from my younger sister, ELR and her family. Not only have Jeff and I adopted it as one of our rituals, but my older sister HTP and HER family have also adopted it as a special treat. Feel free to adopt Sofa Bed Night for your family too!
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Getting ready for the Holidays
Just had the party at my mother's and now decompressing with some Nog and some gift wrapping. And we did some gift unwrapping. As we sipped our 'Made in Somerville' 'nog drinks we each unwrapped one gift in honor of the start of Hanukkah. A pair of fleece lounge pants for Jeff and garden seeds for GK.
Lazy weekends where you can't go out and do stuff are far superior to those where you feel obligated to rush around like a maniac.
Lazy weekends where you can't go out and do stuff are far superior to those where you feel obligated to rush around like a maniac.
Monday, December 8, 2008
16 thing thing - Gretchen's perspective
Thanks to Sarah Gibb Millsaugh and Facebook for sharing this list exercise.
Make a list of 16 random yet poignant things about yourself (non-work related). And share them here.
1. I'm smack dab in the middle of five kids raised (nearly) solo by an extraordinarily strong mom.
2. Aforementioned strong mom now takes in immigrant refugee foster kids and I have had"brothers" from Sudan, China, Afghanistan, and other African, Asian and Central American nations. I think about cultural competency and immigrant rights a lot - from a personal perspective.
3. I worked very hard to earn two graduate degrees - one in social work and one in public health.
4. I'm toying with the idea of getting a PhD. I have a dissertation idea. But am not sure I want to do the coursework.
5. I lived for 2.5 years in an urban commune, which influenced my personal philosophy of recycling and living simply.
6. Very few things make me laugh out loud. A challenge for you comedians out there perhaps?
7. I have no relationship with my biological dad. Or my (former) step-father.
8. Two of my four siblings are either gay or in same sex relationships. I think about gay rights a lot - from a personal perspective.
9. I have very fond memories of playing the character Jacob Marley in my fourth grade performance of "A Christmas Carol." It was taped for and rebroadcast on local cable access television that year.
10. I wish I had received sufficient high school training in the sciences to prepare me to succeed in medical school.
11. I regret not having joined the Peace Corps when given the opportunity.
12. I regret not having attended state college for my undergraduate degree.
13. I'm not Jewish and I find the observation of Yom Kippur to be deeply moving. And I am sometimes embarassed to attend services because I assume I stand out like a sore thumb.
14. I choose not to have children of my own partly because I'm deeply afraid of being a bad parent.
15. The movie "The Color Purple" makes me weep uncontrollably. Really, just the last twenty minutes of the movie "The Color Purple." Or hearing the song playing during the last twenty minutes of the movie "The Color Purple."
16. I miss my grandmother, who died in November 2002.
Make a list of 16 random yet poignant things about yourself (non-work related). And share them here.
1. I'm smack dab in the middle of five kids raised (nearly) solo by an extraordinarily strong mom.
2. Aforementioned strong mom now takes in immigrant refugee foster kids and I have had"brothers" from Sudan, China, Afghanistan, and other African, Asian and Central American nations. I think about cultural competency and immigrant rights a lot - from a personal perspective.
3. I worked very hard to earn two graduate degrees - one in social work and one in public health.
4. I'm toying with the idea of getting a PhD. I have a dissertation idea. But am not sure I want to do the coursework.
5. I lived for 2.5 years in an urban commune, which influenced my personal philosophy of recycling and living simply.
6. Very few things make me laugh out loud. A challenge for you comedians out there perhaps?
7. I have no relationship with my biological dad. Or my (former) step-father.
8. Two of my four siblings are either gay or in same sex relationships. I think about gay rights a lot - from a personal perspective.
9. I have very fond memories of playing the character Jacob Marley in my fourth grade performance of "A Christmas Carol." It was taped for and rebroadcast on local cable access television that year.
10. I wish I had received sufficient high school training in the sciences to prepare me to succeed in medical school.
11. I regret not having joined the Peace Corps when given the opportunity.
12. I regret not having attended state college for my undergraduate degree.
13. I'm not Jewish and I find the observation of Yom Kippur to be deeply moving. And I am sometimes embarassed to attend services because I assume I stand out like a sore thumb.
14. I choose not to have children of my own partly because I'm deeply afraid of being a bad parent.
15. The movie "The Color Purple" makes me weep uncontrollably. Really, just the last twenty minutes of the movie "The Color Purple." Or hearing the song playing during the last twenty minutes of the movie "The Color Purple."
16. I miss my grandmother, who died in November 2002.
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Fa la la la la!
It has been Nag City here at the bungalow, with cabin fever coming before winter has even officially begun. It feels like we're fighting about everything - the ugliness of the new recycling bin in the living room, the shape of the meatballs rolled up on the baking tray, the volume of the television, the sound of the pages flipping as we turn pages in our respective books in bed. Today it felt like we had a break in the sniping when we designed our Christmas photo card. I LOVE sending and receiving Christmas cards and they are important to me.
"Do you want to send a photo Christmas card?" I asked, after addressing approximately 30 cards to people who I maintain acquaintances with, but who are not known by Jeff.
"Yes" he replied definitively. ("Hooray!" I cheered on the inside, no guessing on what he *REALLY* means.)
"How many people do you want to send them to? I have about 15 people who I would send photo cards to." I replied.
"Hmmm. Maybe nine," says Jeff. ("Hooray!" again I cheered, another definite in the making.)
Within two hours we had set up and taken the photo, and I had begun the process of choosing the photo card template online. It felt like a peaceful and fun collaboration. We both wanted something silly and clever, and we didn't want to spend a lot of money. After I spent about 2 hours poking around on tens of websites, playing with different templates and captions, I turned to Jeff for help.
"Honey. I really need your help here. I can't think of something clever to say." ("Hooray!" I imagine Jeff thinking. "Gretchen is asking for help!")
"Okay, tell me what you got."
And from there we started working on the card together, scrapping our favorite template in favor of a simpler one that called for a less clever play on words. And, by 9:00 PM they were finished. They will be here in about a week. And the 25 or so of you - plus 15 bonus friends - who are on our shared "hot list" will get a beautiful and silly card from me and Jeff. Happy holidays!
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