Squeaky Clean

I feel as if I've mentioned this somewhere before but I'm too lazy to go back to see if it's here in this blog somewhere.  If we have already discussed this, it's worthy of discussion again.  Because it caused that much of a scar on my soul.

I was in eighth grade.  My parents surprised me, my grandparents, my Auntie Ellie and my Auntie Maffie with a trip to Italy.  It was an amaaaazing trip of a lifetime.  I have so many incredible memories that I will cherish forever.

While on the trip, we visit with tons of family. One day, we were visiting our "rich" cousins (they had indoor plumbing and Atari) and, while my parents and the rest of the family went out, I stayed home with my cousin, Angela Marie.  When you're a kid, everyone's ages get skewed and so it's hard to say how old she was at the time.  (I remember thinking that my second grade teacher was "ancient" and now, come to think of it, I bet she was 25.) 

Anywho...Angela Marie and I were home.  In my memory, she was 85 but I bet she was younger than I am now.  (Oh sweet baby Jesus, I bet that's true.)  She was this cute little lovely lady who smelled like garlic and ivory soap all at once.   She didn't speak a word of English and I, sadly, didn't speak a word of Italian.  (I don't have many regrets in life but this is one of them.)

Somehow, over the course of the evening, I understood that she asked if I wanted to take a bath.  "Sure", said my eighth grade self.  "That would be nice.  It's August.  There's nothing in this entire country that is air conditioned.  I am a Bertoni so I sweat like nobody's business (even as a kid) and it will be super refreshing.  Great."

There was a cool claw-foot tub. There were bubbles.  There was the smell of homemade sauce coming in from the kitchen for dinner.  And suddenly, there was Angela Marie.  In the bathroom.  Bathing me.  It happened so quickly.  I couldn't stop it. 

She was totally not bathing me in a creepy "Dr. Phil/Maury Povich/Jerry Springer-way".  It was totally in a "you are my cousin from America and I want to take care of you and we can't talk to each other so let me do this for you"-way.  (Well that seems weird too but it really wasn't).

I mean - wait.  It totally was weird.  You DO remember that I was in eighth grade, right?  I knew that I was dying inside but at the same time, I knew that she meant nothing other than complete and total love by it.  (Again, that sounds weird. I promise you. It was not.) 

Anyway, after what was (in my memory) the longest bath in the history of baths was over, I remember some kid cousins coming over and I totally schooled them in centipede. (I was very happy that our rich Italian cousins had Atari so that I could take my mind off of The Cleansing).

I wish you could have seen my face. I wish I could have seen my face.

Classic.  Simply and utterly classic Kim.

...now back to folding laundry...

Who Knew?

They were little.
Itty bitties.
I forget who was where exactly but one of them was sitting on the couch with Guy.
The other one was upstairs taking a nap.
Suddenly, the one on the couch said to Guy, "Daddy, sister up."
Guy didn't think much of it but knew that "the sister" was still upstairs sleeping.
A few minutes later, again, "Daddy, sister up."  No noises from upstairs.  Nothing.
He walked over to the stairs and sure enough, around the corner from their bedroom came "sister". Awake from her nap, just as was being announced a few minutes prior.

Who knew?
The Sister did.

If you catch them just right in the middle of the night, you'll sometimes hear them talking a language that is certainly no language I've ever heard.  It's clear that one is asking questions and the other is answering her questions, simply by the inflection in their voices.  It only lasts for a minute but it is quite possibly the coolest thing I've ever heard.

A few mornings ago, Hannah wasn't feeling well.  She rebounded early afternoon and was outside playing, doing homework and having a grand ol' day.  Guy and I thought she was on the mend.  Later that night, we were all watching tv and Hannah fell asleep. (It wasn't all that unusual - she's a sleeper and can fall asleep at an alarming speed, especially when relaxing with her Daddio).  She hadn't even stirred yet and Maddie got up from the couch and walked over to her.  The look of sadness and stress in Maddie's face was impossible to not notice.  Two seconds later, Hannah woke up. Miserable and feeling terrible all over again.

Who knew?
The Sister did.

Ever since they were little, when one is "brave", the other is "afraid".
And for the next go-round, the roles become reversed.  One is confident while the other is hesitant.

Who knew it'd be such a wild ride with these two?

Who knew?
The Sisters did.

BFFs

The bald guy on the bike. 

The lady with the hat. 

The other lady with the dog. Sometimes two dogs. 

The other lady with the other dog. 

The Italian Nonna. 

The teacher. 

The grandmother. 

The holding hands couple. 

The Running Lady. 

These are the people I see nearly every day when I run.  

We wave.  

We say "g'mornin'" and I wonder if they are closer to being done with their workout than I am.  (Especially when it's three degrees colder than Ridiculous.)

I make up stories about them that I think are true. 

I sometimes worry about them when I don't see them.  

I wonder what they do after we see each other. 

I need a life.

..."these are a few of my favorite things..."

This week in my musical theater classes, I asked all of my students to tell us a favorite memory of their winter break.  I only let them each share one memory- otherwise, we'd be there until NEXT winter break.

Vacation seems as if it happened forever ago.  So, I'm going to think about some of my favorite memories and pretend that they're still happening.

...And I'm going to think about more than one...'cuz this blog is all about me...

1. Walking around Beacon Hill with my Four Family.
2.  Watching Hannah and Maddie decide the perfect thing to buy in Boston with their own Christmas present money.
3.  Sitting in our family room with some of "the original" Broadway Light and those that loved us then and now.
4.  Watching old family movies with my cousins on Christmas.
5.  Sitting in my kitchen on Christmas Day with friends - who are really family.
6.  Not wanting to have a birthday (or a birthday party...) but then being so happy each time someone else showed up.
7.  Automatically waking up at 6:00 and going back to sleep until 8:00.
8.  Singing the annual "Twelve Days of Christmas" on Christmas Eve.
9.  Watching and listening to my dad and Uncle Freddie play a game that I've not seen them play in years.  It is pronounced "mortah" but I really have no idea how to spell it.  (Even google can't help me.)
10. Seeing Maddie and Hannah in their pjs with bedhead all day long.
11.  Painting Hannah's dresser for her new room.
12.  Finding "the perfect" rug for Maddie.
13.  Playing Headbands with my cousins and laughing so hard my head hurt.
14.  Cooking.  A lot.
15.  Knowing that the first thing Hannah would do each morning, no matter what, is plug in the Christmas tree lights.
16.  Seeing Hannah and Maddie's faces as they settled in to their ""own rooms" for the first time.
17.  New Year's Eve traditions.
18.  Sitting at our office brunch, laughing.  And laughing.  And laughing.  (And not necessarily at my expense this year!)
19.  Asking their girls and a BFF when we were at the movies if they wanted me to sit with or without them and hearing an emphatic "with!"
20.  Knowing that I'll do it all again next year.

Can I Have An Amen, Sister?

New Years Resolutions would be much easier to keep if we celebrated in July. (At least in New England.)

Odds Are

"Rock, Paper Scissors" 

The ultimate Problem Solver/Decision Maker in our house.

Who will go to a make-up piano lesson and when. 

Who will shower first. 

Who will answer the door or phone.

And who will choose the movie that we watch next. 

Who needs to claim the dirty socks on the floor. 

Who will have the last cookie in the jar. 

In case you're curious, H tends to be the more frequent two out of three winner. 

And, oh how I wish, all decisions could be made so easily... ;)

2015

As we head in to 2015, this is what I want. 

To capture every one of ^ these ^ moments.  

To keep ^this^ balance.  

Of family.  

And of life. 

To move faster if I need to. 

But to always remember that ^this^ speed is the one makes my world happiest.

To talk. 

To listen. 

To keep ^these^ three in the center of my world. 

Always. 

Oh, and to lose 15 pounds...
At least.