I discovered this last Saturday morning at Max's basketball game. I am 8 months pregnant and look every bit of 8 months pregnant. So, on Saturday morning, I get to the game; the gym is packed and there are no chairs left to sit in. Lots of people noticed me standing there in the doorway, including many men. Did anyone jump up and say, “Here, take this seat!”
Nope, not on your life.
They saw me standing there in the doorway, sized me up and then turned their attention back to the players warming-up on the floor. So, I stand there for a bit.
Actually, I'm stunned.
I just expected that someone or several people would help me find a place to sit. Not that I'm a princess and expect people to fulfill my every wish and want; rather I assumed it was common courtesy to help women who might not necessarily be able to help themselves (pregnant, elderly, etc...)
So, after a bit, I go over to the rack in the hallway that holds the folding chairs and get one down for myself and sit in the doorway. Not a big deal, except two grown, capable men watched me struggle to take a chair down and then lug it over to the doorway.
They WATCHED me!
Hello?!?
Did it not occur to either of them that I could use their muscles. What ever happened to the whole “Knight in shining armor” attitude. Rescue the damsel in distress! Be the hero! Jeezy peets. It was just one stinking chair. But, then I had to get another chair for Eli. And, of course, the men watched me again and did not make any motion to help or even apologize for not helping.
Maybe I'm making a bigger deal out of this than it really qualifies for. But, it seems to me a breakdown of a basic societal rule: The stronger help the weaker. I drill this into my kids’ heads. I tell them all the time: If you are in the position to help someone, DO IT!
Or maybe that is just a Christian rule. There is no way I would be allowed to get my own chair at church. There would be a dozen other people jumping up to help me. And other people would chide me for trying to get my own chair.
Makes me feel good about my church and somewhat uneasy about our society.
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On to a happier topic:
Eli has discovered Dvorak.
One of my favorite all-time pieces of music is Dvorak’s Symphony No. 9 (The New World Symphony) I love all of it, but I especially love the fourth movement. It has a raw power and energy that is unsurpassed in my opinion. The best version is the Chicago Symphony Orchestra as conducted by Sir Georg Solti. Solti was an amazing maestro who could create sweeping emotions within any piece of music.
I wish I could find an intenet version of the fourth movement conducted by Solti for you to put here, but the best I can do is the Wiener Philharmoniker. Herbert von Karajan, conductor. (Yeah, the Wiener Philharmonic. huh huh, you said weiner. LOL)
It's an awesome piece of music and one that I was playing on a recent morning before breakfast. As soon as the music started, Eli stopped what he was doing and went into the living room. He just stood there, totally still and transfixed, staring at the CD player for the entire 11 minute and 28 second movement. When it was over he grabbed me and pointed at the CD player. (He's a man of action, not words.) So, I started it again. He climbed up into a nearby chair and continued to stare at the CD player.
Then, he begins to conduct!
It was such a neat experience for me! That he, at the age of two-and-a-half, can be so moved by a piece of music that I love. And that he just innately knew to conduct! He hasn't seen me ever conduct a musical group; I haven't done any conducting since before my kids were born. And, unfortunately, we haven't been to many concerts of any kind. But, he just knew. It's in his blood. How cool is that.
And, what is probably the best part? When Eli is doing something he shouldn't, I just turn on Dvorak and he stops to go listen and conduct! LOL
I'm going to introduce him to Gershwin next. I think he'll really like that!
Well, we’re getting ready to take down all the Christmas decorations here in the Bucher house. I thought I would post a couple of quick pix here, first though. We thought the whole scene in our living room was very Norman Rockwell. Yes, there are only four stockings hung by the chimney with care. We can’t find my stocking. We had it in Wilmore last year, but it seems to have disappeared from the moving boxes. I am hoping we simply overlooked it as it is the stocking I have had since I was a wee little girl. Bryan, being the wonderful husband he is, bought me a new stocking as a Christmas gift, but since there are only four hooks on the mantel it didn’t get hung. We’ll add two more hooks before next year and make sure everyone has stockings.
This is the little tree-shaped shrub outside our front window. When I was clearing leaves out of the flower beds earlier this fall I saw the cutest little black shrew. He was quite shocked to see me and I think a little upset that I was messing up his home. (You know, if the positions were reversed, I think I would be quite ticked that some clumsy giant was destroying my yard. I would probably have bitten me.) The funny part was that I saw him once and he scurried away, but when I moved to the other side of the shrub, there he was again! So cute!
Xavier, my lover of all animals, was quite delighted with the idea of a little shrew living right there. So, come Christmas time, we had to be sure the shrew had his own Christmas tree. We strung lights around the tree and added a red bow at the top. Xavier really wanted a full-blown tree for the shrew complete with ornaments, but I said no there’s no way I’m dragging more stuff outside for this silly little animal who not only doesn’t appreciate our efforts but is probably ticked off that we are, once again, messing with his home talked him out of it. As you can see in the picture, the red bow from the top of the tree has blown off and I, being somewhat lazy, have not yet put it back on. I figure it can wait until we put all the Christmas decorations away or until next Christmas, whichever comes first.
We had a surprise and then a bit of mourning on this cold New Year’s Day morning when we discovered that, while we were watching mind-numbing cartoons with our boys in an attempt to stay up past midnight, our trampoline was out partying without a designated driver. It apparently drunk a little too much in it’s celebrations and ended up smashed (literally) in the neighbor’s yard. (Well, it was either that or the wind blew it.) Bryan drug it back into our yard where it now sits like an old derelict just waiting for some poor, unsuspecting child to dare to jump on it. “Come heeeeerrrreee little boy. Come jump on me and have fuuuuunnnnnn. Bwaaaaa Haaaaa Haaaaa Haaaaa!” When Bryan went over to the neighbor’s yard to get our little drunkard he discovered, much to his dismay, that the trampoline had put a small dent in the neighbor’s downspout. With any other neighbor this would be no big deal. He would go over to the neighbor and say, “Our trampoline got wild with your downspout & we’ll fix it.” and the neighbor—any neighbor other than this particular neighbor—would say, “No big deal.” But this neighbor is a bit, well... crotchety comes to mind. He has spoken to Bryan exactly one time since we moved here 6 months ago and that was to yell at him about moving over the property line. To which Bryan responded that he would have a survey done so they could be sure exactly where the property line is located. It wasn't what you would call a friendly exchange. So, I offered to go over and explain to the neighbor what happened. His wife has been quite lovely and gracious to me. But Bryan said this is a “Man Thing” so he has to go. Pray for him. LOL
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* Other Breaking News in the Bucher House
Eli can now open the fridge and fix his own food. (Sort of. The fixing part.)
Here he is in the tub ready for a bath after he fixed his own glass of chocolate milk. Well, technically not chocolate “milk” as there was no milk. Just a glass of chocolate syrup. Yum. Tasty and nutritious. He was quite upset when I took the glass away and stripped him for a bath. I did not feel badly that I took the glass away as he obviously had had quite a bit already.
Well, off for more New Year’s Day fun! Hope your day is great!
Name: Aimee Home: Lima, Ohio, United States About Me: I own and run 123 Design Studio, a custom web and graphic design studio. I am mother to four wonderful boys: Max, age 10, Xavier, age 7, Eli, age 3, and Toby, age 1. Bryan & I have been married for 18 (mostly wonderful LOL) years. I eat excessive amounts of sugar and laugh inappropriately. See my complete profile
