You might think this is a joke, but it’s a True Story! A girl that is 6 years old named Carrie started a Ninja Camp.
Now you might think that an adult is the leader of the camp, but you guys read half of the note and you know that the person doing it is 6. She knows how to be a Ninja.
She can walk quietly like in the olden days. She can spy on her moms. She is good at climbing trees. She can stand as still as a tree. She can balance as good as a cup.
If you want to learn Ninja skills, come to Carrie Chamberlain Reagler. Her phone number is 713-x82-78x9.
If your son or daughter wants to be like a Ninja, then you can come to Carrie’s house and celebrate your holiday here.
Each year we look forward to the Houston art car parade. This rabbit was both Pearl and Carrie's favorite. Carrie liked the Easter eggs and stuffed animals on the hood and hub caps. Pearl liked the eyelashes, the heart-shaped nose, and the evil teeth.
Our neighbors made the Pee Wee Herman art car. It is completely covered with Peeps, the Easter candies.
I liked the cardboard box car, a throwback to all the boxes that our childhood imaginations brought to life.
in the rain Sunday afternoon at Discovery Green, ushering in a deluge. The music stopped and the kids started. They played in the rain with extreme delight, exhibiting a fervor that I suspect is reserved solely for children.
In support of Freedom to Marry, Ben & Jerry's is changing the name of their ice cream flavor Chubby Hubby to Hubby Hubby for the month of September. The citizens of Grrrlville commend this clever strategy of combining activism and ice cream. Thanks, Ben! Thanks, Jerry!
I *heart* rituals, and the bedtime story ritual is one of my favorites. I also like this book; have you read "And Tango Makes Three" yet? It's a true story about the two daddy penguins who had a baby in the Central Park Zoo.
This year both Pearl and Carrie wanted to run in our neighborhood 1K race. Pearl faced the event with great fear last year, but this year she seemed more at ease.
Carrie was thrilled to get to run this year. She has admired Pearl's ribbon all year long. She wears it like a necklace some days and believes that because of this medal, Pearl is a hero. That's what Carrie wants to be when she grows up, a super hero! So she has had this race on her radar for quite some time.
Carrie felt confident she would win in the 14 and under age bracket. Marcia waited for her at the halfway point turnaround. Carrie was walking by then and cried when she spotted Mama. Marcia asked her, "What's the matter, Carrie?" Carrie shook her head sadly, saying, "My super powers failed me."
Despite this setback, Carrie crossed the finish line in due time, and received a ribbon. It was exactly like Pearl's!
What's up with same-sex marriage? Suddenly all 50 states are rushing to legalize it? Has the great race for equality finally kicked in? I'm rubbing my eyes as I cruise the news. Should I start saving up for the big W? This is not really something that I've been anticipating.Where would I begin? Help!
In some places there are seasons like autumn, winter, or spring. In lack of those, Houston has come up with its own. The last three weeks of March mean the blooming of the azaleas and the rodeo. Since it's tricky to dress up as an azalea, pretty much every school in Houston celebrates the rodeo instead.
Just wanted to thank everyone for participating in the What About Love blog carnival in celebration of Freedom the Marry Week 2009. It's been great to read the many different responses to the Some/things. My favorite part about the carnival was the sharing of stories. Stories are the fabric of our community, and whether we've actually met in person or not, we unite virtually when we share them, both as writers and as readers.
Over the past week during the carnival I've been traveling and have probably missed some of your posts. Please leave comments where I have omitted your link or need to correct it.
When it comes to outfitting the kids, I love hand-me-downs. I love that they're free and easy, of course. That's a given. But mostly I love them because they're full of stories.
The red shirt that Carrie is wearing in this picture first belonged to her cousin Max. He's 15 now. Red was and still is his favorite color. Then it was his sister Sarah's, then Pearl's, and now it's Carrie's. I look at it and remember my niece and nephew. I remember how they grow up so fast--Max is already 5'10"! Perhaps this is overly sentimental on my part, but I really see the shirt as a connection from one kid to the next. Sibling to cousin to friend, and on down the line.
88888
Note: This post is part of a blog carnival celebrating Freedom to Marry Week 2009. Feel free to write your own post on your blog or facebook page. Then leave the link to your "something new" post, and I will share it with the group. Check out the other posts on this topic:
We have a new pup named Cody. He was a sweet little Jekyll of a boy until exactly 3 weeks after his arrival. On day 22 he transformed himself into 100% pure Hyde-bound hell-on-paws animal chaos. Grrrlville was pretty chaotic before we adopted this fellow. What were we thinking?
Cody has a lot of Marley in him. He aspires to bipedalism. He loves fun and food, and his definition of both of this items is extremely broad. He's scared of Moriah and water. Pearl and Carrie adore him. When visitors arrive as our door, Carrie warns, in the loudest voice she can muster: HE'S NOT TRAINED. She's right about that.
Cody loves the chill winter days. He runs awkwardly, in an unpredictable lope, gulping down gallons of wind and chasing the brittle leaves. He is my boy.
88888
Note: This post is part of a blog carnival celebrating Freedom to Marry Week 2009.
Feel free to write your own post on your blog or facebook page. Then leave the link to your "something new" post, and I will share it with
the group. Check out the other posts on this topic:
Our cat Moriah is 20 years old. That's 96 for you or me. Or am I presuming too much? Perhaps there are a few cats who read this blog? You never know. My teacher, the poet Adam Zagajewski, knew my cat when she was a newborn kitten. He and Moriah were neighbors. He begged me, Robin, teach this cat to read before it's too late!
I dare say it is now officially too late. At 20 Moriah is not taught; she teaches. And she is one stern taskmaster. Cody the pup is terrified of her. The rest of us play it cool, but we inevitably do exactly what she says.
I never really wanted a cat. As a kid I was frightened of cats myself. But something happens when the cat in question is yours. In other words, one might fear or dislike CATS but still like one cat in particular. Does that make sense?
Moriah was a gift, one given, not one received. My partner wanted a cat for her birthday. Twenty years later the partner is long gone but the cat remains. For whatever reason, I do love her.
Once when Moriah was a kitten I wrote this description of her:
The marks on her face look like a mask.Who is she?Sometimes she leaves for days.Her eyes send out beams of light into the night.She is a hunter.And then she returns to me, small ball at my
chest, kneading, needing.
Although it's been many years since Moriah has done any of these things, the magic is still in her. If you know her, you know what I mean.
88888
Note: This post is part of a blog carnival celebrating Freedom to Marry Week 2009. Leave the link to your "something old" post and I will share it with the group. Check out some of the other posts on this topic:
You can join the blog carnival at any time until Feb. 14. This list will be updated throughout the week. To be added, leave a comment with your url. For the blog carnival guidelines, click here.
It's Freedom to Marry week, and equality is what it's all about. The nonprofit group Freedom to Marry has organized activities throughout the week that encourage dialogue between all people.
“Conversations with the circles of people around us are the
prerequisite to winning, the key to helping them push past their
discomfort, complacency, or indifference to becoming supportive of our
equality.”
--Evan Wolfson, Freedom to Marry Executive Director
In order to facilitate these conversations, Freedom to Marry is sponsoring a number of programs,
including 7 Conversations in 7 Days. If you are a blogger, you can kick off the week by joining the blogswarm. Visit Mombian for more information on that.
As you may know, I am organizing a blog carnival this week, as part of the celebration, and YOU are invited. This afternoon I'll post a list of everyone who is planning to participate, so if you haven't done so already, please let me know. Here's the schedule:
Tuesday, Feb. 10... Something Old
Wednesday, Feb. 11... Something New
Thursday, Feb. 12... Something Borrowed
Friday, Feb. 13... Something Blue
Saturday, Feb. 14... Valentine's Day: Celebrate Love
I hope you will join me in this blog carnival, which we began last year. The way it works is simple. Each day next week, post to your blog or facebook page something on these topics, according to the "olde" wedding tradition:
Tuesday, Feb. 10... Something Old
Wednesday, Feb. 11... Something New
Thursday, Feb. 12... Something Borrowed
Friday, Feb. 13... Something Blue
Saturday, Feb. 14... Valentine's Day: Celebrate Love
You can post a photo, a memory, a poem, some music, or a combination. Try to
surprise us. And once you're done with your post, if you leave a link in the comment
section, everyone will be able to check out what you've done.
Feel free to link to The Other Mother, using the "Something" badge. If you're not
a blogger, you can participate by leaving a comment. I will be posting links to all contributions here. Just leave the URL as a comment. You can participate all week or whenever you have the time. I'll start by compiling a list of participants, so let me know if you're "in".
If you want to make your story easy to find, use the keyword something2009 .
Ever since we noticed that Obama is left-handed, we’ve been thinking about our older daughter Pearl. She came out of the womb favoring her left hand. In her first Montessori class at 6 months old, the instructor noticed that Pearl would start her crawl with her left leg. We were impressed, but we’d already guessed as much. She grabbed the cat’s ears with her left hand, made the sign to breastfeed with her left hand, and waved goodbye to us with her left hand.
Pearl and Carrie's donor is left-handed, so we guess that’s where she got it. Of course, Marcia claims that she had something to do with it because she has always dreamed of being left-handed. She associates left-handedness with creativity and originality. I told Marcia that my brother and sister are left-handed, so maybe I should get the credit.
Regardless of who is responsible, Marcia and I both feel it’s a good thing. After all, Pearl has some great role models: Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Helen Keller, Charlie Chaplin, Jay Leno, Mark Twain, Lewis Carroll, Carol Burnett, Paul Simon, James Baldwin, Jimi Hendrix, Paul McCartney, Dick Van Dyke, Kurt Cobain, Angelina Jolie, Diego Maradona, Mark Spitz, John McEnroe, and of course, Bart Simpson.
Are YOU left-handed? Any thoughts on left-handedness?
Thanks, Lori Hahn, for posting this video of Mayor Jerry Sanders explaining his decision to support gay marriage. Below is a letter Marcia wrote to the San Diego mayor applauding his decision.
Dear Mayor Sanders,
I just saw a video of you and your wife on YouTube in which you
announced that you will sign the resolution passed by your city
council to file a brief in support of gay marriage. Thank you.
Last December my extended family came from many parts of the United
States to spend Christmas in your beautiful city San Diego. We were
not disappointed–the beaches were pristine, the skies blue, the city
stunning. There is only one problem with San Diego, we all agreed:
it’s too conservative.
You see, my sister and I are both lesbians with life-long partners and
2 kids each; our dad is a retired bishop in the United Methodist
Church who works unfailingly for justice for all; our mom is an
idealist who believes in unconditional love for everyone; and our
brother, his wife, and their 2 kids are activists committed to making
the world a better place. We are an amazing family, if I do say so
myself.
And your family, too, is amazing, if I do say so myself! Your change
of heart over gay marriage left me in tears. Truly. Transformation is
always courageous, but you get lots of bonus points because you chose
(okay, no doubt you felt forced) to explain your change in public to
your constituents and the world.
I just want you to know that I applaud your dedication to
enlightenment and equality. I hope that I will be as brave as you
have been if (no, WHEN!) the turn arises for me to grow or change my
views about an issue. You are an inspiration. Keep up your good
work.
And maybe our family will see you next Christmas in San Diego after
all. It would be an honor.
I am organizing a DVD giveaway for Other Mother readers. At the end of October and the beginning of November, I will be giving away 9 of the Complete Season 5 DVD sets of The L Word. You will have three different opportunities to win. Stay tuned.
This week the polls in Texas are open for early voters, and Marcia
decided to check that all-American item off of her to-do list today. Pearl asked her to wait until after preschool so that she could come along. She said she was interested in the presidential race and wanted to vote too.
One of the polling places is located near the girls' school, so after the 11:30 a.m. pick-up, they went there and got into the rather long line to wait. Just ahead of them was former President and First Lady George and Barbara Bush. Carrie didn't care who was in the line. She found a chair pushed up against the wall and played with her toy dinosaurs for the half hour. But Marcia introduced herself and Pearl. Mr. Bush pointed his cane in Pearl's direction and said, "Hey there, little feller."
As you know, we're not republicans, but still it's kind of exciting to get to meet a former president. This afternoon when I asked Pearl about voting, she said she was pretty disappointed. Why was that? I asked. Well, she said, there were no runners, and we never got to see the race.
Starting today eight lesbian bloggers are launching 8 Against 8, an eight-day collaborative online fundraising
drive to defeat Proposition 8, a ballot initiative that seeks to eliminate the right of same-sex couples to marry in the State of California. The campaign aims to raise both funds and awareness. Visit the 8 bloggers and support Equality California.
Often my own response to poverty--my response to seeing a person who's homeless or begging or sleeping on cardboard--is to avert my eyes. This reaction is a complex one which involves judgment and respect and fear and shame. Rather than processing what I've witnessed, I often move mentally a.s.a.p. to an new idea. Pretty much any idea will do.
The exhibit currently showing at DiverseWorks in Houston is called Understanding Poverty. With photography by Ben Tecumseh Desoto and text by Ann Walton Sieber, the exhibit provides us a way to examine our reactions to poverty in a safe space so that we do in fact understand better. Understanding poverty will not solve the problem but it's a smart place to start.
What:
Understanding Poverty
Photographs by Ben Tecumseh DeSoto
Words by Ann Walton Sieber
Curated by Clint Willour
Works by Sarah Whatley Ayers & Forrest Prince
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