math has always thwarted me. ALWAYS. it rears its head in my everyday life (yes, as my father and all my math teachers said it would) but it often does so in ways i don’t expect. there are neverending amounts and combinations and formulas and numbers pop up in their sneaky-ninja-like ways and frankly, I CAN’T HANDLE ALL THE MATH ALL THE TIME.
i feel like a prime number in a world of composites.
and now, even the letters are conspiring against me, like this:
in the midst of a thundercloud, acts of kindness tiny as raindrops can be missed. it’s a good thing i’ve stepped out from under the umbrella.
in puddle #1: my dad dropped off and picked up a dress of mine at the dry cleaners. he also stopped by to see when it would be ready. that’s three extra trips on my behalf.
in puddle #2: my friend N shopped at my favorite book store and when asked if he was part of their regular customer program, he gave my name. essentially, he gave my account credit for buying his book and i’m that much closer to a $7 off coupon.
in puddle #3: sister E let me taste some of her limited amounts of sun tea. it was surprisingly delicious. she also went on walks with me in the scorching 90+ degree heat, did push-ups and squats and lunges by my side, introduced me to the best new sunscreen (sawyer brand), and watched over me when i had an allergic reaction to grass.
in puddle #4: my friend R offered to let me watch season 1 of the walking dead at her house because i’m too scared to watch it alone.
in puddle #5: with a simple comment, my friend A gave me some much needed honesty which reflected a bad habit i was only semi-conscious of.
in puddle #6: a crossfit coach took the time to diagnose my issue with tipping forward during any type of squat and then figured out how to remedy it, all without making me feel lame.
in puddle #7: my friend M listened, commiserated, and then pushed me out of my comfort zone.
thank you all for being so kind and generous and wonderful.
this arrived in the mail the other day:
and it’s the coolest thing ever for so many reasons.
(1) my niece signed her name as MMM. we (me + my family members) often use her initials when texting and emailing because it’s faster and shorter than typing her full name, but the fact she’s now using it as her signature? so cool! so grown up!
(2) the excess of O’s in the word so remind me that’s she’s 11 and i don’t have to worry about her being tooooooooooooo grown up.
(3) she finished a book in a week!
(4) her brother is bugging her to read faster so he has something to read.
(5) she lets her brother’s desires motivate and monitor her own habits, which shows what an amazing and gentle and sensitive big sister she is.
(6) they’re like me, in that, as a friend recently said about me to me, “you eat books for breakfast.”
(7) the letter was also the envelope, aka, it was a complicated and fancy folding job by MMM.
(8) handwritten thank you notes are one of my favorite things in the world (to write and to receive) and SILM and brother G have trained their kids well. in fact, i still have a postcard from when MMM was about 6 hanging on my fridge because her misspellings created the funniest note ever.
(9) i can feel the love all the way from the west coast.
brother G and SILM”s youngest is 5 today. happy birthday, L!
as a fellow third child, i feel quite connected to this little man, even if he lives on the west coast and i live on the east. even if he’s got the awesomest curly hair and mine is stick straight. even if he’s a boy and i’m a girl. even if he’s 5 and i’m, well, not. even if he’s short and i’m tall (he’s predicted to be well over 6 feet tall, so i have to use this while i still can.) even if he’s just starting school and i’ve been done with all levels longer than he’s been alive. even if he likes pineapple and i don’t. even if he’s wicked good at video games and i’m not.
okay, so maybe the only things we have in common are our genes, our birth order, and our lack of bravery when it comes to trying new foods.
either way, he’s a grand kid and i truly hope his year 5 is as unique as his fashion sense:
happy day, L!! i can’t wait to give you a proper birthday hug next month.
as you’re all aware, mother’s day was on 5/12, but we didn’t celebrate it until 5/26 because that’s when sister J, sister E, and myself had all invaded mom’s house and could offer hugs and kisses and breakfast in bed* like proper daughters.
*by breakfast in bed, i mean dinner at the dining room table.
i’ve written about my mom a lot on this blog, so much so, it would take me hours to link to all the posts, but here are some of my favorites. one, two, three, four, five, six, seven posts, plus one more that includes a bunch more links inside. however, just linking to the posts seems like a bit of the lazy woman’s way to say HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY, MOM. YOU ROCK AND ARE THE AWESOMEST AND COOLEST AND HIPPEST MOM EVER.
and so, i’ll see you those eight posts and raise you one more. (my mom likes cards, i have to stick with that metaphor.) (cards, yes. gambling, no.) (unless she has a secret gambling addiction she’s kept professionally hidden all these years?)
where was i?
oh yes, my mom.
she’s the person i’ve known the longest in my life. i’ve known her longer than i even remember, but the memories we’ve made since i’ve been a so-called adult have been my favorites. she still manages to be there in a motherly fashion when i need her but those times are interspersed with moments where i’d call her my friend. it’s one of the few side effects of adulthood i actually enjoy.
in fact, mom, as friends, we should probably invent a secret handshake or something. maybe like this:
thanks for being my mom and my friend and willing to drink a bottle of wine or a cup of coffee and taking walks and cracking jokes and eating dinner and making dinner and listening to me and dispensing advice and pushing me out of my comfort zone and letting me dream and encouraging me and always being there. at the risk of repeating myself: YOU ROCK AND ARE THE AWESOMEST AND COOLEST AND HIPPEST MOM EVER. i love you.
Abigail Mumford 