Happy 4th Birthday, Balin!
6:24 PM - Posted by Bobbi - 0 comments
Dear Balin:

This year, your birthday fell on a Saturday. You wanted to eat at Steak N' Shake for your birthday dinner. You demanded a Lightining McQueen cake with chocolate frosting. You wanted your friend Angel to come to your party, but sadly we forgot to invite him. You wanted a Dusty piñata, but changed your mind before we left the store, deciding you wanted a Lightining McQueen one instead. You didn't want the coloring books we picked out for your friends' goody bags even though they were Cars-themed, but despite the ups and downs of party-planning and then the party, you had a wonderful time.

As I look at old pictures of you, it's hard to believe you were once that chubby, sweet-faced baby because you've grown into such a little boy. A little boy with a wild imagination. 

When I think about what Arthur will become, I never doubt that he will be employed in some aspect of building. (If he does not, I will be shocked.) But with you, I can't tell - not yet - because for you, the sky's the limit. You possess a gift for creative storytelling, for pretend, and for free-range play, much like the way my sisters and I played with our friends when we were young. We spent our time outside, creating elaborate fantasy worlds and characters, much like you do now.

This single thing is my favorite part of you. 

I don't know what you'll be someday because you already are anything: a leopard seal, a sea lion, a ninja, a bounty hunter, a Jedi (or Sith!), a Jawa, Elsa...The list is as long as the rainbow, extending from one side to the next and then on to infinity. You see any situation as a possibility to become someone new by walking in their shoes for a little while. Having empathy is a gift; you have great quantities of it.

So, Balin, my dear boy, you are now four. You will be attending pre-K in the fall. You will be surrounded by other children and adults who won't always understand the kind of person you are, but you will also befriend many others who do. Continue to be who you want to be; no questions, no regrets.

Blessed be.


Empty Closets
12:24 AM - Posted by Bobbi - 0 comments
If there is one thing to be said about your neighbor having bed bugs, it is this: it sure makes you want to get rid of stuff.

I've always prided myself on being able to get rid of things only to recently discover that maybe I'm not doing such a good job purging as I thought.

Slowly, very slowly, I've been scanning photographs and making albums. Slowly, very slowly, I've been making scrap quilts for expecting friends. Slowly, very slowly, I've been weeding out the toys that my boys no longer play with.

Therein lies the problem: I'm purging, but not fast enough.

Is it a matter of time management, as I previously thought? Or is it something else entirely, something that I have not yet considered?

Maybe I am more of my mother's daughter than I think - perhaps I suffer from an emotional attachment to stuff. Maybe I have yet to admit that I have a slight addiction to junk shopping and that now that I shop exclusively at thrift stores, my wardrobe has gotten completely out of hand.

Maybe it's time I'm forced to admit that I really don't have a handle on my stuff.

It's kind of freeing to look at my closets and see all this space. Perhaps it is time to whittle away at the excess, shedding junk that is hardly ever used and really streamlining my life in the process.

It's time, then. Before things return to the closet, it's time to look through my clothing and donate the stuff that is never worn; it's time to sort the games and puzzles; it's time to go through the crafts and pick just a few hobbies to occupy my time. (For example, I love making jewelry, but I miss drawing. I find that I often become upset with myself for not even attempting to explore more avenues for that passion. Is it time to make a choice and sell all of my jewelry-making supplies so that I have time to draw again? Is it time to sell my jewelry-making supplies simply because I haven't had time to make anything sparkly in quite a while? I think, sadly, that the answer is YES!)

I don't have the answers because I am just now asking the questions. I'm still learning what works best for me and it seems that what works best for me is less stuff. Fewer hobbies. Does that mean I won't ever dabble? Of course not! What it means is that I will be more choosy about the projects I start.

How is your spring cleaning going, reader? Do you find yourself overwhelmed by stuff?

Blessed be.


Bedbugs
4:36 AM - Posted by Bobbi - 0 comments
Dear un-neighborly neighbor:

Being from Alaska, I've never had to worry about bedbugs. That being said, I admit freely that I'm completely ignorant about what to do should my family contracts them.

I'd like to thank you ever so much for bringing bedbugs into the building in which I live and for allowing them to settle in for a lengthy period of time. I'd like to thank you for bringing a general state of disgust and panic to my family and neighbors as well as for just disrupting my life. It's been a real pleasure having a group of strange men enter my home and spraying for vermin that aren't even there. Not only do I love having to put my apartment back together again, I absolutely love inhaling strange and potentially dangerous chemicals. 

Words cannot express how much I've loved the added flurry of excitement in recent days. It's not like I have anything better to do. In fact, it's been so much fun trying to shove all of our crap into our tiny storage downstairs. Just thinking about the vermin control carefully edging around all the boxes we'll have to pile up in our rooms makes me chuckle. They will probably issue some kind of complaint with the office, which makes me chuckle even more.

I appreciate your thoughtfulness. You're an absolute treasure.

Regards, 
The Family in Apartment 1 

Blessed be.