20 mile bike ride along the beach with my mum and da'
+
getting soaked on the road in a summer rainstorm
+
returning home and calling my brother in denver
+
giggling through the grocers' with mum
+
cooking dinner for my folks
+
tinkering with my da' on my bike and fixing its first flat tire
+
spending the whole day with my fam
=
the most beautiful holiday
Showing posts with label mum. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mum. Show all posts
04 July, 2008
25 June, 2008
so mum, you were right when you said, "feeling unwell? use salt water."
"Do you know a cure for me? Why yes, he said, I know a cure for everything. Salt water.
Salt water? I asked him.
Yes, he said,
in one form or another,
sweat, tears or the salt sea. "
- Isak Dinesen -
02 June, 2008
My mother. The worrier.
so mid-afternoon Sunday in the middle of my trial bike run to work i had stopped off at my friends' Laura and Leisy's for a social visit. [thanks again, Estrella, for the blueberry pancakes and iced coffee – yum!] when my phone rang. knowing it was my mum and knowing how she worries, i figured she was calling to make sure i had arrived home okay. now it's been a decade-and-a-half since i've even shared a roof with my mum and so it had been a long, long, long time since she had needed to call and check on my whereabouts. i knew it would be a tenderly amusing conversation, but i was not prepared for this:
ME: hey, mum!
HER: are you home safe? or are you still at your friend's house?
ME: i'm still here at Leisy's, mum. don't worry. i'm safe.
HER: you know…i was thinking. [here's where she traditionally lays out her worries]
…you should carry some form of ID on you.
ME: i have my driver's license with me, mum.
HER: no. i mean. some ID like emergency contact information. you should have that on you at
all times.
ME: yeah, you're right. you know.
i added you to my driver's license as my Official Emergency Contact. did you know you can do that?
HER: no….no. i didn't know that.
ME: yeah. i went to the website and added you. so…if the police find me, they will be able to contact you when they scan my driver's license.
HER: well i still think you should carry a card that says: my name is jen…and my emergency contact is so-and-so.
you should laminate it and put it in your pocket. and carry it everywhere.
ME: well…i can write it in my bike helmet. there's a place for that. i just haven't filled it out yet.
HER: [and this is the one that gave me pause]
but…but…what if someone chases you down and runs you off the road and beats you up and steals your stuff. how are the police going to find me THEN?!
ME: [after a stifled gasp and a pause]
Mom, that's reeeeally …. Disturbing.
HER: well, you know that stuff happens!
In all fairness. I have the most amazing mum in the world. And generally, she manages quite a healthy balance of keeping her devastating visions of horror to herself. But she's right. It's a scary world in which to be an independent woman. Thing is. I'd rather worry about the perils of cycling into those roadside cacti, but there are things with a far worse sting than that.
ME: hey, mum!
HER: are you home safe? or are you still at your friend's house?
ME: i'm still here at Leisy's, mum. don't worry. i'm safe.
HER: you know…i was thinking. [here's where she traditionally lays out her worries]
…you should carry some form of ID on you.
ME: i have my driver's license with me, mum.
HER: no. i mean. some ID like emergency contact information. you should have that on you at
all times.
ME: yeah, you're right. you know.
i added you to my driver's license as my Official Emergency Contact. did you know you can do that?
HER: no….no. i didn't know that.
ME: yeah. i went to the website and added you. so…if the police find me, they will be able to contact you when they scan my driver's license.
HER: well i still think you should carry a card that says: my name is jen…and my emergency contact is so-and-so.
you should laminate it and put it in your pocket. and carry it everywhere.
ME: well…i can write it in my bike helmet. there's a place for that. i just haven't filled it out yet.
HER: [and this is the one that gave me pause]
but…but…what if someone chases you down and runs you off the road and beats you up and steals your stuff. how are the police going to find me THEN?!
ME: [after a stifled gasp and a pause]
Mom, that's reeeeally …. Disturbing.
HER: well, you know that stuff happens!
In all fairness. I have the most amazing mum in the world. And generally, she manages quite a healthy balance of keeping her devastating visions of horror to herself. But she's right. It's a scary world in which to be an independent woman. Thing is. I'd rather worry about the perils of cycling into those roadside cacti, but there are things with a far worse sting than that.
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