Mea Culpa

I suppose I should just address the big elephant in the room so we can all move on. I try to be frank and honest without being confrontational. Remember the Self-Imposed Blog Rule? Yeah, well. Whatever. When I created the rule, I forgot I have 4 other jobs running my life. So, here's an amendment.....once a week, or once a month. You may even get 3 or 4 posts at once. Just keep checking back, I promise I'll keep blogging. And, I hope you accept my apology.

Help

I just finished The Help. A great read. For some reason, this novel resonated with me on so many levels. I believe that if I had read this novel at a different time in my life, the impact would not have been so great. Now that I am living in the South, I have a different perspective. CityCrab grew up with help. Mena was this sassy, strong, outspoken woman of strength. The first time I met her, she had cajoled me into shredding chicken salad for her (wasn't that her job?) and told me that if the impending hurricane actually hit, she was going to "haul ass out of he-ah." I just continued to shred the chicken. Since then, I've become accustomed to these kinds of relationships. For example, I can't think of a holiday where Ann isn't with us. And she travels, whether it's at my house or a sister-in-law's, she's there. She makes latkes for Chanukah, she helped me save my gravy last year at Thanksgiving and cut Citybaby's 1st birthday cake. She is a friend, she is our family and I couldn't picture celebrating an event without her. It is my hope that Citybaby forms these relationships since they bring a certain understanding and exposure. I constantly show him pictures of his baby nurse who sat with him through the night his first few months and his first nanny, who will always live in our hearts. When I mention her name, he still points towards the front door waiting for her walk through. It's this kind relationship that warms one's heart and I highly recommend The Help.

Purim

Purim is a festive Jewish holiday that is this week. Ok, so basically it's the Jewish Halloween. You dress up in costume and read the story of a time when the Jewish people living in Persia were saved from extermination. Tomorrow at school, Citybaby has a Purim parade followed by a music class. Parents, grandparents and caregivers (it is the South afterall) are invited. You are likely wondering, where I am going with this? Mama Ruth. She has been nagging me to go to school to see Citybaby. She said all she wants to do is peek in the door and see him. But we all know this is not true. She wants to go to school, walk the halls, talk to people, tell them who she is, where's she from, and that the camp is named after her family. Oy, the horror! So, I thought tomorrow is the perfect time for her to come. There will be other parents there. She'll get lost in the fray. Plus, she knows some of the other parents and grandparents so maybe she can tell them her same story over and over again. I already warned the teachers that I was trucking her in for the event and that I cannot take responsibility for anything that comes out of her mouth. What am I picturing? Well, I don't put it past her to make requests to the music teacher a la a late night Cole Porter party, cigarette holder and all. I just hope she doesn't sneak over to Citybaby's crib and stick a red ribbon in there.