Call Me

Sometimes I miss phone conversations. It seems like people don't have time for them anymore. Or they just don't want to have time for them.

Texts can be handy, but not when a series of short questions and answers spans hours (or days) rather than the couple of minutes a quick phone call would take. Maybe people don't call because actual talking takes longer than typing - especially when they remember how much fun it is to hear a friendly voice on the phone, which makes it hard to end a call in a timely fashion.

It's understandable when there are long lulls within text conversations. It's admirable when people aren't attached to their phones, just watching and waiting for the next text to arrive. I'm just saying it's kind of sad to think that humans are increasingly avoiding the old-timey art of talking on the phone. What happened to it? Don't folks know that hearing the expression in a voice can't be replaced by a string of typed words? At least not all the time.

The other thing with texts is, if there is no answer, the sender is left wondering whether the recipient is pretending not to see the message, somehow didn't see it, forgot to reply, or is simply away from their phone. I usually tell myself it's that last option. When speaking over the phone it's harder to remain aloof.
("Um. Why aren't you answering my question? I know you're there. . . I can hear you breathing.")

I bet the song "Say Something" was about a text misunderstanding. Someone sends a few texts and doesn't instantly hear back from the recipient, which causes some slight paranoia. The minutes tick by, and still no answer, so the same someone sends this playful little nudge:

Say something, I'm giving up on you.  ; )

Seven painful minutes more...

I'll be the one if you want me to... 
Anywhere, I would've followed you. ='( 
Say something, I'm giving up on you. 

43 and a half miserable minutes later...


And I am feeling so small. It was over my head. I know nothing at all. 

A dozen more minutes pass...

And I will stumble and fall. I'm still learning to love. . . just starting to crawl. =/

(At this point the sender of the texts is parked outside the recipient's house, peering through the tear-streaked car window.)

One last poignant text, for good measure.

Say something, I'm giving up on you. I'm sorry that I couldn't get to you. Anywhere, I would've followed you. Say something, I'm giving up on you . . . 

Actually, one more tiny text...

 I will swallow my pride. You're the one that I love . . . And I'm saying goodbye. =(  

Another tiny while passes by, and then finally a reply:

Hey, what's up? I just got done having my phone repaired. I haven't checked all the texts you sent yet. 

Oh, uhhh, it was nothing, really! LOL. Just silly stuff. Go ahead and delete those. =) 

Of course he reads them all.  =/

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Well, that was a nice tangent. And more than enough for now. Call someone soon, and hope they actually answer the phone so you can have a really lovely chat, with laughs and all that.

Romeo & Juliet

Back in November my nephew Isaac played a significant role in his high school's production of Romeo & Juliet. He was Friar Laurence. Cora and I gladly attended the Friday evening performance. We met Erin, Barry, Ethan, and my parents there. After the show, Erin invited us to their house for some yummy brownies and ice cream.

We were impressed with the amount of lines he had to memorize, and most of them weren't simple or short. He and the rest of the actors did a great job, and we thoroughly enjoyed seeing them on stage.

Being the lame aunt I am, I forgot to take a picture of Isaac.


Whenever I hear about this particular Shakespeare play, I can't help but think of a makeshift MadLib a friend once created for me. He chose this famous scene and took out various words, replacing them with words I supplied. Neither of us had a clue what hilarity would ensue.

Here, just read it and see for yourself...


But, soft! what casserole through yonder window bathes?
It is the east, and Shannon is the goose.
Arise, fair sun, and blush the embarrassing moon,
Who is already sick and pale with grief,
That thou her dress art far more frumpy than she:
Be not her maid, since she is mangled;
Her lunch livery is but sick and beige
And none but hammer do wear it; arrange it off.
It is my lady, O, it is my bomb!
O, that she knew she were!
She stirs yet she says nothing: what of that?
Her femur discourses; I will attack it.
I am too ginormous, 'tis not to me she trembles:
Two of the scrumptious stars in all the smackerel,
Having some business, do entreat her groin
To twinkle in their poptarts till they return.
What if her boob were there, they in her head?
The brightness of her thumb would shame those blankies,
As daylight doth a knapsack; her eyes in heaven
Would through the airy region stream so unbelievable
That cheerio would whisper and think it were not night.
See, how she yells her cheek upon her shoulder!
O, that I were a flesh upon that hand,
That I might undress that cheek!


=) I had a hard time telling which were the original words and which were my offerings. (What can I say, I have a bad memory and tend to confuse easily.)

On that note,
"Good night, good night! Parting is such sweet sorrow
that I shall say good night till it be morrow."

Summer So n' Such

Now that we're about halfway between last summer and this upcoming summer, I will proceed to share a small collection of phone photos from the tail end of Summer 2014.

I took Oliver to the park one evening as a storm formed. Seemed like a good idea.

Summer storms are the best. Oliver's not so bad either. =)

The end of August/start of September means hot air balloon time. It's more than worth it to get the fam up at 6:00 and drive across town for a whole lotta beauty in sky. I need to figure out how to get someone to take me for a ride, especially during a mass launching like this. Can you imagine?

Picture you and me in whichever one of those balloons you want to. 

(Except the boring Remax one. =)

The chance arose for me to take Cora and Jane to the Discovery Center one mid-morning. We saw the impressive DaVinci exhibit and then played in the bubbles for a bit.

Later that day (I can't remember where the girls went instead) Shirley and I took the little bunch of cousins to that special spot by the river.

They worked for a while collecting all those rocks.

A few other things we enjoyed that I want to mention rather than totally forget:

We took a Lytle day trip to Roaring Springs. That's always a blast.

We also went on a quick camp trip to Silver Creek Plunge with an assortment of Ryan's family. It wasn't the best because it ended up pouring rain on us during a thunder storm, and it continued much of the night. But it could have been worse. =)  I do always enjoy mountain drives.

Cora joined a sand volleyball team through the Y and had a lot of fun with that. She learned that it's a little trickier than playing indoors. It was fun cheering her on at her weekly games.

I'm tired, so that's all I remember of summer for tonight. =)