September 2, 2010

Lulu and Pup-Pup

Cowboy & Wills by Monica Holloway

This post is part of the From Left to Write book club today and is inspired by the book Cowboy & Wills by Monica Holloway, a love story about a remarkable little boy and the puppy that changed his life.

Having a dog in our house has turned out to be so much more than I imagined. I resisted the whole scenario for a long time. A very long time. I had never had dogs, always cats. Well, we did have a puppy when I was about 5, Ginger, but she was hit by a car and died. I remember my mom crying in the garden, holding her. We felt safer with cats, I suppose, although tragedies occurred with cats over the years too.

My girls, especially Lily, are fairly obsessed these days with animals. Ava has to take an animal (or animals….the number is negotiable) with her wherever we go. “My pets!” she remembers as we are about the walk out the door.

Lily draws dogs and cats all day long on whatever project she is currently working on. At six-years-old, she is between the stages of Disney Princess and Hanna Montana and animals seems to be her thing.

It was Lily who, like Wills in the book Cowboy & Wills, asked for a puppy for Christmas last year. It came home in her kindergarten pile of artwork one day. A letter to Santa, clearly written in black and white that the one thing she wanted was a puppy.

As I mentioned, I resisted dog ownership for a long, long time. I am just…not a dog person. But the day after this Santa request for a puppy came home, Jeff called his mom to make plans for the Christmas holidays and, as luck would have it, she had 10 puppies. 10. Wow.

Jeff’s mom breeds King Charles Cavalier spaniels. They are adorable. I believe she sold one to Sylvester Stalone once (and all sorts of other famous people – she lives in LA). I love these dogs and they are really the only type of dog that I would ever imagine owning. I viewed them as SORT OF like cats. Quiet, lap-loving, small. I could deal with that. So I said…yes.

On Christmas morning, there was the puppy under the tree. Lily was not surprised at all. After all, she had been a good girl and had clearly asked Santa for what she wanted.

What surprised me was…how much I love this dog. Since I am home more than Jeff, I end up taking care her more than he does. Yes, this is true even though we agreed that HE would be the one cleaning up the poop and all of the messes. In reality, it is me. And I feed the dog – it is true that dogs think with their stomachs AND have unconditional love for their companions.

(Actually, I admit, that I feed the dog all kinds of treats and human food – I don’t mean that I make her bacon for breakfast, but I do spoil her….very much like I spoil my kids maybe a little more than my husband does).

About her name. You’ll notice that I haven’t mentioned our dog’s name. I’m a little embarassed (and bewildered?) that the name chosen doesn’t really fit. Lily named her Biscuit, after the kids book about the dog Biscuit. But we hardly ever call her Biscuit. We call her “Pup-pup.” I actually have NO idea why. When Lily was a baby, I called her “Lulu.” No idea. I guess I like these little nicknames. They come out of nowhere, I swear.

Last week I decided that once a week, every week, I would do something with one-on-one with one of my kids. This is a major feat for me to accomplish, believe it or not. For Lily, it has turned into a daily walk with Pup-Pup around our neighborhood.

I was really inspired by the way Monica and Wills took their dog Cowboy out EVERYWHERE. And, I mean everywhere. We really need to take our dog out of the house more. Pup-pup loves getting out and its good for us to get our in our neighborhood more. We meet all kinds of people and other dogs. Its really lovely. But we have been busy, nervous, not sure what to do, I don’t really know why we haven’t done it much. We just haven’t. This “date” with Lily and Pup-Pup is really nice. She gets her alone time away from the other kids, something she has been craving a lot lately, since her little sister Ava follows her around and copies her all the time (“me too!”). And Pup-Pup gets some training going around the block and socializing.

She is a part of our family now, that’s for sure. Right this second she is curled up in the kids room, amidst the dozens of other “animals.”  She is happy and secure and cozy. And so are the kids. They have a bond with her. It results in their not being afraid of animals (although a little fear is good, I suppose).

As for me, I am also a little less afraid. I can reach down and pet a dog now and understand the connections that people feel. I’m still not a fan of big dogs and a lot of slobber, but I’m getting there. Puppy steps.

Disclosure: I received a free copy of Cowboy & Wills by Monica Holloway for the From Left to Write Book Club that I founded as a continuation of the SV Moms Group Book Club after founding that book club and serving as the book club editor for SV Moms Group for two years. I was not obligated to write about the book and all opinions are my own.

If you are interested in joining the virtual book club site From Left to Write, please contact me. From Left to Write holds regular book clubs, writing not book reviews, but our own stories that are inspired by the books we read.

Posted in A good read, From Left to Write, Home life, Lily, Puppy love | 9 Comments »

August 31, 2010

756 words about Poison Oak

I discovered a great site yesterday, via a tweet from Gwen Bell. 750words.com. The concept is simple. Write 750 words private (or share it if you like), unfiltered, spontaneous, daily.

Once you finish, your writing in analyzed and you get some pretty graphs and points. POINTS! PRETTY PICTURES! Yes, I am like a child and am easily pleased and feel rewarded.

Today I wrote about how I came home with poison oak following a lovely weekend of camping at Costanoa, located on Highway 1 between Santa Cruz and Half Moon Bay. Very lovely. I will share pictures soon, but for now, some PRETTY GRAPHS!

________________________________________________

I thought I could control the itch. Outsmart it. Lay low. Ignore the burning, crawling sensations that I feel constantly on the backs of my legs, my back, my upper lip.

Poison oak. Its back again.

This weekend was a wonderful time camping. Ah, Costanoa Lodge and Resort, you are lovely. But, somewhere, lurking is poison oak. Actually, it is not lurking at all. On our hike to the beach, the path was thick with walls of red-and-green-leaves-of-three. I side stepped all of it, my long pants insulating me. The kids jumped straight over the patches, pointed it out, sing-songed “we are allergic to you.”

Still.

A hot shower was taken. A bed was slept in that was not my own sheets. A dog was greeted and patted. Hands were not washed with that After-Poison-Oak-Exposure-Gel of whatever it is that I will be buying a stockpile of for next time we go camping.

And it is still spreading. Well, Jeff corrects me, it is not still spreading. But it is still appearing. It doesn’t matter, whichever it is. All I know is that it is getting worse. And I know from my history that I am in for a long haul here.
I only have so much willpower and control not to scratch. I told Robin last night that I would Just Not Scratch. Ha. Hahahahahaha. Simple, except at 2am when I am half asleep and I turn over and there is that blazing itch. So I scratch a little here and a little there. And now, I feel like I am giving up.

I made a doctor’s appointment for this afternoon. 20 years ago, when I first met Poison Oak, on a hike with Jeff (“Let’s go off the trail, honey! It’ll be fun!”), it was so bad that after 2 months I eventually took myself to urgent care. A shot to the hip was delivered. Cortisone? Predisone? A steroid of some type. I don’t remember, but I do know that it helped.
I had a 10 year reprieve from the stuff until this past April. Like this time, it was a secondary contact, as I swear I did not touch the stuff. That time, I didn’t even see it. But I deduced that it might have been on some firewood that I bought to have a camp fire for the kids during spring break. You know, I never did get that fire started. I need to go to fire starting school, I suppose. Usually Jeff builds the fires, but he was off on a motorcycle trip and I had promised smores. I wrestled with that wood and nothing happened. Nada. Zip. So I went inside and we roasted marshmellows on the gas stove. But the damage had been done. Two days later, itch, scratch. Dammit.

Last night at 2am I lay in the freezing bath, laced with baking soda, with my book. I forced myself out when I was shivering with cold. Went to bed. I thought it worked well. I slept after that.

But today, more itching, a little more scratching than yesterday.

This may be enough to make me move out of California immediately. I hate poison oak. And I find it really hard to prevent. Touch-me-not, I can wrap my head around that. But do I have to avoid touching everything else too? Become an OCD camping freak?

Is there something I can eat or drink to make poison oak not like me? I have heard you can eat garlic (a lot of it) to drive mosquitos away (I am delicious in that area, as well, by the way). I am willing to chug down anything, to stink like garlic.

2 hours until my doctor’s appointment and I am so ready for that shot. GIVE ME THE SHOT! My kids will be so impressed when they see me happy to get a shot. Maybe it will make them more willing to get their immunizations and flu shots in a few weeks. Aha, a silver lining. I found it.

At least the kids haven’t gotten it. I wonder why. Jeff has it – he has it bad too, by the way. I have heard that being exposed early in life builds up their immunity. Maybe they are already immune. I hope so. Ava did get some spots when I had mine in April, but it was fairly minor. I don’t think Ben or Lily got it at all. Lucky ducks.

Until 2:30 then, I wait. I itch. I try not to scratch.

Posted in It's all about ME, The Great Outdoors, Writing | Leave a Comment »

August 27, 2010

Learning through osmosis

Figures in Motion: Famous Figures of Ancient Times

This post is part of the From Left to Write book club today and is inspired by the book Figures in Motion: Famous Ancient Figures by Cathy Diez-Luckie, an activity book for kids. Figures in Motion are movable paper figures to cut, color and assemble. Other Figures in Motion books include Dinosaurs on the Move and Animals in Running Wild, Famous Figures of the American Revolution and Famous Figures of the Civil War are in development for 2011.

When I was in college I took an Anthropology class to fulfill some general education credits. It was one of those class that I just….remember, to this day. Why did I learn so much? Although there were quite a few long, boring, archaic overhead projector lectures (remember those?!), required reading was The Anatomy Coloring Book. Yes, we were going back to kindergarten. A handful of colored pencils and my coloring book and I was off to inside and around the body. But the funny thing was that I learned SO much.

Recently, I got another anatomy lesson as part of the Anusara Yoga immersion I attended in Jackson Hole, WY and it all came back. It turns out that The Anatomy Coloring Book is also recommended reading for yoga instructors.

I learned long ago (and again two years ago in my kids’ preschool when they were learning about anatomy) that we have 206 bones in our bodies, but the symetry and alignment is sort of amazing. Most of the bones in our bodies, by far, are in our hands and feet. We go from many bones in our hands to two bones in our forearm to one arm in our upper arm. Our legs work the same way. The concept of pressing all four corners of the feet into the floor in any standing yoga pose means that you are finding the foundation. Without the foundation of the many, there is not room or strength or confidence for the rest of the body to flow upwards and outwards.

Maybe it is the same with the rest of our learning. We have to learn through osmosis or activity before we can take the next concrete step with that knowledge. We have to build the foundation. And, yes, apparently it can take years to put that knowledge into practice.

Disclosure: I received a free copy of Figures in Motion: Famous Ancient Figures by Cathy Diez-Luckie for the From Left to Write Book Club that I founded as a continuation of the SV Moms Group Book Club after founding that book club and serving as the book club editor for SV Moms Group for two years. I was not obligated to write about the book and all opinions are my own.

If you are interested in joining the virtual book club site From Left to Write, please contact me. From Left to Write holds regular book clubs, writing not book reviews, but our own stories that are inspired by the books we read.

Posted in A good read, Book Club, From Left to Write, yoga | 1 Comment »

August 25, 2010

Back to School: Rolling with the punches

Biking to the first day of school

This year, I was really happy to write my back to school post. I was all set with some great back to school gear, courtesy of Mabel’s Lables and Stride Rite (from the Social Luxe Lounge party at BlogHer’10), I had received letters last Thursday that Ben and Lily were both to be in the same 1st grade class as I had requested and they would even be in class with many of their best friends and our closest neighbor (hello, easy carpooling!). 4-year-old Ava is all set to go to her last year in our beloved preschool, this time to spend time in the creek at Vasona Park and I am taking a break from board positions this year to just enjoy and make life a little easier. Ahhh, the living is easy!

Ava's new shoes, courtesy of Strite Rite

Stickers, courtesy of Mabel's Lables

Bag tags, courtesy of Mabel's Lables

We strapped on our bike helmets and took off to Ben and Lily’s first day of school.10 minutes later we hit the “big kid” playground and ran into their classroom just in time. We walk in and see Lily’s best friend “The Other Lily.” Lily M waves and says “Lily! Hi!” We look around at the desks (desks! No more carpet squares like in kindergarten) for Ben and Lily’s names. Ben’s friend yells from the middle of the room “Ben!” and smacks the paper next to him with Ben’s nametag on it (“Benjamin”). We keep winding our way through the class, looking for “Lily K.” Hmmm….no Lily K. Let’s look for the teacher.

Ms. J walks up and askes “Is this Lily?”

Me: “Yes” (I’m smiling, beaming, a vision of running through a field of flowers – I’m so happy that I get to stay in ONE class and hear all of the same announcements and not run back and forth between their classes with a 4 year old in tow)

Ms. J: “Lily is in Ms. S’ class”

Me: (my face falls, the flowers in the field fade to dust around me, my head swims) “That is….unexpected”

“Ms. M (Lily’s kindergarten teacher) said they should be separated.”

Me: “I requested that they be together this year. The letter I received said they would both be in your class.”

Ms. J: “Well, let’s figure it out. For now, she can go to Ms. S’s class and we’ll keep each other updated.”

Me: “Ok….”

I do as I’m told, I suppose I’m that sort of person. And I didn’t want Lily to be upset on the first day of school. I kiss Ben goodbye quickly and say we’ll see him later. DAMMIT! Ms. J starts giving her welcome announcement to the class while my husband runs to the principal’s office and I wind my way out with Lily (she looking longingly at The Other Lily). DAMMIT! I’m missing the first announcement, right off the bat, first 2 minutes of 1st grade. We walk 2 doors down, Lily and I hand in hand, to Ms. S’s class.

Lily says “Separated again.”

Me: “We’ll figure it out. They made a mistake. For now, we’ll go to Ms. S’s class and we’ll figure it out.” (force smile…seething inside)

Ms. S is lovely. She welcomes us and makes a big deal out of finding Lily’s seat. At Lily’s table are two friends she knows from last year in kindergarten and close by at other tables are other friends. Sadie says “Hi, Lily!” Parents wave to me. I say hello, politely. I explain to Ms. S what happened and she assures me (us) that we’ll keep each other updated, that Lily will have a great day and that she’s available, only if to have a conversation. She’s very cute and pretty. So nice. So is Ms. J. But it is not really about the teachers right now. All the first grade teachers are great – we’re lucky to have any of them.

So why do I want them together this year? Ben and Lily were separated for kindergarten, I followed the “norm” advice. And they did great. They did fine. It was good for them to have that year apart to form their own friendships – not that they didn’t before in preschool, they did. Being boy/girl twins, they don’t have the same identity issues as same gender twins. And they don’t engage in big competitive stuff. Lily may be a little more shy than Ben, but Ben can be shy too in his own way. And Lily certainly doesn’t rely on Ben to do the talking for her. But….last year was very tough me on and on our family. There was little coordination between the teachers on homework, field trips, special events, and all the other stuff that happens in kindergarten. I’m not saying I want it to be exactly the same, but really it was frustrating how different it all was. Ben and Lily’s kindergarten teachers from last year couldn’t have been more different people, which was fine, they learned different things. But this year, with Ava in afternoon parent participation preschool, I have very little child care coverage and a lot of running around to do. I NEED to make things easier of myself.

Call it a gift to me, but I need it to be easier. And as long as it is not to Ben and Lily’s detriment, I don’t see anything wrong with this gift.

Also, they asked to be together. Well, Lily is probably more excited to be with Ben. But when I asked them both if they would like to be in the same class for 1st grade, they both said “YES!”

Being a twin myself, I am VERY sensitive to the issues of putting twins together in school (Robin and I were separated in 2nd grade and probably should have been separated earlier, since our teacher didn’t know which was which), so I will be the first one to stand up and say so if it isn’t working.

Back to the saga of the morning. I waited for about an hour (with Ava playing games on my iPhone – so handy that Talking Carl) to speak to the principal, while he wrapped up a new parents orientation meeting. Mr. M was very gracious, heard me out and said he would talk to the teachers and let me know. He told me that he had assigned them to the same class, but that he gives the teachers a little leeway in making changes. Apparently, they saw twins and just separated them, without reading my letter that I had written to Mr. M and without consulting me or him. I left to engage in some retail therapy (something I never do, but it did keep me busy!). Mr. M called me about 20 minutes before pickup to tell me that the decision had been made to put Lily back into Ms. J’s class and that Ben and Lily would be together again. Whew! THANK YOU!

Both had a great first day in any case. Lily had a great time in Ms. S’s class (“she’s funny!”), but was very happy to hear the news from Ms. J that she would be coming into her class the next day.

Yesterday when I picked them up from school, Ms. J said “They had a great day. If I hand’t have known they were twins, I would never guess. They ignored each other all day.”

Ha. See? Twins can be together in school. (Smugness is not a great trait of mine, so sorry.)

I’m interested to see what happens. Will it be as much easier as I think? Will there be other challenges? Of that I’m sure. But, challenge is, after all, what each year of school is all about.

Disclosure: I received three pairs of Stride Rite shoes (Ben’s are a little big for him still) and three packs of customized labels from Mabel’s Labels at the Social Luxe Lounge party at BlogHer’10 (Social Luxe Lounge is also a client of mine). I was not obligated to write about these products, but when I do all opinions expressed are my own. Thank you Social Luxe, Stride Rite and Mabel’s Labels!

Posted in 1st Grade, Back to school, Ben, Lily, Milestones, Twin Stuff | 8 Comments »

August 22, 2010

Posing as a Canadian: Our trip to Newfoundland 2010

Robin and I at Regata Day in St. John's, Newfoundland

Just a few days ago, we returned from a month long trip to visit my twin sister, Robin and her family in St. John’s, Newfoundland. As luck would have it, we managed to hit pretty much the entire summer season there in this eastern island off the mainland of Canada. “The Rock,” as Newfoundland is sometimes called, has some pretty unforgiving weather – rain, sleet and misery is how my brother-in-law terms the usual state of affairs. But…on sunny days, it is gorgeous, and everyone runs immediately outside to dance naked in the sunshine. Ok, not really naked. But Newfoundlanders definitely bare more skin that I would in 60 degree weather (what is that in Celsius again? 15 degrees? Help me out, Canadians?). I still found myself going around mostly in a sweater and jeans in the Newfoundland summer.

(By the way, I traveled to St. John’s with the 3 kids, while my hubby batched it for a couple weeks and joined us at the end for about 10 days. The kids traveled great – thanks Air Canada for the 7 hours of movies…though I saw Catherine/Her Bad Mother last night and she told me that Virgin America flies a Toronto to San Francisco route and I am in love with that airline, so next time, Virgin!  At least for part of the way.)

At SFO, ready for takeoff

Newfoundland is a pretty cool place, despite the unforgiving weather. My sister has great friends, a culture that is centered around social events (drinking and eating, drinking and eating, drinking and eating), and a slower pace that we subject ourselves here to in Silicon Valley. There is a large Irish influence in Newfoundland – sort of like how Montreal has the French influences and Nova Scotia the Scottish. For instance, the drinking. There is a lot of drinking done in Newfoundland. Though the traditional Newfoundland drink is “screech” (an awful rum, maybe only found in Newfoundland) and not scotch. I was screeched in long ago, so am practically a Newfoundlander. Screeched in? You don’t know what that means? Oh. Well. Ok, I’ll tell you. CFAs (Come From Away’s – which is what Newfoundlanders call people who come to visit from other places) are pretty much obligated to be “screeched in,” a ceremony presided over by a natural-born Newfoundlander, involving standing in an ice-cold bucket of water, kissing a cod, reciting a poem (or something) and drinking a shot of screech. Really, it is fun. I think I was actually screeched in in Bermuda….by my brother-in-law when he and my sister lived there. I know….why did they ever move from Bermuda to Newfoundland??? Well, Newfoundland seems to be one of those magnetic places that people who are born and raised there want to leave for college or to travel, but then they always come back. It is a dream goal of mine and my Robin’s to live next door to each other someday, but for now we ride in a lot of airplanes.

Some fun local things people in St. John’s say:

  • Costco is still referred to as “The Price Club” even though the name changed at least 10 years ago
  • Every plastic bag is called a “Sobey’s bag,” Sobey’s being a grocery store chain
  • The “Outer Rim Road” is on every map and people will tell you to “take the Outer Rim Road to….” BUT there is actually NO Outer Rim Road. It is the Trans Canada Highway and all the signs say that, not Outer Rim Road. Confusing much?

Walking down George Street, a street in downtown St. John’s lined with bars that is sometimes closed off to car traffic for festivals, you will likely see some jigs being danced and hear lots of fiddle and Celtic music. It is very FUN to go out there at night and it doesn’t take long for CFAs to learn the words to the classic Newfoundland songs. Rock/celtic Newfoundland music exists too – heard of the band Great Big Sea? Simply awesome. We saw them in concert about 7 years ago. Gossip (as heard on a plane from St. John’s to Halifax on my way to BlogHer’10 in NYC): the lead singer of the lead singer of Great Big Sea is good friends with Russel Crowe, who comes to visit St. John’s quite frequently. I’m sure I will be hanging out with them on my next trip.

Lin, Robin and I at the George Street Festival on Regata Day Eve

What did we do there? With five kids aged 7 and younger, it was pretty lively. We broke up fights and made them clean up their messes. Oh! And we did some fun stuff too. We…

hiked around the beautiful ponds that are everywhere in Newfoundland

Ben at Kent's Pond

built houses out of “dinosaur eggs” in the forest where my parents are camped at the East end of their year long RV trip

Hannah and Lily at Pippy Park Campground

swam at the Murray’s Pond clubhouse pool

The kids play "whirlpool"

played with new toys

The birthstone fairy house surrounded by NYC sanitation vehicles (photo credit: Ava)

had lovely grandparent time

Bedtime with Nana, Papa and the girls

celebrated Regata Day in St. John’s (which coincided with my dad’s 73rd birthday)

Regata Day (a rowing race) in St. John's on Quidi Vidi Lake

hiked Signal Hill

Robin heading up the Signal Hill trail

played at Salmon Cove beach

Ben and Sam have a game of chase at Salmon Cove beach

taught our daughters yoga

Lily and Hannah do vinyasa

built sand castles

Hannah's "turtle island" at Salmon Cove beach

toured graveyards (6 year old Ben’s favorite activity….I know, a little morbid, but actually pretty interesting and Halloween will be FANTASTIC this year! We are planning on building an awesomely spooky graveyard in our front yard.)

At the Anglican Cemetary by Quidi Vidi Lake

climbed around in the fog at Cape Spear Lighthouse

Cape Spear in the fog

gardened

Robin planting around her new rock wall

went whale watching

Ava, Ben and I on the whale watch boat (we struck out that day, but had a nice ride)

climbed like monkeys

Lily climbs a pole aboard the whale watching boat

cooked and baked lots of healthy, organic (most vegetarian) food

Chocolate Chip Banana Bread from the Kripalu Cookbook

and our most fantastic day had to be our last, when we went to the Ferryland Lighthouse. This is perfection, I tell you. Gourmet picnic lunches (SO delicious), gorgeous view (we did see some whales too), lovely hike to get there. Nice :)

Ben holds the flag up to signal for our gourmet picnic lunch at Ferryland Lighthouse

Ava, Lily and Sam skip along the rocks at Ferryland Lighthouse

Lily at Ferryland Lighthouse, ready for picnicking

Our lunch at Ferryland Lighthouse - curry chicken sandwiches, orzo salad, chocolate cake, lemonade

Ava rock surfs at Ferryland Lighthouse

We had a blast. The kids want to see Newfoundland in the snowy winter (which they actually have, when they were babies). We tend to have visitors to California from Newfoundland in the winter who like to get AWAY from the snow and come to the sun, but I’m sure we’ll get to St. John’s in the winter someday.

Thanks to our hosts, Robin and Mark. Until next time, we have gone to the Price Club for some last minute items, packed our stuff in Sobey’s bags and headed out to the airport via the Outer Rim Road.

Posted in Family, Getaway, My Twin Sis, The Great Outdoors, yoga | 3 Comments »

August 11, 2010

A Parallel Life

The Stuff That Never Happened by Maddie Dawson

This post is part of the From Left to Write book club today and is inspired by the book The Stuff That Never Happened by Maddie Dawson, a novel about a woman who, after being married for 28 years, realizes that she is still in love with another man from her past. This book was a juicy read! For me, it made me think about my parallel life as a twin.

Last week at BlogHer’10 I reconnected with my friend Stephanie from high school that I haven’t seen for at least 10 5 years. Stephanie and my twin sister, Robin, were good friends in high school, but being a twin means that I am friends with, well, about twice the amount of people in the world. Robin’s friends are my friends. And vice versa.

Did I mention that Robin and I share clothes too? So nice being able to double our wardrobes during visits. Score!

The only thing is….we live across North America from each other. Currently, I’m in St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada (her town) for a month long visit. Yes, that’s about as far away from the San Francisco Bay Area as you can get and still be in North America. Whenever I am visiting Robin, I am never truly alone even when I am by myself. St. John’s is a fairly small town, after all. I learned long ago, when we were in college, that I should always smile and say hello to everyone I pass when I am on Robin’s stomping ground. Once, during Robin’s graduation weekend, I was walking around her campus (I went to a different school) just going about my business by myself. I later heard that Robin (me) had “ignored” a bunch of her friends and they wondered what was up (like, how rude!). Oops. So now I err on the side of assuming everyone knows Robin when I am on her turf. I am probably overly friendly to a lot of strangers during my runs around Long Pond here in St. John’s, but oh well.

A couple of days after I arrived I went to the grocery store and my credit card wouldn’t work. (Good job, fraud department of my bank, you did a great job worrying that someone had stolen my card and gone to, of all places, Newfoundland.) I was about the leave the cart of groceries in the store and high tail it back to Robin’s house to call my bank (my cell phone doesn’t work here either), when I heard a voice behind me. “Are you Linsey?”

I turned around and said “….Yes.”

“Hi, I’m Andrea.”

“Oh, Andrea! So nice to meet you,” shaking hands. Andrea works with Robin and I have heard about her for years, but have never actually met her in person.

Andrea offered her help, which I accepted (I wrote her a nice thank you note with a load of cash delivered to her doorstep later).

Of course someone would know me in St. John’s (or mistake me for Robin – that happens more often) and offer to help. Because Robin’s friends are my friends. Thanks friends.

Disclosure: I received a free copy of The Stuff That Never Happened by Maddie Dawson for the From Left to Write Book Club that I founded as a continuation of the SV Moms Group Book Club after founding that book club and serving as the book club editor for SV Moms Group for two years. I was not obligated to write about the book and all opinions are my own.

If you are interested in joining my new virtual book club site, From Left to Write, please contact me. From Left to Write holds regular book clubs, writing not book reviews, but our own stories that are inspired by the books we read.

Posted in Book Club, From Left to Write | 13 Comments »

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