Grand-daughter on Board! November 22, 2009
Posted by caratime2 in God Bless the Child, On the Homefront, Shaking the Family Tree.2 comments
I had a chance to go to the ob/gyn with my daughter last week and see the ultra-sound of my first grand-daughter. Technology is truly wonderful! It was very exciting to see the pictures, hear the doctor’s explanations, and see her move around so happily. The pictures were pretty sharp, too. Sharp enough to count the little toes as she rocked herself back and forth.
She is growing according to plan, and is doing fine in every respect.
Poem – Derek Walcott May 21, 2009
Posted by caratime2 in Connecting with the Past, God Bless the Child, On the Homefront, Potpourri.4 comments
I haven’t thought about the fact that I don’t copy any of my own poetry here. Except one. A long time ago. I had planned to do just that and comment on how I remember my frame of mind when I wrote it and/or what the poem means to me today.
But just now I looked over at the window sill behind me and a poem I framed several years ago caught my eye. I framed it because it resonated with me then. It resonated with my soul’s best intentions. It used to hang on the wall in my apartment in Düsseldorf; now it sits in its frame on my window sill along with a statuette of a dancer, a small plant, a candle and some cards.
This poem is taken from Derek Walcott’s “Collected Poems 1948 – 1984″
The time will come
when, with elation,
you will greet yourself arriving
at your own door, in your own mirror,
and each will smile at the other’s welcome.and say, sit here. Eat.
You will love again the stranger who was your self.
Give wine. Give bread. Give back your heart
to itself, to the stranger who has loved youall your life, who you ignored
for another, who knows you by heart.
Take down the lover letters from the bookshelf,the photographs, the desperate notes,
peel your own image from the mirror.
Sit. Feast on your life.
Going ‘Dutch’ in Summer ‘07 July 30, 2008
Posted by caratime2 in God Bless the Child, On the Homefront, The Pooper-Scooper Twins.add a comment
Summer is slowly coming to a close here in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. In only a few weeks, kids will be back in school. TheGirl’s course starts on August 11th, and TheBoy’s apprenticeship kicks off at the beginning of September. This, of course, also means there is a lot to discuss as a family, so I spent a few hours yesterday with TheKids and The Ex doing just that. (more…)
Eating XXL June 24, 2008
Posted by caratime2 in God Bless the Child, On the Homefront, Potpourri.10 comments
Since moving to Germany to begin our life together, ChessMan has been fascinated by a couple of documentaries he’s seen on what the Germans call ‘XXL restaurants’. These are basically restaurants where the portions are astronomical. I mean mind-boggling. Schnitzels so big they flop over the edge of your plate. Single hamburgers made from a good two pounds of ground beef. Bratwurst weighing in at almost the same weight apiece. He made me promise that whenever we traveled to the Frankfurt area, we’d stop and visit the one near there.
What TheGirl Have Been Up To June 10, 2008
Posted by caratime2 in God Bless the Child.2 comments
I realize I’ve written relatively little about my children. Partially it’s because I’ve been looking back over things (long) past; partially because I want to give them some space and the luxury of not being regular characters in somebody else’s blog. But as any parent can tell you, without your kids ‘life’ would be like a word without any vowels…
So here is an update on TheGirl:
31 May 2008 May 31, 2008
Posted by caratime2 in God Bless the Child, Potpourri.add a comment
I can’t even begin to write about what I feel or what I am experiencing right now. I think of one of my favorite poems, Stevie Smith’s Not Waving but Drowning, more often than I care to to describe the insurmountable feeling of being sucked in by the waves and pulled to the bottom.
The Babes February 11, 2008
Posted by caratime2 in God Bless the Child, Potpourri.2 comments
Don’t ask me why, but I always wanted kids.
In some ways I may have been the prototype for a “modern” woman who considers her career an imperative, and I certainly can’t begin to imagine giving up my (ok: more or less) intellectual and professional pursuits to spend 100 % of my time folding laundry, baking cookies or planning yet another perfect 4-course meal.
On the other hand, I looked forward to the “little things” about having kids.
