Happy Valentine's Day

From Precious Bane, by Mary Webb.

Then he said, slow, with a laugh at the back of his voice, but with a cosseting sound as well -

"There, there, my dear! None shall touch you now!"

All the strong life of the man was gathered in his eyes, and blazing full on me. So he'd heard! Folks do sometimes when they seem nigh dead. He'd heard and remembered the words I'd said when his head was on my bosom and my heart was well rent with love. What could I say? Nought. Where could I hide my burning face, that his eyes did so dwell on? Nowhere at all.

"Hi, Weaver!" they called. "Waggon be come and we be hindered for ye!"

"I never knew a mother's love, nor yet a sister's, nor yet a sweetheart's." He said it ever so softly, but despert earnest, so that the words burnt in. "But if I had, I should have forgot 'em all three when you said those words to me, Prue Sarn!"

Rats!

It blows me away how much trouble these varmints cause. I can't believe that in the 21st century so many Americans get sick and DIE because of contaminated food. Americans!

It seems like a new thing but it surely can't be, right? Is it just a case of broader, more widespread reporting or is it actually a more serious problem than ever before?

How will this problem be solved? Are more stringent standards of inspection by state and federal authorities the answer or will it have to come from manufacturers taking more responsibility for their products? Will individual families start producing more of their own food?

People also get sick because of the germs living in their own kitchens.

This is salmonella. It is not your friend.

And if that doesn't make your skin crawl, maybe you'd prefer e. coli:

Wash your hands, people! Sanitize your kitchen surfaces! Use a clean dishcloth and towel every day! The alternative is too gross to comprehend. And it might make you very, very sick.

En Pointe

These kids keep me on my toes.

All kids, I think, are naturally curious. They want to know. I like to think that one of my duties as a mama is to encourage in my offspring this innate desire to explore and to understand.

I also like for them to think I have all the answers. To think that I know everything.

I don't feel like that is too much to ask. And it's not that I am super conceited or anything like that because after all, when they were newborns and babies and toddlers and preschoolers and we were establishing our relationships to one another I DID know everything. I knew exactly what they needed and I provided it. I always knew what day it was. I knew how to fix skinned knees and broken toys. I knew how to find the hopelessly lost shoes, dig out splinters, and make the pancakes exactly right. I knew everything. I was omniscient and omnipotent all rolled into one admittedly squishy, but also very smart and loving package. Ah, those were the days.

Last week my Little Friend asked me a question. (I think he lays awake at night trying to figure out questions that will stump me. And he always starts off in a way that tricks me into thinking I'm going to ace this round.)

He said to me that his teacher told him that everything you can see is made out of matter. That's true, I told him, and things you can't see are also made of matter. Air is matter.

See how clever I am?

He asked me what the states of matter are. This is a test. I know that he knows what matter is. He's trying to see if I know the answer. I said that of course I do - matter is either a liquid, a gas, or a solid.

See how well I can handle this?

Then he delivered the crushing blow. The coup d'etat.

What is fire?

Picture it if you can. I am sitting there next to a nine-year old boy with a stupid look on my face, trying to figure out if fire is a liquid, a gas, or a solid.

As my kiddos have grown up I've had to learn a new phrase. "I don't know". If you're a mama, try saying those three little words. It's hard, isn't it?

I had to find out. It turns out that fire isn't a liquid, a gas, or a solid. But now I know what it is. (I asked the daddy, Mr. Dub, who knows everything. That is part of what makes us a good team. It is also part of what makes it hard to live with him sometimes.)

If you don't know the answer to this question, this is your lucky day. Because I'm going to tell you. I don't want your kids to get the better of you on this one. You don't have to thank me - it's what I'm here for.

Fire is a reaction.

No politics, thank you very much

This blog will never be about politics. Of that I give you my solemn vow.


But I saw this picture and it made me glad - I'm not sure why. After all, I didn't vote for this guy.

Actually I just figured out why I like it - there is something so hopeful and so joyful and so vibrant in their faces.

President Obama, you have a beautiful family. Please take good care of them.

Peeking

Back when I was only thinking about starting a blog, and wondering if I'd have something to say every day, and wondering what I'd want to reveal about moi, I thought long and hard about who might read it.

I have some girlfriends I knew I could count on to justify my existence. I thought a couple of my kids would look at it once in a while. I thought maybe one or two of my sisters would be interested. I figured my mom would probably feel obligated to read it.

I thought there were certain things that I would share:

• Recipes
  
• Funny and interesting happenings in my daily life


• Insights into the inner workings of my mind


• Photos of beautiful and talented children (mine)


• Pictures of my secret boyfriends
  

(Wait. What was that last one?)

Then I found out that Mr. Dub was reading my blog every day. He is a hunka burnin' love, I tell you. Some of you know that about him already from our conversations. Others, namely our children, may be a little sickened by the thought. But since I am Mr. Dub's one-and-only, I like for him to think that he is my one-and-only too. He might not like it if there are lots of secret boyfriends lurking around in the recesses of my mind. In the interest of openness and honesty I did tell him about one of them.

(There might be others.)

I'd like to make it clear that my heart, body, and soul belong only to Mr. Dub. But there's a little bit of Amy Dub that likes to look around at all the manliness there is in this world. Here's a peek at my secret boyfriend - the one Mr. Dub knows about:

Oh my. Jon Bon Jovi not only looks ruggedly handsome, he also sings. And plays the guitar. Mr. Bon Jovi, you rock.

Mr. Dub, you rock too. In a different way. I'm here at home if you'd like to get "reacquainted" with me.

Sorry, kids.

I want to KNOW

how the universe was created. Was the Big Bang really the way it happened? Did a tiny, atom-sized seed of creation suddenly...POW! BLAM! into the immensity of what we have now?

Or was it some other way we have not even begun to understand?

Is the universe really still expanding in all directions? Why can't I feel that? Is there a center point of the universe from which it is expanding? If there is, where is it? If there isn't, where is it all coming from? Is the universe going to shrink back down to that atom-sized...thing...when it's done expanding? Will I be able to feel that? Will anybody notice? How long will that take? How did everything get so big? Why?

What part does gravity play in the creation of the universe? How does time work across the universe?

These are some of the things that keep me up at night.

Survey Says...

it's time for a poll!

There is something going around here. Two people in my family have had it and lots of people I know have been sick or have sick family members. It's the kind of thing that lasts about a week, involves a fever, sore throat, headache, and finishes up with a cough.

The last time I was sick I had bronchitis. Last September. It wasn't a particularly serious case of bronchitis; antibiotics, when I finally got them, cleared it right up in a few days. But it triggered a series of events that I'm still trying to recover from. More on that another day.

Today's question: what did you have the last time you were sick?

Please don't gross me out. Just a simple diagnosis is all I'm looking for here. I promise to have lots of sympathy for you even without my knowing all the gory details.