A Tale of Two Siennas

I'm driving to meet a friend, and I'm late...of course, because I am late for everything. Whether it is a lack of planning (possibly) or a misguided idea that I can fit more into less time than the rest of the world (more likely), I am regularly at least 5 minutes late. Everywhere. 

So really, I am not just driving, but kind of speeding. I am fast approaching a lovely new-model Sienna van, which far outshines Big Blue, my less-new and well used Sienna. As I get ready to pass Big Blue's fancier counterpart, I have to wonder... who is driving that van?  I already know it's a mom.  Let's face it - the Sienna is a "mom-mobile," capable of carrying large loads of children, groceries, and equipment to the many places children must go each day. But what is her life like?  Is she, like me, driving one handed, while simultaneously fishing around in her purse for her lipstick? Is she worrying about the overpacked activity schedule she'll be facing later that day, which requires a flow chart to make sure everything is done? Is she thinking about the times in the not-to-distant future when it will only be one child to chauffer around, because the other will be off to college?

I pull up next to the van, and sure enough, she has both hands on the wheel.  No one-handed purse digging for her. She looks ... serene. Confident. Relaxed. All those things that I wish I felt myself, as I zip down the road.

Of course, it's entirely possible that this calm, self-possessed woman is dealing with her own baggage. Perhaps, despite the outward appearance of her pretty new van, the interior mirrors her life, with the detritus of the week spilling out from every seat: empty water bottles, granola bar wrappers, car chargers, changes of clothing for both band and dance team, notes and bills on the console. Maybe muffin crumbs from a dinner eaten on the road litter the bottom of her floor too.

But I don't think so ... I think this woman is opposite Michelle. She is never late.  She is never rushed. Her car is always immaculate. She never applies makeup in the parking lot of her destination.

I pass the shiny Sienna - fast, because I am late - too quickly to catch the unknown mom's eye in the mirror. My last glimpse as I turn the corner is of her staying exactly in the middle of her lane, going  the speed limit.  Ah, opposite Michelle. How peaceful your life must be.

Slowing Down for the Little Things

I stepped outside a couple weeks ago and saw what I thought was a piece of grass in our outdoor kitty's water bowl.  Even though I was rushing (as I always am, it seems, during the month of May) I stopped to look closer.  It wasn't a leaf... it was a tiny inchworm, who had climbed up to get a drink.

I squatted down like a toddler and just watched.  His body was on the rim, and his head was down inside the bowl.  Perhaps sensing my presence, he stopped drinking, and made his way around the bowl (and around, and around, but that's another blog entry all about finding your way...).

Life goes by so fast that sometimes it seems impossible to slow down and appreicate the little things.  In my case, it was truly a little thing... an insect so small that if I had not glanced over at just the right moment, I never would have noticed.  How often do I neglect to listen, or look, or just take a moment to appreciate?

Andy Bernard said on The Office finale, "I wish there was a way to know you were in the 'good old days' before you've even left them."  And he's right - the busy-ness of life can make those "good old days" go by in a flash.  But school's out, summer is finally here, and I am slowing down to enjoy the experiences that life brings... both big and small.

World Book Night 2013

In the dead of winter, when everything in middle Tennessee is brown and gray, there is one particular event that gets me ready for spring: the applications for World Book Night arrive.  I check my e-mail, and there it is! The list of World Book Night (WBN) titles are announced, and people around the country can apply to be a WBN giver... to receive the honor of handing out FREE copies of a book in your community on April 23rd.


Team Palmer on World Book Night 2013

I was lucky enough to be picked again this year, and let me tell you, as a passionate reader, few events compare to this night.  I got to give out a book by one of my favorite authors: John Green's Looking for Alaska.  With my entourage (both girls came along for support and photography skills) we headed to our local coffee house, JoZoara's, to offer free books to the community. We met up with other WBN givers and members of the local One Book Committee.

As you can see, I am just beaming -  what a great night! At the end of the night, around the country, more than 25,000 people had given away free books in their community. To learn more about World Book Night or to be a giver next year, check out their website at http://www.us.worldbooknight.org/.





Isabelle sharing the love of reading



With my dear friend Sandee - her first night as a WBN Giver

Fellow book givers Shawna (left) and Sandee (right),
along with One Book Co-Chair Laura Beth.
What a fun evening!

The Fabulous Kate Atkinson

Scrolling through Amazon's Kindle deals a couple of weeks ago, the very first item that popped up was Kate Atkinson's novel, Started Early, Took My Dog.  I actually sighed out loud... one of my favorite mysteries, at only $1.99!  I remember fondly when I first picked up Case Histories, Atkinson's fifth book but her first crime novel, with its twists and turns, the intricate interweaving of subplots and characters, and a new favorite detective, the truculent detective Jackson Brodie. She quickly followed with several other Brodie mysteries, including Started Early, each one as delicious as the one before.

Atkinson has a new novel that I can't wait to get my hands on... Life After Life, in which Ursula Todd, born on a cold night in 1910, dies and then is born again - and again, and again, each time with a chance to rewrite history.  As England makes its way toward World  War II, Ursula can change the future of the world... if only she gets the chance.

Happy reading!

Happiness Is In Your Hands

Gretchen Rubin had a problem.  She had a great life, a loving family, and excellent health, and yet she wasn’t truly happy.  It wasn’t that Rubin was particularly unhappy; she just didn’t have the joy and contentment in her everyday life that she would have expected. After taking a hard look at her life, Rubin realized the power of happiness lay in her own hands, and “The Happiness Project” was born. Using authors, philosophers, researchers, and even pop culture, Rubin developed a year-long plan to see if changing her attitudes could change her life.

The Happiness Project: Or, Why I Spent a Year Trying to Sing in the Morning, Clean My Closets, Fight Right, Read Aristotle, and Generally Have More Fun details Rubin’s journey through a year of self-exploration.  She begins by developing twelve resolutions for her life, based on the thirteen virtues of Benjamin Franklin. These include everything from “lightening up” to being herself, and to make the project manageable, Rubin addresses one resolution per month.  Under each resolution, Rubin’s pathway to happiness includes everything from money management (money really can buy happiness, within reason) to cleaning out clutter, to parenting, using practical advice as well as scientific research to back up her theories.

One of the most appealing aspects of The Happiness Project is that despite her best efforts, Rubin is not always, in fact, happy. Her willingness to detail her setbacks (such as yelling at her young children or fighting with her husband) as well as her successes makes the book more accessible.  Knowing that Rubin stumbles and falls, just like the rest of us, makes her seem less like an author and more like the woman behind you in line at the grocery store.

For those wanting more information, The Happiness Project offers a supplemental reading list as well as a list of resources through Rubin’s website, www.happiness-project.com. The website includes free downloads, tips and quizzes, and links to Rubin’s Facebook page for anyone wishing to join a “happiness group.” Rubin recently published a follow-up book as well, entitled Happier at Home.

 Although I am not quite ready to start my own happiness project, I decided to try one suggestion right away: creating order in chaos. There were plenty of areas in my house to choose from. I spent a long, tiresome afternoon sorting through papers, books, and general detritus in my living room. Following Rubin’s lead, I sorted items into things I couldn’t live without and things to be given or thrown away.  Rubin mentions throughout the book that often the activities that make you the happiest, oddly, don’t make you happy at the time you are actually doing them.  That was certainly true of my cleaning project, even though it was only one afternoon.  But the satisfaction and feeling of empowerment from just that one job took me into the next week feeling refreshed and, well… happy.