What a Day!

When the phone rang at 11:30 on Saturday night, I could just feel my Mother's Day plans slipping out of my grasp like water through my fingers. The Theologian had to go to work on an emergency call at midnight on Sunday. So much for my B&N-and-ice-cream date with my one and only.

When he is gone I can't sleep so it was the perfect opportunity to plug in that Gray's Anatomy Season 1 DVD I got from the library. I managed to watch 8 of the 9 episodes before he got back home at 6am, after which I immediately fell asleep. I liked the show, though, contrary to the director's belief, I don't find it to be a family-friendly show, though it is tamer than a lot of the other shows on the market now. And when did Patrick Dempsey get to be such a Hottie? I remember seeing him in Can't Buy Me Love in the theater when I was a teenager. He was kind of lanky and geeky in an irresistible way then but has lost all the lank and geek now.

Where was I? Oh ,yes. Sunday morning. I was woken at 7:30am to get ready for church, which I did. While I was actively getting ready I was fine but as soon as I sat in the driver's seat I could feel all the muscles in my body melt away. I was tired but determined. The worship and sermon were encouraging and uplifting, as usual, but I think it can be understood why I kept falling asleep. I left before the second half of church started, praying that I would not fall asleep on the drive home.

I made it home in one piece and molded myself into the astronaut foam bed that I love so much. I mumbled a bit about what could be found to eat in the fridge as I drifted off to the Land of Nod, expecting my day of rest to be my only Mother's Day treat.

It was when I woke up in my too-warm and too-sunny room that I learned our plans had not changed after all. The Theologian dragged me out of bed like a Raggedy Ann doll and whisked me out the door, but not before each of the kiddos could give me a homemade card telling me how much they loved me. This was a treat since they have no teacher encouraging this sort of thing. Each card was lovingly assembled with care by the heart of each of my three lovely children. And one card from the Theologian saying all the things I know he genuinely feels to top it off. I am indeed blessed!

First stop: Home Goods. This place is a treasure trove of home accessories. It's like the home section at Ross but so much better. The Theologian let me take my time wandering each and every aisle, touching and talking about what I loved and where I would put it. I left with a large grass-weave basket with plastic plates, cups and utensils for our weekly park days and our summer at the pool.

We then walked over to the B&N. Without children requiring we supervise their train-display activities we could get a lot of browsing done. First I checked out all the Bargain Books displays. I found a book containing quotes from George Eliot's books ordered by subject matter, like War and Compassion. Then I found the fiction section. I started at A and looked at every title in the next couple of shelves. It was here that I came across a book by A.S. Byatt that I simply had to have. My favorite parts of her book Possession were the fairy tales. I would read them to Goldilocks in the evenings. I told my friends that I would love a book of just these type of fairy tales. Little Black Book of Stories looks to be just that. Here's a blurb from the back:

Like Hans Christian Anderson and the Brothers Grimm, Isak Dinesen and Angela
Carter, A.S. Byatt knows that fairy tales are for grown-ups. And in this
ravishing collection she breathes new life into the form.

Doesn't that sound delish? And the cover is beautiful as well. It looks like a very old book cover with tattoo-like flowers, some black and some gold, at randon places near the edges, and a pink ribbon place-marker draped along the side near the title. If you check out Amazon the cover will be different. Mine is better. It just cries out to be read and enjoyed.

Another book I came across was Philobiblon: The Love of Books. It's written by Richard de Bury in 1345. He served as High Chancellor and Treasurer of England, and eventually rose to the post of Bishop of Durham. It is about the joys and necessities of book collecting and continual education through reading. Since my local library has only one copy that must be requested from storage from the central library in the system, I'm pleased to think I may have to purchase the book myself.

I love all the display tables in the walking paths throughout B&N so I looked through the one titled Summer Reading. It had a great many wonderful titles; everything from classics to last year's NYT 100 Notables. In fact, so many of the titles were the same ones appearing in my Amazon Recommendations List that I became a little paranoid. Just how did they know I was thinking of purchasing these?

Lastly I listened to a few CDs by Lifehouse in the music section. This band will be my next music acquisition. Even the songs I wasn't familiar with sounded great from the 20 second taste I savored.

When I eventually made it to the check out line I had only the Byatt book and one for the Theologian. It seems he had as much luck as I did finding books he wanted but we were both practising restraint and simply added to our Wish Lists.

Topping off our trip with a visit to Baskin Robbins was a treat indeed. The Theologian inhaled a 3-scoop Sunday with marshmallow cream and I slurped a Kiwi Smoothie, leaving enough for the kiddos to finish off at home. When I finally got around to cooking dinner our taste buds watered as I cooked up Pecan Chicken and Roasted Red Peppers with Cabbage, two recipes from The Schwarzbein Cookbook(my favorite). Okay, so the kiddos picked out the cabbage, but the adults thought the recipe a keeper.

Surprisingly, I went to bed at my usual time, 11pm, after reading a few more fairy tales by the Brothers Grimm. Let me tell you, Cinderella is almost a completely different story. When I did finally lay my head on my astronaut foam pillow(heavenly!) I had a smile on my face and a contentedness in my heart that nothing can compare with. I love being a Mom.