Ode to an Artichoke

My once beautiful and productive garden has undergone a resting period ever since schedules got tightened once again around here. In other words, I haven't planted jack in forever and the only remaining veggies are those that last several years or have reseeded themselves.

When we first moved in I planted artichokes and asparagus. The asparagus has done amazingly well and while the artichoke plants are nice and leafy it had only produced one actual choke in three years. Until last week.

No one had even looked at the artichoke plants in many months. I was playing with my nephew in the yard when I noticed it, round and green and ready for picking, a perfect little artichoke crying out to me from its pedestal of pointed leaves. We promptly went inside to get some scissors, picked the softball-sized crown, and stashed it away in the fridge where no one else would see it.

The next night while preparing dinner I cooked myself up a little appetizer of artichoke and melted butter. No, the artichoke was not shared with anyone because trust me, no one else in this household can appreciate a thing like an artichoke at the peak of freshness.

Sitting outside on the lanai watching the sunset and savoring the choke by candlelight was one of the more powerful religious experiences I've had. Each leaf sang hymns in my mouth. And the heart, oh the heart, was my communal bread and wine. "Eat this, in remembrance of me," said the artichoke. And I did, and it was good.

The artichoke plants have been checked daily since then.

Ideal Job of the Week: Assistant to a Literary Agent

"Do what you love. Love what you do." I, for one, and am so-uh-oh tired of this cliché. Maybe I'm bitter, but if I was doing what I loved it would involve daily screenings of Oprah, spontaneous trips to Europe, stocking my (non-existent) wine cellar with fabulous selections, a personal trainer named Gustav, and definitely no working of any kind. But in the real world we gotta work so if I have to choose then let us indulge the fantasy of an ideal job, thus my pick of the week: Assistant to a Literary Agent.

"Assistant?" you say. But of course. The real appeal in this job is the reading of the manuscripts and finding the hidden gem, the next J.K. or Salinger without dealing with the writers themselves. It's a beautiful idea really, and came about after reading an article in O Magazine (two Oprah references in one post, let's call it an O-fer) that instructed job seekers to follow their "hot tracks" or their particular interests, something like tracking a bear in the words. Being a self-help junkie, my own list of hot tracks was generated. And yes, drinking wine and traveling Europe were on it, along with reading novels. So I said to myself, "self, could reading novels for a living be a hot track?" Indeed!
After doing a little research on what it takes to be a literary agent as well as an editor it was quickly decided that legal stuff and negotiating contracts was not a hot track, which is a large part of what those folks do. To really get to the meat of it you gotta be the assistant (or intern but I won't go that far) who the agent bosses around and orders to read nine hundred manuscripts by Monday. To complete the fantasy picture me, lounging in my hammock reading a stack of promising tales and passing judgment on each, "rubbish," "bad," "preposterous," "insane," until finally jumping up and exclaiming "diamond in the rough!" while hitting my agent's speed dial.

I'm sure you can think of a thousand reasons why this would not be an ideal job. But don't ruin it for me, I'm still following the hot tracks.

To Infinity...And Beyond!

Today was the last day I'll work with my favorite little guy. For the past two years I've enjoyed working as a one-to-one skills trainer for a boy with autism. He is pretty much the coolest kid ever and I'm so blessed to have had him in my life.

It is an amazing experience to observe someone with some very major challenges overcome obstacles I couldn't even begin to imagine. In the past two years I've seen this boy learn to read, master dribbling a basketball, offer sincerest comfort to those in need (including me), have meltdowns I was sure he'd never come out of, progress massively in reducing self-injury, and wow everyone with the darndest since of humor.

One thing is for sure, I will never underestimate a child with disabilities again.

For our last day of summer school we enjoyed watching "Toy Story," one of his favorite movies. He happens to know every line and does a great version of the theme song, "You Got a Friend in Me." I'll miss you my friend and I know now that I learned far more from you than you did from me.

You've got a friend in me
You've got a friend in me
When the road looks rough ahead
And you're miles and miles
From your nice warm bed
Just remember what your old pal said
Boy, you've got a friend in me

You've got a friend in me
You've got a friend in me
You've got a friend in me

You've got troubles, well I've got 'em too
There isn't anything I wouldn't do for you
We stick together and we see it through
You've got a friend in me

You've got a friend in me

Some other folks might be
A little bit smarter than I am
Bigger and stronger too
Maybe
But none of them will ever love you the way I do
It's me and you
And as the years go by
Boys, our friendship will never die
You're gonna see
It's our destiny
You've got a friend in me

You've got a friend in me

You've got a friend in me

Talent Show Follow-Up

Thankfully, our kids were allowed to participate in the talent show after all. It was a blast! And, although I might be biased, they really were the best act. No one laughed at them, in fact, they got so much praise for their little dance routine their heads were spinning. They danced to "Beat It," and wore matching outfits complete with a surgical glove dipped in glitter. This is what it's all about people. Special ed: 1, Regular ed: well, ok more than we can count, but one is better than nothing so we'll take it!

Fifth grade graduation was also the same week as the talent show. Soon I will be saying goodbye to the little guy I've been working with for the past two years. More on this later, but for now let's just say my feelings are very mixed on this topic. I sure will miss him though.

What Would Michael Jackson Do?

Who knew elementary school talent shows could be so hard core? Not me. I remember the talent show as a series of pretty terrible (including my own renditions of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" and "I Could Have Danced All Night") yet adorable performances. A couple of the students in our Special Education class have been talking all year about performing in the talent show and we of course encouraged them. Try-outs were last week and it didn't go so well.

First of all, the person in charge of said talent show agreed that our kids could perform. Then, after he realized we were serious, began back-peddling. He told us that if the routine wasn't good enough, they couldn't perform. His excuse (that we've heard about six times over now) is that he doesn't want the other kids to laugh at them. And by the way, they are dancing to "Beat It," and they are actually decent, on a scale of pretty terrible to adorable.

I will say that the routine was thrown together (by me:)) at the last minute, so that may have been a point of frustration for the talent show organizer. BUT here is a group of kids who are on the outer fringe of their peer group, who don't usually get included in much, or aren't able to do some things and they want to get up and perform. So let them! The reality is, they are used to getting laughed at, but the even bigger reality is, their peers need to learn that it's not ok. Just because someone is a little different, doesn't mean they should be discounted. This could be a learning experience for everyone and even more importantly these kids are actually getting a shot at doing something COOL for once. He hasn't said no yet, so I'll keep you posted.

This all reminds me of a defining moment I had back in high school. It was freshman PE and we were doing a track block, so we all got to sprint, practice the high jump, and throw a shot-put. It was actually a chance for the PE teacher, who was also the track coach, to recruit. There were some Special Ed. students in our PE class also. One of them was faster than any of us and had the endurance of an Ironman. One day I asked the PE teacher whether he was going to recruit the speed racer. With a confused look he answered, "No, of course not. He's in Special Ed."

All I can think about is the many things people with disabilities usually miss out on. Many will not get to play on a sports team, join the choir, go to prom, or participate in the talent show. All because it's not their "place." It's not only about including people with disabilities, but about teaching our kids, and allowing ourselves, to accept that some people are different, but that doesn't mean they don't have anything to offer or that they don't deserve a place right alongside of us.

Away We Go: The Review

To begin with, I'm intimidated by the word "review," so let's just consider this posting simply my thoughts on the movie Away We Go, starring John Krasinski (from The Office) and Maya Rudolf (from Saturday Night Live).

The film was recommended to me by a friend who suggested I watch it without any expectations, so it is in that same spirit that I suggest you do the same. Therefore, I'm going to try writing this without giving too much away about the plot. In fact, the main characters themselves are struggling with their own expectations about what life should be. They have come to a crucial crossroads in their life together and are trying to decide what their life will consist of.

And so, like all good coming of age stories, they search for it. Along the way they learn different lessons, about life, about each other, about love. Turns out they are just taking the long way home.

There were a couple of themes that struck me about this movie. I liked that no matter where the couple thought they should be, we as viewers knew that it was their being together that was the right place to be. Not a physical place, their love was home. I liked too the idea that sometimes the most difficult path to take is the one right in front of us. It can certainly be a challenge to accept where you are at, the big "this is it." But the universe has a way of bringing us around to that path no matter how far we stray away.

So we search and we search and we search for the answer, for that one right thing to appear, an angel perhaps to whisper in our ear or the stars to mysteriously align to make a message in the sky. And all the while the real miracle is that our very lives are the answer. Have a little faith.

Thanks MCL.

Love is: a product of faith

A Mother's Love

What better time to explore the idea of unconditional love than Mother's Day. It never occurred to me that my mother's love was unconditional until my first year of college. Sorry mom, bet you wished I'd have realized that one a bit earlier. That eighteenth year of life was one of intense heartbreaks and heartaches. The boy (yes b-o-y) I'd vowed to love forever had ditched me for another girl (and yes, I was a g-i-r-l too), I'd managed to fall in love with three other people, only one of which actually loved me back, so I of course promptly messed that up, too. Angst at its very best (or worst?).

Going home that year for Christmas break, I felt unlovable. But there she was, my mom, one of the only people who loved me not only in spite of all my shortcomings, but because of them. She was someone who listened endlessly to all my problems, empathized with her whole heart, and made me realize that I was indeed lovable, and loved unconditionally. The word unconditional is such a powerful word, in fact it is amazingly empowering to know that someone loves you unconditionally. So thanks mom, for loving me so effortlessly.

Love is: unconditional.