Nora

"I Guess That's Where My Heart Is"

     I awoke this morning to the headline, "Maurice Sendak dies at 83." Only a week ago I watched the documentary, "Tell Them Anything You Want" all about him.
   Unsurprisingly, I have since immersed myself in his books, his drawings and his life.  I ordered A Hole is To Dig and Higglety Pigglety Pop, listened to all I could on NPR, and even drew a few pictures of his in my journal and wrote about him.
     He is an interesting, creative, soft-hearted man. He loved his little dog and drew pictures in each of his books of her while she was living. (I was so touched by this and thought it was so kind of him. In a story by Annie Proulx she described a man by saying, "For he loved a little dog" and this reminded me  of Sendak.)
     He loved his brother and sister; adored them, called his brother the genius. They loved him and were  always very good to him. He and his brother made adorable, colorful, wooden toys of nursery rhymes, which he still has.
     The only true happiness he has really enjoyed in his life has been drawing, writing and creating his books.  "All weaknesses and blemishes of personality fade away doing the one thing you want and in knowing you do it well."  "But, he says, it is an isolationist form of life."
     He asked, "Do you always want what you think you want?" He also asked, "How do you explain that you love somebody or something?"
     He had a picture of Ursula Nordstrom when she was young (I was surprised at how beautiful she was. I had only seen pictures of her when she was older. She is someone I loved reading about in the book  Dear Genius, which is a collection of her letters to the authors she helped, supported, encouraged, and edited. She was Sendak's editor, Laura Ingalls Wilders', E.B. White's, Margaret Wise Brown's, Charolotte Zolotow's, Arnold Lobel's, Shel Silverstein's and many others. She was clever, wise, kind, and appreciated and recognized talent. She knew how to handle temperamental artists, and artists who never answered their phones. When  asked what qualified her as a non librarian, non teacher, non parent, and non college graduate to publish children's books, she poignantly answered, "Well, I am a former child, and I haven't forgotten a thing.")
     Maurice Sendak reads Dickens for an hour each night and also listens to Mozart.  He asked, "Why is My Needle Stuck in Childhood? And later in the documentary, at the end, he answers his own question by saying, "I guess that's where my Heart Is."
    I don't know why but I have had several times in my life when I am suddenly intensely interested in an author, and I study their work and their life, only to find out a few days after doing so that they have died.
   Today I find myself wondering what it is or why does the universe seem to call out to you in some way asking- beckoning you to take notice of and appreciate someone before they disappear.
 I have no answer to this question but I am grateful I watched this documentary and thought about this man and his talents before he was gone.  "And he sailed off through night and day and in and out of weeks and almost over a year to where the wild things are."
   
 
   
   
   

Isn't She The Cutest Thing?

I love this picture. Mom and Laurie look so cute and happy together. So many people wrote the kindest messages to Mom, and Laurie posted this picture and a nice message. Happy Birthday, again Mom. I think I'll just keep saying it until I get a hold of you.

Not Again! Where's My Mother?

Can you believe it has been an entire year since I've posted anything? One year ago today it was Mom's birthday and I couldn't get a hold of her, AND now another year later the exact same thing is happening. Mom, if you're reading this Happy, Happy Birthday, Mother dear, Happy days will come to you all year. If I had one wish that wish would be a Happy, Happy Birthday to you from me.

I hope you're having a wonderful day, Mom. Thank you for being the kindest Mother in America. We all love you so much. I'll keep trying to call you at home or at Erin's home, and I'll keep looking for that tin can and some string if I don't get through.

Where's My Mother?

Mother, Where Are You? It's your birthday, your 70th birthday and I can't get a hold of you on your birthday. I've tried and tried and tried. It seems like The Renouf Phone Curse should be lifted one day a year, but I'm sure you have all of your posterity calling you and that's what's jamming up the phone lines.

I hope you've had a Happy Birthday, Mom. I'm so happy to be one of your children, and will always be grateful you created something lasting and meaningful for all of us.

All right, I'm going to try and call once more and if I don't get a hold of you I'm going to call Erin and have her walk over to your house with a tin can and some string. Happy Birthday, Mom. All of us are thinking about you today, and remembering how much we love you.

The Dentist

I have to go to the dentist today. I'm having my teeth cleaned and I'm dreading it.

I've been debating all morning whether to cancel my appointment. I hate having my teeth cleaned. Scccritch, Sccccratch, Scccccrape. It feels like a rake is dragging on cement in my mouth. Every sound is amplified, and I sit in the chair curling my toes and gripping the armrests.

Don't you wish you could turn off your own hearing sometimes. That there was a lever that you could switch on and off at will so you wouldn't have to hear or listen to anything awful or annoying. You could use it when your kids are arguing, or when you're in bed trying to read and can hear the television through the wall, or when the dentist is dragging a rake on cement in your mouth.

The problem is, I like to have clean teeth, and I was raised by Mother who has her teeth cleaned 3 or 4 times a year, who can be seen munching and crunching away on a toothbrush at all times and in all places, and who carried dental floss in her purse at all times and passed it out in all places.

At least the hygienist I have is gentle because nothing was worse than going to Dr. Nichol's and having Jody clean your teeth. My teeth ached for days after a cleaning, and it wasn't until I finally grew up and had my teeth cleaned by someone else that I realized why. Jody was rough. Way too rough.

All right, I guess I'm going. I'm dreading it but I'm going. Here's to clean teeth, and good gums. We all know that seeing a dentist regularly and having our teeth cleaned are some of the most important matters in life. It's right up there with Aunt Josephine and her good grammar.

I found a New Blog

I found a new blog I love. I think it's beautiful and very clean. It's tarahlowry.blogspot.com.

I think she posts most of her pictures from magazines so everything looks exceptionally beautiful. At first, I thought all of the pictures were her own; her own home, her own dinners, her own photography. I was mesmerized and thought she had such A Beautiful Life. I still think she does, but now I realize her dinners and home look delicious and beautiful because her pictures are coming from Southern Living.

She's religious, and has two sons, and an adopted little girl from China. She is very positive and cheerful. She posted her books she has read thus far for the year, so I like her already.

Anyway, take a look and see what you think. Tarahlowry.blogspot.com I think you'll like it.