The Benefits of a Cough

Yesterday Sam stayed home from school, due to a hacking cough that not only was probably contagious, but would have been a big disturbance in a classroom setting. Otherwise, though, Sam felt fine and was quite cheerful about getting to spend the day at home. He decided that it would be the perfect opportunity for him to pretend to be a cyborg character like General Grevious (who coughs due to a flaw in his technology). It was cute to see him think about his horrible cough in a positive way.

Alphonse Mucha Girl

The other day, Lucy was a bit grumpy (she was in want of a good nap), so I decided to dress her up in a bright and cheerful-looking outfit from my grandma, with a little headband that my friend Joanna made and gave to Lucy. I don't like a lot of headbands that are made for little girls (especially those with huge flowers that look as big as a satellite dish), but I think Joanna makes some very cute ones.

I think I have flowers-in-hair on my mind lately too, because I seem to come across books and calendars with art by Alphonse Mucha wherever I look. It seems like Mucha is really trendy and hip right now. I actually really like the Art Nouveau aesthetic of his art: it's flowy and gauzy and classical (in a timeless, female-personification sort of way) and celebrates nature. Plus, the images of women with flowers decorating their hair remind me of representations of Ozma by J.R. Neill (like this one from The Lost Princess of Oz). I used to think Ozma was the most beautiful creature, and I still regret not having the idea to be her for Halloween until I was an adult. Now I'm too old to convincingly dress up as the girl ruler!

Anyhow, here is my little Lucy, dressed up in her girly, flowery outfit. Perhaps her hair is too wispy and her cheeks are a bit too roundy round to let her pass for a Mucha girl, but I like to think that she fits with the aesthetic in a roundabout way. Here she is paired with a detail of Amethyst (1900) from Mucha's The Precious Stones series:

We love this little girl, even on her grumpy-ish days. She usually greets everyone with a big smile, right from the moment that we pick her up from her crib in her morning. She brings us a lot of joy.

"The Grapevine Connection" and a Valley Girl

When I was in fourth grade, I was in a musical called The Grapevine Connection at my elementary school. I wanted to play the part of Abby, a valley girl. I remember when I auditioned for the part, I took off my headband and handed it to a friend, so that I would be able to use my hair more easily as a prop (in order to sweep my bangs away from my face when I said phrases such as, "Like, fer shurr!"). My music teacher Miss Kendall watched me take off my headband and she paid close attention to my audition. When I got the part, I was convinced at the time that removing my headband helped me secure the role.

I remember that there was a boy in our class named Zach Smith, who played the lead role as a nerd named Stanley. He played an excellent nerd and the whole class was cracking up when he auditioned for the part. Years later, I thought it was amusing that in high school Zach became one of the star quarterbacks of the football team as a freshman, and he was instantly catapulted into high society with the popular kids. I used to wonder if he was embarrassed about his role as a nerd in the elementary school play, when he hobnobbed with the elite in high school.

Anyhow, when I was in the play I had to sing a solo about Thomas Edison. The song, which discusses the invention of the light bulb, is set up in such a way so that it shows how Abby, the ditzy valley girl, is actually more intelligent than one might assume. I still remember the lyrics of the song, and for some reason the lyrics of the chorus came into my mind:

"A drifter, a dreamer,
He lit up the world,
And he did it incandescently."

However, when I was thinking about the song an these lyrics in my mind yesterday, I was surprised to realize that I didn't pronounce the word "incandescently" correctly in fourth grade. I stressed the incorrect syllable back then, singing the word as "in-CAN-dee-scent-ly" instead of "in-can-DEH-scent-ly." And now that I've realized this, I wonder why my music teacher didn't correct me on the pronunciation. Did she not notice? Or did she not know how to pronounce the word herself? Perhaps she thought it would be in character to have a valley girl mispronounce a tricky word that isn't normally part of a fourth grader's vocabulary? I will never know!

I can't find any video clips from this musical on YouTube, except for this performance of the chorus number "Way Back." This isn't my elementary school, but I think that my performance was about the same year (circa 1992).

Princess Idleways and Boredom

The other week I read The Princess Idleways: A Fairy Story (1879) by Mrs. W. J. Hayes. It is one of the classic stories that is available for a free Kindle download on Amazon. The story itself was entertaining enough, although I don't know that I would read the book over and over. The plot tended to meander quite a bit.

I have, though, been thinking about a point mentioned in the book. The story starts by explaining how the princess, Laura Idleways, is a selfish and lazy creature. I was particularly struck at the discussion of how the princess was "always depending upon others for entertainment, too lazy to amuse herself, and much less inclined to study or to find happiness in being useful." I had never thought about boredom as being connected to laziness before, and I appreciated this insight. When someone is bored, it is because they are too lazy to entertain or amuse themselves.

I can remember complaining to my mom at times when I was bored. She would give me suggestions of things to do, and I usually would reject each one as being too boring or unappealing. Now that I'm a mom, I am the one who offers Sam suggestions of things to do when he is bored, and he usually dismisses each idea for one reason or another. The other day, though, I was able to tell Sam about Princess Idleways and how her boredom was a result of being lazy. Sam seemed to really understand this idea; he could tell that at that moment he was depending on me to entertain him or find something to entertain him. Although, obviously, there are times when I want to play with Sam and be with him, I also want him to better cultivate the ability to entertain himself.

I'm happy to say that I never find myself bored as an adult. There are always more things to do than I have time for!

S Family Nicknames

Lucy's nicknames still continue to be "Snuggle Buggle," "Buggle," "Buggle Boo," and "Bug." I also call her "Lovey Lu" and "Lu." Sometimes I call her "Buh-Buh," because that is one of the sounds she makes right now.

Lucy's nicknames have made me think about some of the creative nicknames, silly titles, and silly phrases that my siblings had. Here are ones that I can remember:

• Viv
• Vivi
• Vivi Voo
• Vivi the Fusser
• Mah-da-ca
• Mah-ca-ca
• Mahn-ca
• Chef Boy Aldee
• Aldee Baldee Boo
• Alden Balden
• Aldoo
• John
• Milly (Mom said she thought of this one when she was reading Hamlet's Mill and thinking about Millstones)
• Milly Willy Huggy Hilly Lovey Lilly Silly Gilly
• Milly Moo
• My Little Angel (V would call my sister C this, which made my brother A upset. He would say, "She's not an angel. She's just C!"
• Liza
• Liza Bean
• Snugglebean
• Bean-A-Rama
• Liza Loo
• Looper Doo
• Looper
• Liza Looper
• Loopey Doo (a variant of Lovey Loo, which we also used)
• Favorite Sister of the Universe 
• Lize
• Eliza Lies a Lot (Not that this is true! We just liked to say it because "Lize" and "Lies" are homophones)
• Cal Pal
• Cal-Pal-A-Rama
• Pal
• Wernk
• Wernk-A-Chunk
• Wernky Wernk 
• Wernkalicious
• Schmoshem
• Schmosh
• Schmoosh
• Schmooshroom
• Schmoshy Schmoosh
• Snugglebum
• Pardner
• Lydia the Prettia
• Lyddie Loo 
• Lover Dove
• Snugglebug
• Lyddiebug
• Sweet Pea (I think just Dad used this)
• Peanut (just Dad used this one too)

If L grows up to be a grouchy old lady, maybe we will call her Lyddie the Old Biddie as a joke!

Lucy Laughs!

May this be the beginning of a long era in which Lucy finds entertainment and Sam has someone who constantly laughs at his silly antics.

What I Would Do

If I had a day or two to myself right now, I don't think I would spend it on a museum visit or anything else so frivolous. Right now I feel like life is manageable, but packed full of constant needs and activities. It would be nice to get caught up on things like, say, vacuuming. Sometimes I feel like folding one basket of laundry is a big triumph for the day. If I do have free time, this is what I will do over the next few weeks:

- Write my six-object tour for my docent class
- Finish reading "What Are You Looking At?" for my docent class
- Cut down the dead flowers and weed in the garden
- Mow the lawn one more time
- Go through Lucy's clothes and donate the ones that she has outgrown
- Memorize my Christmas choir music
- Transcribe my silly musical jingles into actual notation (this is a frivolity, but something I want to do soon)

I know that many of these things will happen at some point, because they have to happen. But I have higher priorities than what is on this list anyway, like helping my friend Meka with her soon-to-be-born baby (which will be so fun!). I know that in just a little over a month, this constantly-busy schedule will die down. I'm looking forward to some luxury time.