Friday, June 3, 2011

"Friday Night Frolic" - Examinations and Interruptions


These past few weeks, I've been inspired by, and reminded of, the remarkable resilience of my daughter. (And children in general.) Within a span of twenty-two days the girl has been through a quadruple tooth extraction, a series of visits with, and examinations by, several medical specialists, ultrasounds and MRIs, surgery, and today, her streak of health related matters capped off, literally, by the gold brackets and silver wiring of her shiny new braces. On her twelfth birthday, no less.

And not one complaint.

She, as well as all the other children we encountered along this course of medicinal forays, has worn the same determined warrior-face for each run along the path.

And me, fretting over a job interview for a position I've never held, in an industry I know little about. Not much to fret there, really. Certainly not by comparison.

But dealing with numerous and lengthy internet interruptions? (Cox Communicationscan anyone tell me if FiOS is more reliable?) That's serious. I'll be lucky to find an open window in which to throw out this post.

Today, my girl is twelve. Twelve! I could never have imagined what I was to be confronted with in those dozen years now past. (And what to come?) Even though I had been a motheran older mother, at thatfor two years when Lulu was born, I was entirely unprepared for what would follow.

No one warned me of the degree to which my mental resilience would be tested by motherhood. Hell, by everything. But I won't bore you with tangential elaboration. You understand.

Anyway, I saw Ann Hood quote Allen Ginsberg on Facebook today. (Ann is a fellow Rhode Islander.) “Follow your inner moonlight; don't hide the madness” she wrote on her wall. 

Speaking of such, I now see my window of opportunity in which to fling my inner moonlight and madness...  while a few escalating bars flicker access in the lower right hand corner of my laptop, and before Lu and I go get a manicure and, later, meet up with her father and brother at Cuban Revolution to have dinner, listen to some jazz, and celebrate the astonishing miracle of Lu's birth, and what she brings to the world.

 My muse. How I love her.



I think it's time for a to return to normal, don't you?



If you don't have Buena Vista Social Club in your music library, you may want to start here.

And thanks so much to all of you who've been so kind, patient and supportive through all of this. I've been unable to keep up with many of you, but I'll be by to visit this weekend (if Cox permits, ugh).

30 comments:

  1. Happy Birthday Lu!..... and I love your choice of music for tonight Jayne.
    I've got the Buena Vista Social Club album, the live in New York CD and the DVD of the film in my music library.
    No matter how many times I listen to it I still get goosebumps when I hear "Chan Chan".
    Have a great weekend.

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  2. It's so wonderful that you all get to CELEBRATE! now that these medical ordeals are over. Have a blast-twelve is a big one : )

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  3. Happy Birthday!!!
    Good luck with the interview.

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  4. Our kids are of similar age...

    I love to hear you profess your love, for yours--

    it echoes my own, for mine.

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  5. Congrats on your interview and the girl turning twelve. wow, lots to celebrate. How do you manage to find time to write?

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  6. That is very sweet. A happy birthday to Lu and I hope you all have a great night. I'm a big fan of the Buena Vista Social Club, by the way. Good stuff. Though I have more Tito in my library.

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  7. Glad you've got the chance to celebrate. You've just introduced me to the Buena Vista Social Club - thank you very much!!

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  8. Paul- me too! Always get goosebumps listening to BVSC. Thanks so much for your birthday wishes to Lulu--put a bright smile on those braced teeth!

    Leonora- We sure did celebrate. Yes, 12 is a big one, but why, at times, does she seem more like 30, though?! ;)

    Antares- Interview went well, thank you! But I think the position will go to someone with much more experience. Seems they need that, now.

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  9. Munk- Great ages, aren't they. Such little adults now, with all the raging hormones and passionate desires! Yikes, this is going to be Hell, isn't it? ;)

    Shopgirl- Thank you! I don't find much time to write--never mind visit other bloggers--that's the problem! But now that things have settled a bit, I hope to spend more time reading you, and others. :)

    Beer- Thanks so much. Tito Puente? Love him! For some reason I seem to listen to him a lot in the summer... Oh, time to change those CDs! ;)

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  10. happy birthday lulu!!!

    is there a more helpless feeling than watching your kids go in for medical procedures? if there is i haven't experienced it.

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  11. Light208- My pleasure! Enjoy. :)

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  12. BP- I'll pass that along to Lulu. Gosh, despite all the drama, she's got a lot to smile about lately. Her knew iPod touch doesn't hurt, either.
    No, I can't think of a thing that makes a parent feel more helpless than having their child subjected to scary and invasive medical treatments. I wonder if I'd have felt less anxious if I had married that doctor... ;)

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  13. Happy Birthday yo your wonderful 12-year old girl Lu!
    I wish you and your family many joyful celebrations in life.
    Thanks for sharing the fabulous music of Buena Vista.

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  14. I know I'm late, as usual, so happy belated to Lulu. What a great age to be! I still have the friends I made when I was twelve, and I'm sure I'll have them forever! I hope she has a great year!

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  15. Dear Jayne, I didn’t know that Lu had surgery. I’ve been so absorbed in my trip and looking for magic and all. It’s wonderful to hear the outcome instantly, that being that your precious daughter is on the mend and has taken it like a true soldier. Whew! Kids are so resilient, and rightly so, after all they have to live on this beautiful and terrible planet just like the rest of us.
    I’m very curious about your job interview…
    Here’s my email: floridancing@hotmail.com Use it!

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  16. Good wishes to your daughter. Hopefully the next hundred years of her life will be filled with joy and accomplishment.

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  17. Well...Happy Belated Birthday to Lu!

    I love the Buena Vista Social Club...good stuff.

    Peace

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  18. Duta- Thanks so much for your kind wishes. :)

    Nessa- So true, and so lucky to still have several carefree years ahead of her. ;)

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  19. Leah- Beautiful and terrible planted indeed! Thanks so much for your sweet thoughts. I will be in touch with you about that interview. ;)

    Laoch- Ha! 100 years... Thanks for the wishes. :)

    Paul- All good stuff! :)

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  20. A very happy birthday to her! Also, a great music choice. Wifefish and I love Buena Vista...she puts it on for the days when we have serious housecleaning to do, and it keeps us bouncy instead of grumpy.

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  21. Resilience-that is such a perfect word for kids. It's like a specific kind of energy they have. That's one of my favorite things about being a parent and a teacher, seeing how resilient young people can be. It's inspiring really.

    I love the name Lulu, she sounds like an amazing kid. I can feel your love and admiration for her in your writing, and that gets to me as a parent.

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  22. Crazy weekend, Jayne -- sorry I didn't get to stop by till now.

    Follow your inner moonlight; don't hide the madness is such good advice. Complicated, too, because on a deep level it doesn't really counsel giving oneself over to the madness. Just acknowledge it, leave it there for others to see and marvel at. Don't take undue pride in conventionality, that is...

    Congratulations on the interview, and hope it goes (or went?) well.

    Best wishes to your young Muse. That age remade my psyche, but only (as far as I know) in good ways, and I wish that for Lu too.

    Can't speak about Cox specifically, but we've got DSL... All things relative, so on and so forth, but if we could get FIOS I'd drop DSL in a heartbeat.

    Their music isn't similar to BVSC's, but their spirit seems to be (both groups declining, thank you very much, to hide their moonlight and madness): do you know of The Jolly Boys?

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  23. Whoa... sounds like dental hell! When I was a teen I had ONE front tooth extracted and braces on my lower teeth only. From my perspective, I was being put through the Spanish Inquisition. Oh the humanity!! Kudos to your daughter for remaining stoic and poised.

    Our kids gave us a "Buena Vista Social Club" CD and we were hooked. We channel them on Pandora - totally love 'em.

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  24. Stephen- :-)

    DB- Thank you! I kind of like their music with mojitos, but it can definitely do double work with housecleaning. ;)

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  25. Tim- I think kids inspire like no other. I remember my Dad coming home with all kinds of stories about the lively conversations he had with his students in the classroom. What he loved most, though, was to push them to think critically, to question, to dissect, to not accept anything at face value.
    The great satisfaction of teaching (and parenting, too) is witnessing those young minds grow, isn't it?

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  26. JES- "Just acknowledge it" indeed! Although there are times I wouldn't mind giving myself over to madness, to crack like white china flung at the wall. Oh, but those shards, you never can piece them back together without obvious chinks.
    I don't know about twelve for Lu... seems her psyche is remade daily. I'm waiting for something, anything--besides her determined spirit--to stick with her. Fickle girl. Yet, she is not at all unlike me--as I was at that age (or am now?).
    The interview went well, thank you--I was surprised I got in the door. But it's tough competition and my learning curve blinks like a neon sign. We'll see...
    Thanks for the wishes to Lu. And The Jolly Boys! How aptly named. My mother is going to love these guys.
    (I'm looking in to FiOS.) ;)

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  27. Robert- Oh, dental hell and more! One front tooth taken out, though, that's tough. Aesthetically speaking, molars are less painful. Either way, the adult teeth grow in, or you get implants. Thank goodness teeth can be replaced.

    By the way, did you know that 'skepticisms' is the longest word that can be typed using alternate hands? I read that on another blog today.
    (And your kids have good taste.) ;)

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  28. Hi. Came here from TechnoBabe's blog.

    Hope your daughter enjoys her birthday, in spite of all the problems!

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  29. Rock Chef- Oh yes, the day was all about her! Thanks for stopping by. :)

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