The Mother Lode

Our son returns Monday from a three week trip to China. Since he was small, I have jumped upon his times away from home as perfect chances for me to tidy up his things. A few days ago, I hit the motherlode.

Our son returns today from a three week trip to China. He loves to travel, and this trip, with his aunts, cousins and uncles, has been no different. We have Skyped with him three times, but only two really count due to a rural location for him and a bad Internet during one session. (It was like talking to Neil Armstrong on the moon!) He has sent a few emails from his aunt’s computer, but mostly it has been radio silence from him.

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His smiles on the phone screen have been radiant as he shares stories and jokes. Pixelated conversations are hard, and when he tried to show us photographs on his camera through the computer call, it was all blurry.

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Time is flying by for this kid, our only child. His last two years of high school start in a month, he got his first “real” job this summer, he now plans his own volunteering, he is learning to drive, and three weeks of travel away from us had him smiling on Skype two days ago.

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Since he was small, I have jumped upon his times away from home as perfect chances for me to tidy up his things. He does a pretty good job of keeping his things in order, but the crevices, containers and dump bins need the occasional scrubbing.

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A few days ago, I hit the mother lode. In the “Potential To Make The Mom Cry” category, this find was in the Top Five. Squirreled way in the bottom of a drawer were his business cards. The business cards he made for himself when he must have been five years old.

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I remember the day he came home from visiting my mother and had the paint samples in his tiny hands. They had been to Home Depot, and he had scored a few freebies in the paint department. I remember remarking about them and asking what he was going to do with them – and why there were so many. I probably sprinkled in a little bit of “waste” and “these things cost money,” and then we moved on. I never saw them again after that discussion.

In my mind’s eye, I can see him in his little denim overalls and bright T-shirt reaching for the ones he liked best. Taking a moment to choose correctly. Possibly being limited by what he could reach. Maybe asking for help. He is still a child that loves all colors, and I can imagine this whole process was magical.

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I took pictures of each of the cards today, and, when I loaded them onto the computer, I stopped to look at them all. To mourn the passing of his little script forced from pudgy hands. To grieve the little bit of tongue he stuck out past his lips while accomplishing difficult tasks. What struck me deeply was how, on each card, he played with the graphic design. I noticed how each card is different while the copy is almost the same. Initials vs. full name? Three initials or four? The battle was most likely epic with his tongue taking most of the punishment.

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To this mom, the discovery in my own home was perfect. Just what I needed to remind me that, since he was born, he has been moving away from us. He has been moving towards new adventures. New places. New people.

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And on this day, with this collection of evidence, I realized he was moving toward a career even at five years old. He even took the time to make business cards.

Sloane

p.s. A few years ago I cleaned a closet in his room while he was away. Click here to see what happened.

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Healthy Summer Cold Treats

I don’t know about you, but getting enough liquid in my child during the hot, hot, hot summer days can be a challenge. I have tried many tricks, but

I don’t know about you, but getting enough liquid in my child during the hot, hot, hot summer days can be a challenge. I have tried many tricks, but this one works the best. I make homemade jumbo popsicles with a variety of juices and other drinks.

At home we have a nifty popsicle maker thingy, but we are on vacation this week and I had to improvise.

Jumbo Homemade Popsicles Popsicles made from juice using every day kitchen items. Popsicles made from juice using every day kitchen items. Popsicles made from juice using every day kitchen items.

What I discovered, is she likes the jumbo ones more than the little ones I make at home. I like it because she gets more hydration each time and my favorite part is that I used handy kitchen items everyone has on hand (no fancy gizzmos or special clean-up and storage).

Pursue good stuff this summer…

Casey

These photos were taken by me – Casey Simmons – “on location” on Anna Maria Island, Florida.

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Sometime

Several years ago, we stayed home from Spring Break. Actually, our little family has seldom traveled at Spring Break in the 13+ years it has been an option. Time of year, maybe. Lack of funds, probably. It always sounds great, and I talk a lot about it after Christmas, but all the plans peter out as March arrives.

Several years ago, we stayed home from Spring Break. Actually, our little family has seldom traveled at Spring Break in the 13+ years it has been an option. Time of year, maybe. Lack of funds, probably. It always sounds great, and I talk a lot about it after Christmas, but all the plans peter out as March arrives.

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So that year, I spiced up our Kansas City staycation by looking at the list my son and I had been compiling on a notepad in the car of all the places about which I had said, over his lifetime spent in the back seat, “Yeah sweetie. That’s X. We’ll go there sometime,” or, “Oh. I’ve always loved that place. We’ll go there sometime,” and, “Wow. I used to take your Aunt Lindsay and Robin Parks there when they were little like you. I’ll take you there sometime.”

 

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On that staycation we slept late, ate lunch at restaurants new and old, and visited places that we had never been with our son. Browne’s Deli, John Wornall Home, Kearney House Museum, Thomas Hart Benton Home Museum. We did it all. The list was depleted. My husband and I were able to work in fits and starts during that week, and, when the break was over, we all felt like we’d really been somewhere and seen lots of new things. Because we had.

 

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Currently, our son is traveling in China with my husband’s family and we (my husband and me) are in our home alone – with the dog, of course – for three weeks. We both have loads of work to accomplish but have much more flexibility to get it all done without the pull towards wanting to be with our son. Given his busy teenage existence – work, volunteering and goofing off – our times as a threesome have little footing in his regimen this summer.

 

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While he is gone we are having a “foodcation”. Our son has been gone for 6 days, and not one meal has been prepared in the home. I am not a breakfast eater, and lunch is easily acquired from the huge bowl of organic fruit in the kitchen and hurriedly stashed in my bag as I wing out the door for work.

 

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But dinner is another matter. My husband and I had a list much like the “Sometime” list my son and I kept in the car. This list has been growing on my husband’s cell phone/electronic notepad and includes places new and old. We don’t really dine out all that much, and this has been a real treat. So far, mostly dinner. A few lunches.

 

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One of our lunch adventure was to Werner’s in Mission. We sat outside and had a great conversation with one outstanding staff member who was working the grill. She spoke of the butcher and the sausage maker. She mentioned her work and how she hand ties sausages and does additional duty cooking them outside over the grill. She explained to me what the different sausages were on the grill and, in particular, why one was so darned pale. (That was the German bratwurst. It isn’t made from cured or smoked meat.) Inside, one woman behind the counter made our sandwiches from scratch on soft bread and another woman checked us out on an oldish cash register.

Tonight we are off to another restaurant with good friends. A place we haven’t been. An adventure.

Sometime is now.

Sloane

Note: All photos above are from our time at Werner’s.

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Natural State

Yesterday I re-entered my natural state. I woke up, left my pajamas on the hook, and took off into a world I love. The one where my swimsuit is the main mode of clothing.

Yesterday I re-entered my natural state. I woke up, left my pajamas on the hook, and took off into a world I love. The one where my swimsuit is the main mode of clothing.

day one 2013

Several weeks ago, my best friend texted and briefly stated that she had just encountered the smell of Coppertone and was transported back to our summers as pre-teens, teens, co-eds, working women, young mothers and working mothers. I have never known a summer without the brown bottle. And anything banana-flavored has never touched my skin. I don’t even like banana candy, although I like bananas.

My dermatologist and I look at my largest organ in depth every year. My addiction to the sun has lessened as my age has increased. However, my yearning to live full days in Lycra and spandex fully coated in Coppertone has not abated. Good thing we’re supposed to wear sunscreen in the shade.

I live my dream every summer vacation by waking much as I did yesterday: shedding my PJs for my swimsuit and then spending the day moving through activities lightly clothed. A worn-in Oxford cloth dress shirt with the arms rolled way up is my ultimate cover-up. In our little corner of Florida, this passes as more than acceptable for restaurant dining. I shower long after the sun has gone down and move swiftly back into my cotton sleepwear. Never a bra or panties in sight. Never a long sleeve, hem or button to fence me in. Although, I do admit to window shopping on my favorite 7 best websites to buy sheer and see through lingerie but only at night when I couldn’t sleep, in bed, waiting for sleep.

first day feet 2013

She took me to the pool yesterday, my best friend, for the first time this year. This may well be a record. So late in “the season” for my inaugural walk into cool water. I am grateful and happy for her invitation, and the lingering aroma of our amazing friendship was with us the whole time. In my pool bag. Just waiting for me to un-cap it and let the memories overwhelm me.

Every boat dock, sun deck, beach chair, over-sized towel and speedboat returned to me. Every sun hat, pair of sunglasses, T-shirt, flip-flop and tote roared at me. My newborn son seeing pool water three months after his birth. My Dad skiing behind our boat. My Mom judging our dives from the edge of our pool. My sister holding her breath and my hands while we attempted “butt bumpers” for the one millionth time.

All this in one little bottle.

Sloane

 

p.s. I mean no disrespect to anyone who wears Banana Boat lotions or eats those delightful banana flavored Laffy Taffy.

coppertone girl
This is the little girl I grew up with.

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Sweet Liberty

Our family has always been partial to holidays. Birthdays, too. We celebrate, but not over-the-top crazy celebrations. Simple seems to rule the days. Have a Happy 4th.

Our family has always been partial to holidays. Birthdays, too. We celebrate, but not over-the-top crazy celebrations. Simple seems to rule the days.

July 4th is a good case in point. When we were growing up, the 4th was a day to swim and barbeque. When our parents owned a boat, we swam in a lake. When we had a pool in the back yard, we cooled off in chlorine. The meals themselves were from our grill but are forgettable in their simplicity. But the dessert was always something that included whipped cream, blueberries and strawberries. In a pattern – possibly a flag – or jumbled together in a trifle. Cake was part of it. Or home made ice cream. Red, white and blue.

Cathryn Simmons on the 4th

This photo of our mother shows her on a 4th of July probably 20+ years ago. Our parents had separated, and she decided to take us all down to the deck on the back of her office near 25th and Holmes so we could watch the fireworks that would burst over Union Station. It was a wonderful night, and we all remember it. Not only was she dressed for the occasion with suitable head attire, she was dressed in white with red toenails and blue sandals. Red, white and blue. But the dessert that night, served after take out from Gates Bar-B-Q, was a three layer cake. When you sliced it, it revealed the flag. Not to scale, but to perfection.

Throughout the years she has been known to quote the Constitution while holding a jumbo sparkler in the darkening gloam of night. She has decorated our childhood homes with all forms of US flags. “Don’t Tread on Me” was always a favorite, and a reproduction of an early flag by Betsy Ross was good for feminist conversation.

Mothers give us much. This one, however, gave us never-ending lessons in freedom and justice. She didn’t so much wrap it in the flag as hand it to us gently and tell us to be careful.

Have a Happy 4th, and enjoy your red, white and blue.

Casey & Sloane

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Copyright Casey Simmons and S. Sloane Simmons. People who steal other people's words & thoughts are asshats. Don't be an asshat.