Bee and Rose

Please keep Dawn, a wonderful blogger at Bee and Rose, and her sweet family in your prayers. Her husband, Chilly as we know him, has deteriorating health which may soon take his life. We love you, Dawn!

I Am Absolutely Sure

Most days I have a long fuse. My last trip to the library was not one of them.

Is anyone else out there like me? After a handful of days things that normally belong somewhere else, to someone else, or parts of something else seem to become a part of the landscape of the room, counter, table...

The books-and-movies-for-free thing is great. It is just too long. You see, if I have a book for a week or two or if I have a movie for a night or two I have no problem at all remembering to return it. I have been burned many times by owing fines to the library, so I am now particularly vigilant about returning our library materials.

Enter Irony.

Feeling somewhat proud of myself for remembering ALL of our books and ALL of our movies and ON TIME, (I know that they were all there because I counted the books as I dropped them individually into the slot--I also counted the DVDs-- even opening them to be sure that each one actually had a DVD in it. Been there, done that) I started to check out our family's latest haul.

Sarcastic Checkout Clerk: Are you planning on returning Aristocats?

~long fuse, instantly gone. spark, flame, ignition.~

Irritated Aurora: I returned it. (aside to cringing daughter) I knew this would happen.

Them: Maybe you thought you returned it.

Me: Nope. I have done that before. This is NOT one of those times. I am absolutely sure. You see, I counted the books. And the DVDs. I even checked them all. Twice. I returned it.

~clerk checks the back at my insistence. Nothing.~

Me: Well, now what? I returned it.

Them: We can flag it so that you won't have a fine and it will give you a few weeks to go home and see if it is there.

Me: Or for you to find it here since I returned it!

Going home. Indignant. Frustrated at the sarcastic clerk, the stupid library system, the world in general. Spewing frustration at my 16-year-old who keeps telling me to "chill." Honey, with these raging hormones... I WISH!!

Me: (to 14-year-old who was not at the library): Blah blah, jerk, blah blah, typical, blah blah, I am absolutely sure...!

14-year-old (warily pulling DVD out from beside the TV): Is this it?

Me: Ack!!

Perception

"Washington, DC Metro Station on a cold January morning in 2007. The man with a violin played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time approx. 2 thousand people went through the station, most of them on their way to work.

After 3 minutes a middle aged man noticed there was a musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds and then hurried to meet his schedule.

4 minutes later: The violinist received his first dollar: a woman threw the money in the hat and, without stopping, continued to walk.

6 minutes: A young man leaned against the wall to listen to him, then looked at his watch and started to walk again.

10 minutes: A 3-year old boy stopped but his mother tugged him along hurriedly. The kid stopped to look at the violinist again, but the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk, turning his head all the time. This action was repeated by several other children. Every parent, without exception, forced their children to move on quickly.

45 minutes: The musician played continuously. Only 6 people stopped and listened for a short while. About 20 gave money, but continued to walk at their normal pace. The man collected a total of $32.

1 hour: He finished playing and silence took over. No one noticed. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition.

Findings:

No one knew this, but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the greatest musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written, with a violin worth $3.5 million dollars. Two days before, Joshua Bell sold out a theater in Boston where the seats averaged $100.

This is a true story. Joshua Bell playing incognito in the Metro Station was organized by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment about perception, taste, and people's priorities. The questions raised: "In a common place environment, at an inappropriate hour, do we perceive beauty? Do we stop to appreciate it? Do we recognize talent in an unexpected context?"

One possible conclusion reached from this experiment could be this: If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world, playing some of the finest music ever written, with one of the most beautiful instruments ever made.... How many other things are we missing?"

~taken from an email citing a Washington Post article~

Come September

Each year I mourn the end of the summer. This year it has been a blur of fun and sun. We have had Girls' Camp, family visitors, trip to Nauvoo, waterparks days, shopping, and a bit too much fast food. I see, however, that it is coming to a quick close, regardless of the fact that the temperatures won't be dropping for quite some time.

I will have a junior, a sophomore, a 1st-grader, and a preschooler. Where has the time gone? My Junior was just in Kindergarten a few years ago, I am quite sure of it.

And so the buying begins. Pencils, markers, index cards, notebooks, scientific calculators... do they really have to cost that much?? And then for the little ones: watercolor paints, glue sticks, backpacks, lunchboxes... Oh, the lunch box purchase days! How fun it has been have them back. Sheer glee and I was a hero for $9.99. Watch for cheesy first-day-of-school photos with lunchboxes and backpacks.

As I look outside my window, even the sky is mourning. It is warm and muggy, to be sure, but it is ever-so grey outside. It's time. Time to dust off the alarm clocks, wind back the bedtimes, and go back to school, come September.

Sweet Nectar

There are no words.