Pay no mind to that crazy lady sobbing in aisle 5.

Think I could pull off wearing noise-canceling headphones while I shop? I'm already über-emotional dealing with Christmas, but it's all the piped-in holiday music that's pushing me over the edge! (Have I mentioned that my mom loved to sing?)

At the symphony last night, I lost it a couple of times, but in the Bass Hall, it was nice and dark, allowing me to have my moment privately, even as I was surrounded by people.

At Garden Ridge (or Target or Walmart), there's nowhere to hide.

Of course, holidays are hard for lots of folks, not just those who have lost loved ones in the past year. Individuals who have gone through divorce or are far away from home really struggle. And even for those grieving, there's no one-year limit to the pain of facing the holidays without that husband, wife, son, daughter, mom, dad, friend, etc.

Even though Mom's rapid decline stunned us, we still knew that she was in terrible health. We had no idea this would be our first Christmas without her, but at least we had some inkling that this could happen. I can't even imagine how much harder it is for those who lose their beloved with no warning. I look at my two friends who abruptly lost their husbands and just marvel at their strength. How much harder holidays (not to mention every other day) must be for them, and yet they face each occasion, each moment with such courage.

Until now, I feel like I've had the luxury to let grief wash over me at the most opportune times. I'll grieve privately in my car, in my darkened classroom, on my couch at home. But thanks to those Christmas carols, I'm afraid that my grief will leak out of my every pore and reveal my hidden anguish. Suddenly, my mourning won't be so private anymore.

So I'm thinking it's either headphones or a great big nametag: "WARNING: Woman prone to sudden emotional breakdowns."


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Travel rituals.

On our honeymoon, Brett and I went to San Antonio. While there, we found no fewer than eight or nine used bookstores. It was fabulous! We hit the streets with a big ol' map of San Antonio, our trusty Half Price Books bookmark, and names and addresses of stores we'd found in the hotel phonebook.


Now, 17 years later, we continue that ritual, just with an iPhone! I know that as we travel, we will include at least a couple of stops at stores with used books and games. On this trip as we cruised New Braunfels, Brett discovered this place, D-Pad. With its used DVDs and games, it merited two stops before we left town.

Behind the store's shelves was this quirky little arcade. Around the corner from that was a darkened room where some guys were playing games online. (Kinda freaked me out a little to hear—but not see—people shouting orders!)

What's cool about these game stores is that they're usually amenable to taking a stack of flyers advertising Brett's book.

Just another part of vacationing with the Dubs!

NaBloPoMo leftovers.

You know that Bose display at Target, the one where you can try out the different headphones/earphones?

Katie knows every single song on the Bose demo!
The girl has a gift for learning lyrics! If she hears a song once or twice, she has it committed to memory. Pretty cool! During one of our many big outings to Target recently, she showed me how well she knew all those songs, from country to hip-hop to folk. Considering all the not-so-nice lyrics out there, it's a little scary how quickly she can pick up on those words.

Frisco Fest '07.

For a couple of years, Katie and I would plan a trip to Frisco during Ryan's week at camp. This year that didn't work out (see why), but we really didn't want the summer to pass without a jaunt up 121.

After making some finds at Sam Moon, we ate a delightful lunch at the Cheesecake Factory.



Of course, we had to ride the carousel at Stonebriar Centre.



And before we headed home, we made a stop at Ikea to find just a few more items for Katie's new room. I'd been to the store in Houston and had been dying to get to the Frisco location. It only took us a year to get there, but we made it!