Sunday, September 21, 2008

catching up

So, where to begin to fill you in on my whirlwind past 2 weeks...

Well, I guess I'll start with my trip to the Big Apple and Betsy's Big Day.

On the morning of September 11th I rose before the sun (a VERY RARE thing) to leave at 5 a.m. to be in the audience of the television show The View. Now, I am aware that many people HATE this show (some of them vehemently!), but I enjoy it, for the most part, even though I disagree with about 90% of what is said. That would be because 4 of the 5 co-hosts are liberal, and only one is conservative, but I am amused by the political discussions (arguments) - unless they truly get nasty, which used to happen more, but hasn't been too bad of late (though I was thoroughly disgusted with the show the day they had the McCains on) and I guess I watch so I can hear what people on the other side actually think/believe (which most of the time leaves me incredulous, but I do think they represent most of the leftist opinions fairly accurately), and to cheer for the 'underdog'.

Anyway, whatever your opinion of the show, it was incredibly fun getting to be involved in a LIVE TV SHOW!!! Maybe it's just because I grew up as part of the 'tv generation', but it was just a really cool experience. (Plus I got a free bottle of perfume. Oh, yeah, and a Jessica Simpson CD, which I've already re-gifted! ;o) ). And yes, I DID appear on TV - 3 times - according to my children! I haven't gotten to see the tape yet (my friend taped it for us), but apparently I've now officially had my 30 seconds of fame (funny, I don't feel any different...). :o)

We drove to Staten Island and took the ferry across. I was keenly aware of the fact that we were crossing, looking at the NY skyline, at precisely 8:30 in the morning on September 11th, and could only imagine having been in that exact same spot at that exact same time 7 years ago. As we stood on the deck, watching as we crossed, I was standing fairly close to an older guy wearing a NYFD t-shirt with several crosses and names of members of the fire department who were lost in the attacks that day. He stared, teary eyed and unmoving the entire ride. At one point I was so aware of the fact that he was obviously mourning, that I felt he needed more space and moved to another spot. (I understand mourning, and just needing to be alone with your thoughts, feelings and memories, and wanted to be sensitive to that.) All the 'fluff' of visiting a TV show aside, it was a significant day to be in the city.


Also, whilst I was away, I sadly missed most of my baby sister's BIG DAY! Her house finally got put together, and after they put the roof on, the crew guys even put a big bow on the roof - as it was the unequivocally the BEST birthday present she could have gotten!! After the show I was so anxious to get back and share in her joy, and the only bad part of the day was how long it took for me to get from the one place to the other!! If you want to hear about the details of her house adventure and see all the pics (I tried to copy some over here, but it wouldn't work), click on the link on my right sidebar that's called More Than Mom. It's really interesting, and unspeakably exciting for her (and us) as she's waited almost 10 years for her dream house to be a reality.



I'll post more about our vacation soon (not sure if I'll have time this afternoon or not) and I'm planning to upload my pics to Picassa or something so you can view all of them...I'll let you know when that happen.

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