"Those were the salad days, the halcyon years! The sleepless nights, the wailing babies; the days the interior of the house looked like it had been hit by a hurricane; the times I had 5 kids,a chimpanzee and a wife in bed with fever. Even when the fourth glass of milk got spilled in a single night, or the shrill screeching threatened to split my skull, or when I was bailing out some son or other- or, in one memorable instance, Bobo the chimp- from a minor predicament at the police station, they were good years, grand years" Sara Gruen, from Water For Elephants
Welcome to what promises to shape up into a rollercoaster ride in the form of a peek inside the inner workings not only of my huge family...but also my tiny little mind. I'd like to be able to tell you what to expect, but I really have no idea. I can tell you what I envision as some of the content of this little page of mine. I would really, really, REALLY like to share some stories about my family, most likely some editorials covering any number of things I find along the way on this journey of life, discussions of books I have read, music I've listened to, gardens I've tended, random thoughts that have turned into stories, maybe some recipes that make my family fat and happy...recipes for food, which seems to be an incredibly important part of my family's social workings, or maybe "recipes" and formulas for things that simply make my family happy. I can confidently make the guarantee to you right this minute that I honestly don't know what to tell you will be on the page on any given day.
Today, I've started with a quote from a book I enjoyed a great deal.
Water for Elephants, Sara Gruen
I really loved the main character. I loved the story. I'm not ruining it for anyone, so don't expect a review beyond that. My point is, I really liked the book. Liked it not only because I could identify with it in some way, which is why I really like most books. I like being able to pick out parts of the story or character that I can just identify with. Being able to say to myself "I completely understand or identify with what the character did/said/felt" is just so satisfying to me. Almost a reassurance to myself that someone - even someone fictional - just "gets' me. Liking this particular book, without identifying with the character or story in anyway was enough. Then I came to the very end of the story...and the quote I chose to include above. That one paragraph, while I've never experienced certain...ummm...unconventional...situations mentioned, completely summed up how I feel about my family.
While Bobo the chimp being arrested and in need of bail will probably never be one of the crazy goings on of my household...I can't guarantee there wont be something equally bizarre, that my family accepts as completely normal...and eventually looks back oh-so-fondly upon.
No matter how insane or difficult things are, these truly are the good years, grand years.
