A giant post for this Friday morn

The Lake Shore Limited by Sue Miller

I recently read While I Was Gone by the same author. This one was interesting -- told from the point of view of four different people -- I like that kind of stuff because it makes me think about how true to life that is -- how people can experience the exact same day/event/other person/place in very different ways. Probably a good reminder.

Billy was getting ready to leave her boyfriend, Gus, (unbeknown to anyone else) when September 11 came -- he was on one of the planes. She has written a play about a terrorist attack on a train (The Lake Shore Limited) as it arrives in Chicago's Union Station.

Leslie is Gus' older sister who very much feels his absence and thinks it must be so hard for Billy as well. Pierce, her husband, feels like she should just move on.

Rafe, the main character in Billy's play, has a wife who is very ill with ALS and who is largely confined to the house.

Sam is a friend of Leslie and Pierce who goes to dinner with them after the play. He meets Billy and find himself drawn to her.

One of the strongest elements of the story, for me, was that notion of how very mixed one's feelings can be at the death of someone we know intimately. Rang very true for me. 

What great books did you hear about / discover this past week? Share your FRIDAY FINDS!

My finds:

 Gone by Michael Grant 

 My People by Langston Hughes

New and Selected Poems: Volume Two by Mary Oliver

1. Grab the book nearest you right now.

2. Turn to page 56.

3. Find the fifth sentence.

4. Post that sentence (plus one or two others if you like).

5. Post a link with your post to Storytime with Tonya and Friends.

I've got a great one:

People expressed their concern to me that by my providing such a protected atmosphere my children would not learn how to assert themselves as they grow older.  The old "if you don't start feeding them with a spoon now, how will they ever learn how to use silverware" routine that many adults use to justify things such as introducing solids, making children learn something against their will, sleeping away from parents, stop nursing, etc.

p.56, Learning at Home:  A Mother's Guide to Homeschooling by Marty Layne

Happy Memorial Day weekend to all who celebrate it :-)

And...here we go!

1. __soft cheese and fresh baked bread___________ -- the best food to take on a picnic.
2. Summer __brings a lot of changes in our house_______.
3. ___My old boss hated the sound of someone walking in_______ flip flops.
4. To love someone is __tricky business___________.
5. ___I am not craving___________ a long hike.
6. When I crave food, it's usually __something cold or something cheesy______.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to _working on a present for my friend Elizabeth and listening to more of The Woman in White____, tomorrow my plans include __a silent auction & picnic for Alpine Valley ___ and Sunday, I want to _write a letter to my brother____!

Looking forward to the 48 hour book challenge!

MotherReader: Fifth Annual 48 Hour Book Challenge

A few months ago I did a 24 hour read-a-thon -- Now is my chance to double that!  :)

Participants are asked to choose any 48 hour period from 7:00 a.m. on Friday June 4 to 7:00 a.m. on Monday June 7 -- It must be 48 consecutive hours but it is understood that not all participants will be able (or want) to read for that entire time.  I'm still pondering what 48 hour period I will choose, but I'm pretty sure I'll start at some point on Friday and end at some point on Sunday.  (As the date approaches I will have a more definite time period marked out.)  I'm hoping to read somewhere between 24 and 34 hours.  We'll see how that all works out.  :)

Books need to be at a 5th grade level or higher, graphic novels count, and participants may count one audiobook toward their time and book totals.

Some readers are asking for pledges to various causes.  This is my first experience, but I'm game! All pledges made to me will go directly to the school my daughter attends, Alpine Valley.  It has been such a lovely place for her to be (after visiting AVS for the first time she said, "Well, if I go to school that is where I'm going to go.") and I know they will find a good use for whatever money I raise.  

I'd like to offer three different ways to pledge and let each donor choose.

• pledge by minutes read (e.g. a nickel for each minute I read (see MotherReader's site for more info about what counts towards the goal))
• pledge by books read (e.g. $5 for each book completed during challenge
• pledge by pages read (e.g. a penny for each page read)

Let me know if you have any questions or comments.  Also, if there is a book you'd like to insist I read during the challenge, you can ensure it happens for the low, low rate of $10 a book.  :)  This is your chance, folks, to preach, to what may or may not be the choir, about your favorite book(s). Don't let the door of opportunity slam shut on your toes!

Journal -- 11 months after being hit by a car & Read Roller Coaster by Marla Frazee

May 23, 2010

It's really lovely to think about how much my body is healed and how many things I can do now that would have been very hard to do even four months ago, let alone eleven.  Last night a friend was visiting with her young child and I was actually able to lift him high above me in the air while sitting down.  He's very very light for his age and my right side definitely felt pretty different from my left while I was doing it -- but I could do it and without pain! 

I continue to take amitriptyline daily.  I take the diclofenac as little as possible because of the heartburn issues that came from that (still experiencing that from time to time -- Dr. Banwart says it'll take a while for my stomach lining to heal).  I take flexeril once or sometimes twice a day still.  My pain is down enough that I sometimes forget to leave the house with it (whereas when the pain is high and constant it wouldn't occur to me to forget it)  but still present enough that I often wish, once I'm out, that I had it with me.

At Lani's suggestion, I began go to to physical therapy once a week instead of twice, starting the week of May 3rd.  I think that she is wanting to see how that reduction will affect my body.  So far it seems to be okay -- and it's certainly different schedule-wise to only need to be there once a week!  I continue to do all of the home exercises that Lani has given me -- a combination of stretches, strengthening exercises, and exercises focused on improving my posture.  

I saw Dr. Banwart on Friday.  She has encouraged me to continue doing physical therapy weekly at this point and said that massage is also still a good idea. I will see her one last time (she's leaving the clinic) on June 14th.  In the meantime, she asked me to see another doctor who does osteopathic manipulation work in the same clinic.  So I will see Dr. Pham on June 7.  Dr. Banwart says we are probably getting to the point where I will be discharged from care but that she thinks my body has a bit more it can improve before that point -- and that perhaps Dr. Pham can be a part of that improvement.

I continue to be able to do more and more with my body without giant pain increases.  Activities that involve "elbow grease" or concentrated strength (scrubbing a pan or trying to lower the storm window in our front door) are still difficult and painful as are some weight-bearing tasks -- especially ones that last more than a minute or two. 

Financially and emotionally, this accident continues to kick my family's collective butt.  Its impact on our life continues to diminish and that is definitely a good feeling.  Even better will be when it is all completely behind us!

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On a separate note, I absolutely love anything that Marla Frazee does and wanted to post about Roller Coaster.  It's not a brand new picture book (published in 2003) so it should be easy to get it from the library.  She does an amazing job of portraying different body types and races and relationships in her illustrations without making it a big deal ("look at me I'm so multicultural and aware") -- simply as acknowledgment of all the variety found in this world of ours.