"You are my childhood."

Recently my mother told us about the one and only episode of Oprah that she has ever seen. It aired some time in the last few weeks I think. Oprah had J.K. Rowling on her show. I know little about the interview. But, my mom was struck when Ms. Rowling said that she had an encounter with a young woman who stopped her and said "you are my childhood". 

What a tremendous thing to have someone tell you. What a gift to remember about your youth. That so many can identify a span of time in their lives with something that lasted and gave joy and inspiration and imagination and mystery to that time is remarkable. I loved the Harry Potter series. It helped me through terrible pregnancies, dreaded business trips, chemotherapy,  a ton of stress. My children love the stories. Ms. Rowling has been an enormous influence on the lives of my two oldest and someday I hope my Sam will share their fascination with the magical characters and stories.

I thought a lot about what my "childhood" was and I can't identify with just one thing that spanned my entire childhood. I bounce from the people that meant the most to me as I grew up, to the places that hold parts of me there, still, in that time, to music that I loved, and to some literature. The constants through the most defining years of my youth, not just my childhood, but the years that formed so much of who I still am today, are:

• My parents. My siblings. My favorite, Jon. And the many extensions of my family. My Mitch. And, Bruce and Diane.
• My Jeannie and Alison. My first best friends. 
• The  boy who lingered. He was the beginning. He was my summers. 
• Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, The Cure, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Madonna...
• Nantasket Beach, Cohasset's Sandy Beach, Bear Hill Pond in beautiful Harvard, MA.
• Red Sox, Celtics, and Bruins games. We were living in New England... football was kind of a joke.
• Boothbay Harbor, Maine, Menemsha Harbor on Martha's Vineyard, My grandma's house in Salt Lake.
• Poetry, handwritten letters and postcards, any flavor of Escada perfume, Anne of Green Gables
• My green bike with the white and gold striped banana seat. 
• Family Roadtrips with Willie, Johnny, Neil, John, Chicago, and any all other music to fully embarrass all children.

My childhood, my youth, is tied closely to where I was. I was raised in a special place. In a town with the most beautiful little harbor filled with all types of boats and that gives way to the perfect view of Boston from the Yacht Club and Worlds End. It has on of those main streets you see in photographs, only it's better. There is still something remarkable about that place and how I feel when I am there. It is one of my anchors. It is a haven. It was my childhood. And, all it offered made my youth amazing. I want that for my children. The sense of community. The importance of family and friends. The places that make them feel safe and free and grateful. 


Ms. Rowling created childhoods for millions. It is something to marvel at. She is certainly no Candyass. She is remarkable. 

CREAM & SUGAR

My 2 year old consumed a tiny bowl of sugar and drank straight from a miniature pitcher of cream at a very brief lunch we shared with my highly entertaining friend Melissa. Sam kinda stole the show. I am sure that the Mother of The Year award is not far off.

OK, so that will never ever happen. But, I have a mother and she was Teacher of the Year last year. Let me tell you, she earned that stupid little plaque on her wall and the big bonus that went with it. She teaches special education and she loves it. Best of all, they love her. It is absolutely what she was meant to do. I have always been proud of her. She works harder than anyone I know and continues to take on extra projects, provide extra service, and make time for her kids, all six of us, and her sixteen grandchildren. She's remarkable.

She's also funny as hell and she has more stories than any single person I know. Earlier today we were sitting around her big dining room table listening to the funny stories of the week from the oldest grand kids. One of them said something that none of us can remember because my mom started to laugh until tears were rolling out of her eyes and down her cheeks. This alarmed the babies and the dog. They were all crying too. We just waited for the story. And, it was so worth it.

She has a study hall period for kids to come in and get a little bit of extra help with math or science, or anything they may be struggling with. She has a group of girls that come in and use a corner to study together. They mostly talk about boys and other girls. The last time came in they were passing a bottle of lotion around and talked about how great it smelled and how soft it made their skin and how much certain boys liked it. These are 16 year old girls that may not be as witty as the slutty cheerleaders on Glee but the voices are a dead match. Somewhere during the conversation one of the girls explained that she got the bottle of lotion from her mom and that the coolest part about it was that it was also edible. She then reads from the bottle "Good for an intimate midnight snack." And some girls sampled!

My mom was sitting at her desk texting the teacher in the room next door a play by play of this conversation. They decide she needs to confiscate this bottle of lotion and encourage the girls to study. She takes the bottle and puts it on her desk and takes a few photos of it so that she doesn't forget. The funniest part, for me, was that the name of this product was Cream & Sugar edible body lotion.

I suppose that even funnier than that is the fact that it first belonged to her mother. My mom will never look at that parent the same again. She's no Candyass though, she'll still look her dead in the eye and be fair, but she might giggle a little at the same time.

Can't really fault anyone for keeping a little sizzle in their life, but for giving a little bit of the sizzle to a kid is totally stupid and terribly comical.