My Summer Reading List

Is anyone out there putting together a summer reading list? I'm getting ready to spend time in my happy place (my deck) with a good book in hand that I can't put down. This year, I'm coming up with different categories and selecting a book that fits the bill.

Here is what I have so far:

Celebrity Read: Stories I Only Tell My Friends, by Rob Lowe. I saw Rob Lowe on Oprah and let's just say that my huge school-girl crush came back in a big wave. His book has gotten very good reviews and let's face it - I just have to know about the chemistry between Rob & Demi that was so obvious in the 80's movies. I mean - like totally, for sure.

Book Club Read: The Hotel At The Corner of Bitter and Sweet. I'm one of those people who joins book clubs to actually read the books. Even if we don't talk about the book at our meeting, I like to come prepared. A few months ago, I took this book out of the library and was quickly engrossed in the story. Unfortunately, I was very busy with work at the time and I never got around to finishing the book. Thankfully, my book club is reading it this month and now is my chance to finish what I started.

Books Recommended By A Friend: My husband's co-worker is a big reader and she gave me two books to read. The first book is called Islands by Anne Rivers Siddons. The other one is Snow Flower and the Secret Fan. The last one is a little out of my comfort zone, but I'm going to give it a try.

Parenting Book: The Blessing of a B Minus - Using Jewish Teachings to Raise Resilient Teenagers. - I don't have a teenager in the house yet, but I do have a ten year old. This means that I have exactly 2 years and 7 months to figure out how to get through the teenage years. Author Wendy Mogel did me right with her book Blessings of A Skinned Knee.  I am so glad she came out with another book for the next decade of adventures in parenthood.

Book for Writers Like Me: I'm spending a lot more time writing so it makes sense for me to read up on some great books about writing by writers. The first one is The Productive Writer and the second one is The Well Fed Writer. I hope that these books get me organized and on my way to meet my writing goals for the coming year.

So, these are my top books for the summer. Of course, I have to add in the summer reading lists of two children. This is going to be a busy summer at the library! 

Here is my question for you - what is on your reading list? Please comment or post and let me know!

My Biggest Fan

Yesterday, I realized that I still needed to buy a Mother's Day present for my mom.  I debated about asking her what she wanted - knowing full well that she would ask for a new nightgown or a wallet.  But, these tokens of appreciation are so little for one who has done so much.  Instead, I thought I would write a blog post and share it with her (and all of you).

My mom is my biggest fan.  She subscribes to the synagogue newsletter just to read my columns.  She loves what I write in this blog and always tells me so.  She didn't even get upset when she read that I sat on some guy's lap in the front seat of a sports car (read: A Heart Stopping Moment). She reminded me that she was young once too. 

She is my biggest fan when it comes to how I live my life.  She once questioned my decision to be a working mom with young kids at home.  She doesn't do that anymore. Instead, she tells me how proud she is of me and marvels at what I have accomplished.  When I tell her how tired I am and how much I still have to do, she tells me not to worry and reminds me that tomorrow is another day.     

She is my biggest fan when I've had a tough week - like this past week.  When I call her up on the phone, she is such a good listener.  When I'm done, she reminds me that I am a good person and that everything will be okay.

This Mother's Day, I want to tell her that I am her biggest fan.  But, don't worry Mom - I'll still get you a present. :)

Cutting the Cord - Again!

This morning, I took a deep breath and cut the cord again.

My 10 year old was so confident in her ability to ride her bike to school. The last time I saw this look in her eyes was the day she got her ears pierced. How could I say no?

In the last few weeks, I've seen her ride uphill and downhill on our street.  I was confident in her ability too. I just didn't want to admit it. I laid down the rules.

• Rule #1  Stay on the sidewalks.
• Rule #2  Look both ways when you need to cross the street.
• Rule #3  Watch out for driveways, dogs and dump trucks (Today is trash day).
• Rule #4  You have to let me follow you to school for my own peace of mind.

The rules were agreed upon.  Before I could back out of the driveway, she was halfway down the street.  Her first obstacle was ahead of her - a mom, her daughter and their cute little dog.  I watched her slow down and they stepped aside so she could get by. They smiled at me as I caught up to her.
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She turned the corner like a pro and looked both ways before crossing  the first street. She made sure to ride up to the break in the curb and back onto the sidewalk.

The big hill was coming up.  I could see a look of determination in her face.  She pedaled and pedaled as I followed slowly behind her. Another car came up behind me - probably wondering why I was going so slow. I sped up for him keeping an eye on her in the rear view mirror.

I lost sight of her for a minute, but then I saw her again pedaling a little easier now as she made it up the hill. She could see the school in the distance and pedaled even faster.  The crossing guard moved a little quicker as he saw her coming. He made sure that the cars would stop as she crossed the street. 

I meet her at the bike rack at school.  She showed me how she can lock and unlock her bike and then went into school.  I was so caught up in the moment that I forgot to take a picture of her at school. But, believe me it was a Kodak moment and the knot in my stomach began to untie itself.

I cut the cord - again.  I'm proud of the both of us.  I saw her little brother look up at me wanting to ask if he could ride his bike tomorrow. Thank goodness the school doesn't allow 1st graders to ride to school yet.

I looked down and said - "Don't even think about it," knowing his turn will come someday.

Naming Rights

"What's in a name? That which we call a rose

By any other name would smell as sweet."

- says Juliet in Romeo and Juliet

What is in a name? I have one of those first names that is unique, pretty, and often difficult for anyone to pronounce on the first try. In fact, it often takes many times for people to get it right. 

As a child, the first day of school was always a hoot.  My teachers never got it right and since they had to remember so many other names I let it go.  Honestly, I just got tired of correcting them.

So, I assumed my new first name of  "Lisa".  But in high school, Lisa was often a doormat with a small group of treasured friends.  Lisa allowed herself to be picked on endlessly by others; never standing up for herself and thinking that this was her place on the food chain forever.

Back then, I accepted it. But, after I graduated high school, it was a different story.  The idea of a fresh start appealed to me.  College was my chance to reinvent myself.  My first order of business was to insist that everyone call me by my proper name.  I politely corrected people as many times as it took and to my surprise they caught on.

Perhaps, there was something about my insistance -and persistance- that made me feel like a grown up.  I was finally taking charge of my identity & my life.  I would no longer accept other people's version of who I was and started to be true to myself.

In college, Elisa was confident and even attractive with plenty of friends and admirers.  Elisa laughed and lived as loudly as she had always wanted to.  And she never looked back. 

Since then, in every job I've ever held and  with each person I come in contact with - I introduce myself as Elisa.

Today, people still call me Lisa and other versions of my name and that's okay too. My husband calls me "Lis" (with the i sounding like a long e) which is particularly special to me.  All of this takes me back to the above quote.  Shakespeare had it right - "What's in a name?" That which we call Lisa or Elisa or Lis - would I still smell as sweet? Of course I would! In the grand scheme of life, the most important thing of all is that I get to be myself - which is all I ever wanted anyway.

This is a post for the prompt from The Red Dress Club website that asked us to recall something in

your life that seemed terrible at the time, but looking back, brought you something wonderful.