Being home

I flew in on Wednesday, only a couple of hours by plane. But oh what a difference a simple flight makes.

Instead of struggling to find my way around on unfamiliar roads, I knew exactly where to turn to avoid that traffic or head for a favorite cafe.

Instead of trying to remember the names that go with new faces, I was among friends and family.

Until the last century, people generally lived their whole lives among familiar faces, walking familiar roads. Of course there were a few intrepid souls who ventured further, but most stayed put, living and dying within a few miles of where they were born.

Now we pride ourselves on our mobility, on our non-attachment. But underneath, so many of us are lonely. 

We survive with acquaintances instead of friends, tout discovering the new and novel instead of treasuring the  known, and navigate with GPS units instead of memories. We, as a society, look down on people who prefer to live among friends, and chide those who dare to express their homesickness.

Moving may be a choice for some, unavoidable for others. But it's time we acknowledged what some of us have known all along.  Home is the very best place to be. Thank you, Florida, for welcoming me home.

Where an Austin Blogger Creates....

No, there are no cowgirl hats or even guitars in my blogging room...just because I moved to Texas doesn't mean I changed!  Okay, maybe just a little.  I have developed a new appreciation for the Blues.  And I now don't scream when I see the forecast calls for temps above 100 (I just hide indoors!)


But my office is more about the me who grown and changed through years of living in Florida, the Rockies and rural Pennsylvania.

Of course, there are baskets and files filled with booklets and brochures about Austin events for my Austin blog....and piles of menus and business cards to inspire future posts.

There's also a bulletin board filled with inspiration from now and years gone past, where everything from bumper stickers to pages from old books share space with photos and postcards and bits of ads where the color or the font is far more important than the product it's trying to sell.

My blogger world is also home to less-than-pristine antique dolls rescued from auction shoppers eager to use them for parts....because they remind me that things don't have to be perfect or new to matter.

And it's where I keep pictures of my kids

and my husband

so I can stay grounded in what really matters in life. 

My office where the posts of this blog and A is 4 Austin come to life, where I explore other people's blogs and images, and where I test new ideas. 

It's more than an office...amid the stuffed animals and antiques and more-pens-and-colored-pencils-than-anybody-really-needs, it's my creative home. 

How can something so simple be so heartbreaking?

We've all done it.  A flick of our wrists, and a crumpled blanket or quilt is tossed into the air, and comes down smoothly over a bed.  In fact, I would bet that it's a gesture we hardly think about.

So why was it so heartbreaking when I watched a young man do this everyday task the other day?

He couldn't have been more than 22 or 23.  Maybe even younger. Just my son's age.  The multicolored quilt flew up and came down smoothly.  He adjusted the corners to straighten it out.  But it was not on a bed or even a couch. It was under the overpass of Highway 183 in Austin, Texas.

I sat at a stop light, watching this moment of ordinary human action.  And I cried.

As a mom, I cried for the young man, so recently someone's baby, someone's child.  What had happened in his few short years to lead him to bed down under an overpass instead of in a home?  Had he run from an abusive home?  Fled neglect?  Or was a mom or dad somewhere praying for his return, not knowing where their son might be...or even if he's alive?

As a person who has worked with the homeless for years, I cried for a country that leaves so many without even the basics of home or safety while others get rich, some even stashing their funds in Swiss bank accounts or off-shore banks to avoid paying their part to care for the rest of the nation's citizens.

I know there have always been homeless people.  But the face of homelessness has changed in recent years.  For the past decade, the image of the single man struggling with drug addiction or the lone woman fighting mental illness has been replaced with more and more average people who faced one tragedy, and lost everything.  Or the family who cannot overcome the barriers of rent deposits and transportation (and now, mandatory ID requirements that catch the poor in an endless loop of documents they cannot afford to acquire.) 

Or a young man, who once probably spread his quilt over a bed...but now beds down for the night on the concrete under an Austin highway.

Happy Anniversary to Us!

Two years ago today, Lance and I danced our way to the chuppah on a magical Florida first day of spring.  Our location was an equally magic garden, and we were surrounded by family and friends.

Today, we're far from that beautiful garden.  And just as far from our friends and extended family.  But the magic continues.

Tonight we will celebrate with a romantic dinner.  Someday we'll be able to celebrate back home in Florida with friends and family nearby.  But no matter where we are, I am thrilled-grateful-overjoyed-happy-thankful to have this wonderful man as my husband.

And to those who say that magic is only make-believe....Sometimes, the prince really does show up, just when the princess isn't looking. :-)  Thank goodness my parents read me fairy tales so I would know how to recognize him when he rode up, even without the white horse. :-)

What do Annie's Food and School Gardens Have in Common?

A few minutes ago, my answer would have been "Nothing."  Well actually it would have been more like, "What? Annie who?"   Until someone reminded me that Annie's Foods was the company behind all of those colorful boxes of organic macaroni and cheese my kids love..the ones with the bunnies on them.  Then my answer would have been more of a "Ummm..." as I tried to sound thoughtful and avoid saying "Nothing."

Either way, I would have been wrong.  Because just now, while Cat and I were sitting outside at Whole Foods, eating Annie's Spinach and Mushroom Pizza, enjoying the breezy 70 degrees and the sound of blues music playing somewhere nearby, I got into a conversation with Christina McCalla. She's a brand manager for Annie's and told me about a cool program the company had that helped schools start student gardens, by providing funds for seeds, supplies and other gardening needs.

In these days when so many kids have never eaten food just picked from a farm or garden, and most have never planted anything, school gardens are a great idea.  And now the company is starting a "Win a Garden" program for schools starting in April.

Way to go Annie's!


And there's another plus today...our Annie's Pizza (their newest line of healthy, easy foods) and all the fixings are thanks to an invitation from LiveMom...a perk of being of MommyBlogger here in Austin :-) So not only did we get supper, we got to learn that one of our favorite "mom's-too-tired-to-cook-from-scratch" healthy meals is doing something to make the world a little better, one school garden at a time.

TX M.I.L.K. Mom's Rock at SXSW

After the noise and craziness of SXSW, it was a wonderful experience to attend the TX M.I.L.K. (Texas Mom's I'd Like to Meet) event at Happy Salon and Spa.

Instead of the hectic energy and downtown venues of the rest of SXSW, this outdoor event felt like a gathering at a friend's home.  Several bands played, including Charlie Belle and Karen Chisholm, while moms and kids (and a few dads) enjoyed samples of Tiny Pies and Better Bites cupcakes, all washed down with ice cold drinks from the huge coolers.  It was cool and breezy, as we sat around pretty tables, or wandered around looking at the wares from vendors chosen to appeal to the mommy-set. 

What a difference in mood from the rest of SXSW.  Great music, bubbles and the sounds of kids filled the air. This was an event just for us moms!  Married moms, single moms, moms of babies and moms of teens.  Just moms. Now how cool is that?

Thanks TX M.I.L.K. Happy Salon and all the sponsors.  This was a wonderful end to my first SXSW!

The Weirdness that is SXSW...and Austin

My first SXSW.  I have heard about it...I have seen videos and pictures.  But this was the real thing, in all its high energy craziness! 

There were parties....

And concerts....

Cat and I got to learn how to weld...really!  It was something I ALWAYS wanted to try and now I have done it!

And Cat got to paint part of the mural on the side of a building,

There were protests and activists....

And posters on every flat surface....

There were even, er, um aliens...I think....

And then there's the swag....By the end of the event, I had 9 new t-shirts, 36 pins, 12 CD's, 22 reusable bags, a multi-tool, 2 hats, 2 water bottle holders, 3 whistles, a couple of pairs of earrings, a hoodie with headphones built in, more pens and magazines and posters than I can count....and what fun it was to get all of them!

Yup, SXSW was amazing, even though I missed a few days with the flu ... (note to self....if it's 40 degrees and raining and the parties are 10 blocks apart, TAKE AN UMBRELLA!)

And next year, it will be even better.  I can hardly wait!