Jana Remy
  • Writing
    • Disability
    • Making History
    • Digital Humanities
      • dayofDH
    • Canoeing
    • Creative Nonfiction & Essays
    • Feminism
    • Bibliographies
      • Pacific Worlds Bibliography
    • Social Media
      • Mentions/Links
  • Scholarship
    • Awards/Fellowships
    • Conferences & Invited Talks
    • Collaboration
    • Workshops
    • Conference Planning
    • Technical Skills
  • Teaching
    • Blogposts About Teaching

Jana Remy

  • Writing
    • Disability
    • Making History
    • Digital Humanities
      • dayofDH
    • Canoeing
    • Creative Nonfiction & Essays
    • Feminism
    • Bibliographies
      • Pacific Worlds Bibliography
    • Social Media
      • Mentions/Links
  • Scholarship
    • Awards/Fellowships
    • Conferences & Invited Talks
    • Collaboration
    • Workshops
    • Conference Planning
    • Technical Skills
  • Teaching
    • Blogposts About Teaching
Daily Archives

December 8, 2005

deep thoughtsworld

movie

My movie of the day was Raisin in the Sun.

I watched it as I was waiting for my prosthetist to fix my leg (love the laptop w/a DVD player!!).

A powerful must-see movie. Though the acting was a bit overwrought at times–as if the actors were more familiar with stage than with cinema–the sentiment shone through.

It made me think of my own dreams, my own battles. Made me wonder which ones are worth fighting for. Which of my aspirations are worth the daily struggle?

I want to be the type of person, like Poitier’s character, who doesn’t pander to others. I want to draw on the legacy of my ancestors (even my father) to motivate me to achieve more, to more fully grasp the opportunities that are available, to open more doors for my own children.

Though I don’t share the goal of home ownership that was so important to the family in the movie, I know the need to have my own space, my own place, my own niche in this world. And the satisfaction of knowing that I have worked hard to achieve it.

Watching this movie made me think not only of my own goals, but of my father’s legacy. He was not a laborer like the father in the movie, but he was a man who achieved much through his efforts. He came from a blue-collar family, yet earned a doctorate in Chemical Engineering. He worked hard at his job to provide well for his large family. He served as a Mormon Bishop– a lay position with heavy eccelstiastical duties–for many years.

Dad’s legacy lives on in many ways. I see it most in my son when he gets quiet as he muddles through a complicated math problem, or gets twisted up in a logic conundrum. I see it in E as she loves animals and I remember Dad’s fondness for Tucker (tho, admittedly, that was a bit of a love-hate relationship). I see him in my siblings–especially Becky, who has his same pensive disposition, and in David who shares Dad’s love of chemistry.

Just the other day I was imagining Dad here with us at our kitchen table. I thought about how he might react to the kids chatting, the craziness of mealtime. In my mind’s eye he was quiet, sort of sitting back in his seat and watching us–an observer and not an actor in the scene. And he was smiling, that slight close-lipped grin that most people wouldn’t know was a smile. But I did.

December 8, 2005
0 Facebook Twitter Google + Pinterest
family

laughable

I have a few funny stories I like to tell about John. But the latest Remy family laughable is on me, not him.

This morning Tobycat decided to give herself a bath on the kitchen table. Kind of odd, actually, because she’s usually a reclusive kitty–opting for high out-of-the-way places or under beds for her incessant grooming.

We were all trying to get out of the door this morning when John pointed out her odd behavior. Then he also realized that this was no ordinary grooming–this was a very thorough licking of her nether regions. And it was accompanied by John’s observation that she she still had a bit of her morning poo stuck in her fur.

Of course, me–being the Mom that I am–I grabbed a paper napkin, cleaned off her fur and solved the problem in a matter of seconds as John was still standing there giggling. When I shot him a nasty look he replied:

“Do you realize that of all the places in the house where she could have gone to “clean up”…she chose your placemat?”

Of course I then reminded him of all the times she’s done the same thing on his pillow.
:)

December 8, 2005
0 Facebook Twitter Google + Pinterest

About Me

About Me

Hi there friend, and welcome to my blog. I started writing on the internet two decades ago. Since then I've started and finished a PhD program, left the Mormon church and became a Quaker, got divorced, remarried, found full-time work in academia, took up rock climbing and outrigger canoeing, and traveled across the globe (China! Belgium! Italy! Chicago! Montana! Portland! Gettysburg! and oh-so-many points in-between). This blog is eclectic and random--it has poetry and cooking and books. And cats. And flowers. And the ocean (my ocean). But in that sense it's a good reflection of me and my wide-ranging, far-reaching, magpie curiosity.

Subscribe via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog.

Popular

  • 1

    A Room of My Own

    December 4, 2017
  • 2

    the post-post divorce Christmas celebration

    November 28, 2017
  • 3

    open

    December 21, 2017
  • 4

    Reader, I married him

    March 22, 2017
  • Ellycat

    January 2, 2019

Categories

Archives

Popular Posts

  • 1

    A Room of My Own

    December 4, 2017
  • 2

    the post-post divorce Christmas celebration

    November 28, 2017
  • 3

    open

    December 21, 2017

Calendar

December 2005
M T W T F S S
 1234
567891011
12131415161718
19202122232425
262728293031  
« Nov   Jan »
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Flickr

@2017 - PenciDesign. All Right Reserved. Designed and Developed by PenciDesign


Back To Top