Oh, Sandy

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Here, at Crazybananas headquarters, we are thinking of our friends on the East Coast, who have been walloped by Hurricane Sandy. I love New York City like no other place on Earth, so seeing the darkened skyline was particularly troubling this morning. We have friends all up and down the coast, from Brooklyn to Manhattan, Philadelphia to Washington D.C., and so far, thank goodness, they are all safe. Many however, have no power and are wading through the destruction of their homes, cars or other belongings. If you have the means, please consider donating to the American Red Cross by either clicking here or clicking the image below.

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A few great hurricane posts from around the web:

– In Focus – 26 incredible photos of Hurricane Sandy after landfall.

– A great list of organizations that could use your donations after the storm.

– I love how NYC’ers always pull together in times of crisis.

Happy Olympics!

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So the above picture very accurately describes what we’ve been up to the last few days (and plan to be doing for the next week or so). Good god, I freaking love the Olympics! Who knew I was so passionate about archery? I didn’t…but the Olympics sucked me in. And the swimming. Oh goodness, the swimming. Between Michael Phelps’ will-he-or-won’t-he-be-good-since-he-smoked-pot-and-took-a-few-years-off drama and Lochte’s ridiculous American flag grill (you’re a hot, hot man, Lochte, but you’re making yourself way less hot with that grill) I am glued to the television! And the girls swimmers are so adorable and strong and fast and they all have the best teeth, you know?

Then we have the gymnastics. Oh, the gymnastics. Have I ever told you all how obsessed I was with the “Magnificent Seven” back in 1996? So obsessed that when they did a world tour the year after the Atlanta games, my sister bought us tickets and I cried. CRIED. Lu is so excited for this portion of the program that she keeps cartwheeling everywhere. Last night we stayed up way too late watching those insanely strong little girls (really, they are tiny little girls) fly through the air. In fact, I feel like we may have a few late nights in our future.

So, since I didn’t have time to come up with a post, due to my Olympic-related hysteria, here are a few links from around the web that will get you sucked into the Olympic fever:

– If you’re not following Samuel L. Jackson on Twitter, get on that. He’s live tweeting the Olympics with such enthusiasm. I might love you, Mr. Jackson.

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– Need some Olympic gear? Gap and Old Navy are selling some fun vintage-inspired Olympic tee’s.

– The swim team did a version of “Call Me Maybe.” I love the swim team!

– Speaking of the swim team, how charming is Missy Franklin? So charming!

– This video of an Olympic greeter at the opening ceremonies is amazing. Who says Brits have a dry sense of humor?!

Ed. Note: I may or may not have stayed up way too late watching said Olympics and am now hyped up on caffeine and breakfast bars. That should explain all the squealing and use of the word “and” over and over in the above post. I’ll probably be back to normal in a week or so. Go USA!

The Flag Flies Low

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“Mommy, why is the flag so low,” she asked from the backseat. We were on our way to daycare and it had been a harried morning. I was flustered and confused, and at first, I didn’t know what she was asking.

“The flag, mommy, the American flag on that building. It’s really low.”

Sure enough, the office building on the side of the road had an American flag hanging at half mast. I’m sad to say it took me a moment to figure out exactly why. And then I remembered Colorado.

I haven’t written about the tragedy here or on social media, but that doesn’t mean it hasn’t affected me. I haven’t wanted to trivialize it with a half-assed tweet or Facebook prayer. I, like most people, have been to a midnight movie showing. I’m not a huge Batman fan (I could never really get into the first movie after Heath Ledger died…it was just too sad for me to watch), so I’ve never been to one of their openings, but I’ve been to a Harry Potter film or two where it was pitch dark outside and people were dressed up in costumes. What happened in Colorado could have easily happened at one of those premieres where I sat in the dark, wanting to be transported to another time.

Even though I was sad and angry, I decided not to write about it online. I didn’t click on links to news stories and I didn’t watch clips on cable channels. Mostly because I knew the facts and I didn’t want to watch it played out over and over and over until it became entertainment instead of horror. We have a strict rule against cable news in our home (I cannot imagine that vitriol being spewed out at my children every day. Yesterday at the gym the TV in front of me was tuned to Shepherd Smith who transitioned easily and sickeningly from the shooting in Colorado to the Penn State ruling to who was going to be judging the next season of American Idol. News? Really? Makes me sick. And this doesn’t just apply to Fox News, I’m a disliker of all the cable “news” channels, including MSNBC and CNN. Blech.) so there was not really a way for Lulu to learn about this horrible event.

But there it was. The flag. I didn’t want to lie to her. I couldn’t lie to her. So I told her the truth. I told her that when something sad happens in our country we fly the flag low as a sign of support. I told her something really sad had happened last week and people were hurt and killed.

“Mommy, people die sometimes. That’s part of life.”

“Yes, honey, but these people were innocent and were killed by a man who had a gun, so the country is sad.”

“Why did he kill them?”

“I don’t know. Nobody knows. Some people think he is sick in his brain and some people think he’s just a bad person, but we don’t know yet.”

“Where did he kill them?”

We talked about how it happened in Colorado and she asked if it was near her friends or family. I told her it was close, but they were okay. She was quiet for a minute.

“Mommy, sometimes when I hear sad things, I want to cry.”

“Me too, baby.”

And then she turned to her brother and started reading him a book. She didn’t mention Colorado again. I have no idea if I said the right thing or the wrong one. I have no idea what will stick with her and what she’ll forget.

I mean, how do you explain the unexplainable?

Don’t Cry, Shopgirl

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I know I’m a bit late in posting about the wondrous Miss Nora Ephron, but, honestly, I wasn’t quite sure what to say. It’s been a few weeks and as I’ve read the tributes online and elsewhere, I can’t help but want to add a few of my own thoughts about her legacy.

Nora Ephron wrote movies that I knew were fantasy. Yes, going to the top of the Empire State Building to find a man you’ve never met, but have sort of stalked via the radio, is insane. I know. But I didn’t care. It wasn’t about a pure reality for me, it was about all the parts and pieces in between. I loved that all the women in Nora Ephron’s movies were working women. I loved that it was never really brought up that they were working women. They just were, and no one ever questioned or challenged them about it. I loved that they were pretty, but not unattainably so. I mean, of course Meg Ryan is a beautiful woman, but she looked like someone I could be friends with. I loved that the men were funny and good at heart, even if they made stupid mistakes and acted like jackasses sometimes. I adored the emphasis on friendships and how important they were to her characters.

I loved how Nora’s movies made me feel. I am a rom-com sucker, and let’s face it, the genre has been in a pretty sad state for awhile now (I blame J. Lo). Nora’s movies are somehow timeless, even when they are based on ten or twenty year old technology. That’s pretty incredible.

Also, Nora made me fall in love with New York. Every time I’m there, I quietly imagine myself walking through a Nora Ephron movie. “Oh, don’t you love New York in the fall? If I knew your address, I’d send you a bouquet of freshly sharpened pencils.”

Thank you, Nora.

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Here are a few great Nora reads and tributes I’ve seen in the past week or so….

A lovely list Nora wrote about the things she would and wouldn’t miss after she died. (via A Cup of Jo)

This great interview she did for NPR’s Fresh Air a while ago.

This sweet tribute via the Monkey See blog really hit the nail on the head for me. When talking about Sleepless in Seattle, she writes:

It’s about leaning on your friends: Meg Ryan and Rosie O’Donnell have a quick phone call where, at the end of it, they say, “I love you,” and “I love you, too.” I was so struck by that, I remember – that in most movies, you’re lucky if people say goodbye before they hang up, but this one knew that with your best friend, when it’s important, you say, “I love you,” and “I love you, too.”

This post by Natalie is just perfection. (via Nat the Fat Rat)

i think the thing about nora is, she was not afraid to be a woman. her strengths as a writer, her characters’ strengths, all come from the fact that they are unapologetically girls. sally with the hair spray in the car in the parking lot of the diner, annie and her over-watched copy of an affair to remember, marie and her rolodex full of dateable men, tabbed in the corner if married. kathleen and her daisies. nora’s women are soft but that doesn’t mean they aren’t strong. why don’t more people see femininity the way she did? nora’s girls aren’t like men and they don’t care to be. it’s refreshing. it’s inspiring. i’m so sad to see that brilliant spark of feminism missing now that she’s gone.

The most recent book she wrote and this one from a few years back, which are now patiently waiting in my Nook queue.

And for you trivia lovers out there, Pioneer Woman is having a Nora Ephron movie quiz tonight, so go enter!

My Commencement Address

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Last night my gorgeous, talented Little Sis graduated from high school. I can’t remember if I’ve ever mentioned it here, but I became a Big Sister through Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Kansas City about three and a half years ago. My Little was a freshman at the time, and was part of a prestigious program called the Kauffman Scholars. Kids in the Kauffman program were matched up with a Big that could help and guide them as they transitioned to college. You can learn more about the program here, and you totally should, because it’s amazing.

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My Little’s graduation was really touching, if just for the fact that her family was there with me and I felt so included in everything. Her mom and brothers and sisters-in-law and nephews were all in attendance and cheered along with me when her name was called. It was pretty fabulous.

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The Superintendent of the Kansas City, Kansas School District gave the commencement address and did a wonderful job. I sat there on those uncomfortable bleachers thinking to myself, “What would I tell a senior in high school on their graduation day? What advice would I give? What they heck have I learned in the past 12 years? Anything? Nothing? Everything?”

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And so, without further adieu, is my (fake) commencement address:

Hello Seniors. Today is the last day of your high school career. But it really, truly, is the first day of the rest of your life. High school can be tough. You’re learning how to be “you.” And trust me, you might think you know exactly who you are, but you probably don’t. And you probably won’t for a long time. If high school is the beginning, then you’re just coming up on the middle and you’re no where near the conclusion.

You may have spent the last four years pretty confident in who you are. I know I did. My years in high school were not without pain or loss or heartbreak, but in general, I thought I knew exactly who I was. And in a small way, I did. Twelve years later, my core beliefs are the same. I attribute that to my family, who raised me in a way that I’m proud to continue as I grow. But I think the most important change has been my realization that I have no idea what I’m doing, and that’s OKAY.

It’s okay to feel lost and unsure. I turn 30 this year and I still have no idea what I want to be when I grow up. I have two kids and yet I still look around when they act up and think, “Where is their mother, these kids are insane.” If you feel like you know it all, you’re probably going to be pulled back down to earth very soon. But that’s part of life. Fall down, get up, start again. Rinse and repeat.

Sometimes is not going to be easy. Some days are going to be really, really hard. You’re going to want to sit down and cry or punch something or just quit. But it will get better. Maybe not today or tomorrow or in two years…but eventually, you will look around and think, “Holy shit. This is MY LIFE. And it rules.”

A few other random tidbits of advice for you, from my own personal experiences:

Do what makes you happy, not what you think you should do to make everyone else happy. Explore your creativity. It’s there, even if you doubt it. The friends you think are amazing, really are amazing. The ones you think are a little off? They are batshit insane and you should stay as far away from them as possible. Drink more water. Wear SPF 100+. Try macaroons, you’ll probably love them. If you’re nerdy, don’t worry, the bullying will stop soon and you’ll be a millionaire. If you’re popular and mean, be nicer to the nerdy kids. They might be your boss one day and you don’t want them degrading you in front of the whole staff because you were a douche to them in high school. Don’t worry that you’re too old to watch television shows made for teens, because someday you’ll be thirty and you’ll still be doing it. It’s because you’re awesome.

And really, that’s my whole point. You’re amazing. Awesome. Incredible. I’m so proud of you. What you have accomplished is just beyond wonderful. Enjoy your success. Celebrate yourself. And never forget to keep trying.

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