What Is Love?

Some Background Music again (should you choose to listen...)



This afternoon, I was fortunate enough to sit in on the final rehearsals for Fiddler on the Roof.  To be in a room with such a talented group of young people leaves me in awe - but this time I was completely struck by the message of the play.

If you are familiar with Fiddler you'll know that one of the pervasive themes of the play is the interplay between love and marriage.  In the old days, marriage sometimes existed without love - and love sometimes existed without marriage - but progress has borne out: the two are better together.

As Tevye (the Father) and Golde (the Mother) must address all of these issues among their daughters, they are forced to examine their own relationship. The following exchange ensues:



(Tevye) -"Golde, I have decided to give Perchik permission to become engaged to our daughter, Hodel."

(Golde) - "What??? He's poor! He has nothing, absolutely nothing!"

(Tevye) - "He's a good man, Golde. 
I like him. And what's more important, Hodel likes him. Hodel loves him. 
So what can we do? 
It's a new world... A new world. Love. Golde..."

Do you love me?

(Golde) - Do I what?

(Tevye) - Do you love me?

(Golde) - Do I love you?
With our daughters getting married
And this trouble in the town
You're upset, you're worn out
Go inside, go lie down!
Maybe it's indigestion

(Tevye) - "Golde I'm asking you a question..."

Do you love me?

(Golde) -You're a fool

(Tevye) - "I know..."

But do you love me?

(Golde) - Do I love you? 
For twenty-five years I've washed your clothes
Cooked your meals, cleaned your house
Given you children, milked the cow
After twenty-five years, why talk about love right now?

(Tevye) - Golde, The first time I met you 
Was on our wedding day
I was scared

(Golde) - I was shy

(Tevye) - I was nervous

(Golde) - So was I

(Tevye) - But my father and my mother
Said we'd learn to love each other
And now I'm asking, Golde
Do you love me?

(Golde) - I'm your wife

(Tevye) - "I know..."
But do you love me?

(Golde) - Do I love him?
For twenty-five years I've lived with him
Fought him, starved with him
Twenty-five years my bed is his
If that's not love, what is?

(Tevye) - Then you love me?

(Golde) - I suppose I do

(Tevye) - And I suppose I love you too

(Both) - It doesn't change a thing
But even so
After twenty-five years
It's nice to know

Two of the most lovely, fresh faced young actors portray Tevye and Golde.  Their portrayal brought tears to my eyes, but I was most struck by how little these young adults actually know about love.  

A very wise teacher told me once that love is not the feeling that guides two lovers towards one another.  That feeling is infatuation. Infatuation is a very good thing but it is a surface level emotion that will either give way to real love or end.  Fortunate is the person who finds true love on the other side of infatuation.  

Let's Pretend That we're Dead

First, some background music...



(First let me say that I am so thankful that the trend of embedding music into your blog has died away. Nothing irritated me more than clicking on someone's blog and hearing their crappy Nickelback song accompany their crappy blog post. 2007 blog vent - over.)

Nowthen, I am working on my interpretation of Fruma Sarah and completely scrapped the other headpiece. Because, what dead bride wears fresh magnolias?  I think that dead brides should wear.....

DEAD FLOWERS!!

More like it, yes?

If I were a dead bride, I would totally wear this flower crown.

Next up, the veil.  Squeeee.  I think dead brides are totally more interesting than live ones.

Shadow Box

Tonight is about me.  I finished Josh's shadow box for his bridging over to Boy Scouts.  If you don't speak Scout, let me give you the translation, this is a big deal.  So, tomorrow's post (if I get around to it) will be about how proud I am of Josh and of his accomplishments, but tonight I want to tell you about me and how proud I am of my accomplishment. Wanna see?

I copied the one that was lovingly made for Ben when he bridged over. I didn't do it - but knowing now the work and sweat effort that went into making it? That den mom should receive a pre-death canonization. (I only half-kid.)

Shadow box - Michael's Craft Store

Backdrop Fabric - JoAnn Fabrics (I don't know the name but I took a swatch of the cub scout uniform and matched it almost exactly.)

Brass Engraved Nameplate (Not pictured) - Things Remembered

I ironed everything carefully, went over and over it with a lint roller, and hot glued the awards into place. 

Ok.  Now it's time to mug on Josh.

My Volunteer Career

That little cartoon up there would be funny - if only it weren't so true.  And while I relish being a trophy wife and all, sometimes I wish there was a little incentive/compensation for my efforts.

While writing this blog is my most favorite unpaid job of all, I have had my attentions diverted to my third favorite unpaid job of all - Costume Designer.  I am the designer for the Fiddler on the Roof this year and I have the most excellent responsibility for creating Fruma Sarah's head piece.

And at first I was going to go all traditional "Bride of Frankenstein" on her head, I saw this picture:

And I thought, that is kinda gorgeous. Which got me thinking, Why can't our Fruma Sarah be kinda gorgeous?

And then I thought, Who are the brides that are so decadent that they are almost hideous?
I present you my list:

#1 - Laura Spencer
Sooooo bad it's delicious.

#2 - Melania Knauss Trump
I love every ounce of this confection. That crap on her head? Genius.

#3 - Lady Diana

The dress was a wrinkled mess.  There.  I said it.

#4 - Lana Del Rey

Do you know how bad I want to hate Lana Del Rey? So bad. She bugs me with her weird, nightmarish face. But, damn it, she's pretty. And her flower crowns? They make me want to weep, I love them so much. So while technically not a bride, Lana Del Rey makes #4 with her hideous beauty.

So I got to cracking on my Sara/Spencer/Trump/Spencer/Del Rey creation.  I tried on the framework just to see what you think.  It needs some Spencerfying (of the Laura-type):

Interesting

I saw this on Facebook and thought you'd think it interesting:

5 Quick Takes

1. The Inevitable
 I got up this morning, late - as per the usual, and stumbled down stairs to start my coffee intravenous. Something caught my eye on the way to the Keurig....

That's right, the darn swimming pools are about to open in 2 weekends and that means that I will need to be in a bathing suit almost daily.
Son of a..........
So I decided to rekindle my friendship with Nahesi Crawford and his band of cohorts. You don't know Nahesi? Well he is the personal trainer on the X-Factor ST workout DVDs.  It is a knockoff of P90x and Grant and I did the whole series last year and got in pretty good shape.  Since then my workout routine has consisted of walking up and down our stairs and walking out to get the mail. This isn't going to be pretty.

2.  Shorts Season

I hit the Talbot's annual sale in Springfield and it was a bonanza!! I got the above featured shorts for $10 (10 + Bucks!!) in a faded tomato color. They are a petite size (which I am) and they fit like they were made for me. Now to keep from ruining them by wearing them every day......... hmmmmm.

3.  Homeschool

School is almost out and my thinker is thinkin' about all the ways that I can improve our experience next year.  One idea I have been kicking around is the 6 week on/2 week off schedule.  Read: No real summer break. I am super torn by this idea - but if I saw it for the opportunity to travel some (in the off-season. Read: Better rates) and get some projects done around the house - not to mention getting papers graded and submitted on time... worth it? I am a self-avowed summer junkie and can't quite seem to wrap my mind around not having 2 1/2 months of pure freedom.  But if you read this blog:

Design Mom

and see how they use the French schedule to support their travel, you might arrive at the same crossroads I have.  What do you think? Is the American system superior or do the French have it right?

Telephone booth in Oslo, Norway from http://www.designmom.com

4. Chickens.

Where do I start? I am going to write down my experience with raising hatchlings so that if you want to do it, you don't have to start from the beginning as I have. Basically, without the knowledge of the women at Southern States Farm Supply, I'd have drown by now. We have 7 big, burly, robust chickens in our basement just a-waiting to get out and do their chicken thang. They eat bugs like they are truffles and they fertilize the garden. Plus, (PLUS!) in a couple of weeks we'll have eggs. Brown eggs, to boot. Because nothing is more quaint than brown eggs, right?

ablestock.com/thinkstock

Plus, I am coveting this hen house. 

With the veggies on the top? Am I right?

5. The Great Gatsby

I liked it very much. Very much.

Let me tell you what I liked:

The hair.

The short bobbed hair with the finger waved details was over the top. It was gorgeous and perfect and the hair team deserve their very own Academy Award.

The Parties.

Courtesy of Warner Bros.

Because in the words of the unsinkable Liz Lemon, "I want to go to there."

The Carey Mulligan.

She is a fashion idol of mine and I am fairly certain that there was no singular shot where she didn't look flawless.

It was eye candy from beginning to end. I don't know if it lived up to the book or if it did Fitzgerald justice or any of that gobbledygook.  It was beautiful and I liked it. The end.

I linked it up at www.camppatton.com.  I just discovered her via www.moxiewife.com and I think I love her very much.