2 posts tagged “anitra”
Today, after a few tears or more, and after talking to people who love me (Gary who never calls me from work during the day so thank goodness he had a feeling and acted upon it and my Dad and Shaw) I would like to rewrite yesterdays post.
Let's have a do-over. Okay?
First off, let's leave out the "Life is very whatever amount hard"- because by golly, that goes without saying. I don't need to tell anyone that, you all already know that it can be at times.
Just call me 'Captain Obvious, Protector of Things Already Known'.
But what you may not know about is this gem of a book-
I loved this book and if you think you've read enough stories about the Holocaust I can promise you, you haven't read enough until you've read this one.
This story is told by a young boy who does not know his age, his name or who his parents are. He lives on the streets and believes his name is Stopthief because that is what he hears everytime he gets his food. But he doesn't just take food for himself, he also takes and delivers to orphan's. And he feels so blessed that at least he's not an orphan. He's young and innocent and postive. The author of this book, Jerry Spinelli, takes a devastating time and setting and yet tells a tale of hope fabulously.
It also had me at the first paragraph. Unlike The Grapes of Wrath, which I am trying to read now. And not only is it slower (and not really my kind of writing style) but I swear it, the book has this dry squeek thing going when I turn the pages that totally give me the heebie-jeebies. Gary said I shouldn't share that with anyone though, that I should keep this one to myself, lest people start thinking I'm crazy. Besides (said he), the book is about the Great Depression and a drought, the drought, as in the Dust Bowl, so if the book really is dry (and squeeky), it's fitting.
Anyways, I would also like to share these photo's- (because, remember? I'm doing a 'do-over')
Poor Zoe.
The only child of mine who has no younger siblings, who never got to be the big sister to a baby, so she has to resort to making a kitty a baby.
He comes with a snotty nose (all. the. time.) so that should make it more realistic.
Oh, and wittle baby sister Anitra?
Have you had that baby yet?
;-)
* Wouldn't do-over's be the coolest in life, if it were as easy as rewriting a blog post?
** Dear Book Club friends, you might wanna start looking for Milkweed.
***I think I prefer books written for young adults over books written for old one's.
****To all mother's, did the question I asked my sister, even though not directed at you, annoy the mess out of you? Why do people do that? And why am I torturing my sister with it.....??
My family, we're silly. One of our 'things', and I don't know when and who started it, is to be the first one to wish a birthday person 'Happy Birthday'.
And as much as I know it's kinda lame, the competitive part of me plays right along.
So here I am, starting this blog entry shortly before midnight in the hopes to enter it right after midnight to be the first to wish my sister a Happy Birthday!
Happy Birthday My Wittle Baby Sister!!!
I will never forget the day Anitra was born. She was born at home with a midwife. I was SO very excited as a 12 year old that a new baby was coming into the family and I wanted so badly to watch the baby be born. My mom thought about it but decided against it. I am sure that was for the best. I recall waking up one morning to find my parents locked in their room with the midwife. I laid on the floor to peak between the door and the floor and I could only see feet- my dad and the midwife were walking around and hushed conversations.
I also remember being so excited and going to the phone to call my best friend Tanya to tell them the baby was coming only to find my mom had removed the phone cord. How did she know?!
And I remember that if the baby was a girl her name would be Kyra. Then mom introduced her to us as Anitra. I wondered where in the world that name came from. But it suites her much better than Kyra would have. (Isn't that always easy to say now?)
But I have to say...
Every 'Anitra birthday' and every Christmas I get Anitra what I think will be the best gift ever. Then the closer it gets to her recieving the gift, I get nervous. I don't know why. But either way, this year was no different.
Anitra asked for a brand new Honda Pilot for her birthday and I was totally going to get one for her. I really was. But then I felt like it would 'épater le bourgeois'.
So instead, I bought her a book.
Book are usually a safe bet for gifts, right?
Not so much this time.
I knew that Anitra had heard about the book and wasn't very impressed about the hype. So we had talked about it and all and with the 4th book coming out I was in the Twilight zone, not to be confused with the Twilight Zone show and not some freaky state of mind, well.... kinda a freaky state, but I meant, 'in the zone', you know. Anyways, it just seemed like the perfect gift at the time.
But as I said, turned out not so much.
Because then she posts on her blog just the other day about how she just wasn't gonna read the book and so don't tell her to. Then my older boyfriend stealing sister was all internet high-fiving and vowing she'd never read it either.
Now, before my Sisters in Twilight get worked up about it, let me explain something.
And Anitra, you can correct me if I'm wrong.
Anitra and I have some things in common. So, I think I get where she's coming from. For one, she hates being told what to do, as do I. I mean, don't tell me to 'have a good day', because I will if I want to, but if I don't, I have that right too. Right? :)
So when everyone is saying, "You HAVE to read this book!!!" It's a turn off.
And for two (I reckon that makes the above paragraph #1).... expectations.. When people talk something up so much, as we that enjoy Twilight tend to do, for people like me (and I assume, like Anitra also) we just end up disappointed. That happens to me all the time. If you tell about some movie being good, that's fine. But when you say, "You HAVE to see it, it's GREAT, the best E-VAR!?!" Then it absolutely must be or I am disappointed and you are a big fat liar.
Catch my drift?
Or are my sister and I all alone on this?
If you get what I mean and have never read the book- then here is my Twilight reading advice.
- Remember the book was written for high school girls.
- Remember Stephenie Meyers is no Fyodor Dostoevsky, and she never claimed to be.
- And remember, it's about Vampires and Werewolves, so expect it to be a bit out there.
When I first got the first three books from the series, I had heard very little about it. It was from my mother in law who got it for me for Christmas because her daughters loved them. I read the first book and it was good, but I thought, "Really? This is the book that got her daughters who never read to.. read?! Why?? Then they need to read...."
Then I couldn't resist picking up the next book because I was dying to know what happened next.
Either way, it's the first time I've had to wait for a book to come out. Every other time I've gotten into a series all the books had been written and published already and easy to get to. So, that was fun.
So, Anitra, I do hope you forgive me for buying you something you swore you'd never read.
And I hope you birthday is happy!
I share with you all my favorite picture of the birthday girl and myself.
