Tuesday, May 22, 2012

A getaway and a lesson in gestures


Last Friday, I didn't have treatment and Ava's netball game was cancelled, so we took the opportunity to get outta town for the weekend! Jason and his dad found a house for us to rent near a town on the NSW Central Coast called Hawk's Nest. The photo up there of the bay was in our backyard. I know. Such a treat.

There were hammocks in the backyard too, and Ava and Nate spent a long time there, pretending to be pirates. Even though winter is approaching, it was still fairly warm and the kids played at the beach and in the waves to their hearts' content. We ate fish and chips and pizza. And I took some naps and read magazines I found in the house from 2010. 

It was awesome. 

I shouldn't have left that crotchety sounding post up at the top for so long! Thanks for all your sweet words. I promise, I'm not wallowing in misery. We are rolling right along pretty well. I'm almost halfway through my radiation--had #14 today. Yes, it's a drag some days, and I'm extra tired but it's really okay. Plus, Jason drives me most days so we have lots of time to chat. Or not! Depending on my mood!

Yesterday, we took the kids to the shops with Jason's mom. On the way home, Nate ominously announced he "knew all about the rude finger."

I was like, whosa whatsa? And then he solemnly extended his middle finger for me to see. Such ceremony involved. 

You guys. Maybe you had to be there...it was so funny. "What makes this finger so rude?" he asked. Then he and Ava started laughing and pointing their middle fingers at each other and saying, "Watch out! I'm being rude to you!"

And then I was like, okay I better shut this down. "You guys, that is more than just rude. If you do that to someone, it's like calling them a bad name. It's offensive, it's like a bad swear word but with your hands. Don't do that anymore."

Except I think I accidentally made it sound cooler, especially to Nate. I'm sure now he's thinking, "Hmmm, how can I leverage this knowledge?" Lord, help us. 

I confess I do the rude finger from time to time. Deplorable! But mostly to
Jason, and mostly when he's being annoying and deserves it. Like when he beat me at a card game and made the face when he won. Or when points out when I'm being too dramatic. As if! That kind of behavior cannot go unanswered. So I don't think the rude finger counts in those scenarios? 

Maybe I can work it into my next sermon.

Maybe not.

5 comments:

  1. Ha! That Nate! You never know what he's gonna come out with, do you? I suspect he learned that little tidbit from his little friend at school(you know who I mean). You handled it fine. Keep moving, nothing to see here. Now, what's this business about Jason making a certain face when he wins a game? I don't know what you mean. Ha! And I REALLY don't know anything about you being" dramatic". That's just crazy talk. I do know that you are on occasion a bit sassy. But, we overlook it because you have many other fine qualities. Your weekend looks like a dream. Love ya!

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  2. I think it's time we took back the rude finger and disarmed it. We could make the middle finger mean, "You are central to my life, like this finger is central to my hand!". Here's the finger to you all.

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  3. I'm loving this reclamation project, CP. Taking back the night, AND the Rude Finger.

    I cracked up at Ava and Nate pointing their fingers at each other, and YES you just made it sound super cool and mysterious!

    And the use of the rude finger within one's marriage is still allowed, as what else are you supposed to do when he makes that face?

    Sometimes eye rolling is not enough.

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  4. OMG, Grace is so grownup, look at her!

    Yah, Amy, giving my husband the rude finger is a step above the eye-rolling & a step below saying, "Bite me."

    My daughter just had a tough ballet class last week during which, she reported, she gave her one danseur classmate the English middle finger, the v-sign? And she said, "The middle finger seemed like too much obscenity for ballet class; I could have gotten into trouble." I was so weirdly pleased by this tale of ... what? Appropriate sweariness? I dunno.

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  5. As much as I use salty language on a daily basis (I am totally self-aware of this terrible flaw and try to work on it in ernest from time to time), I rarely thing to bust out my rude finger.

    The first time Cal showed me the rude finger, she was in kindergarten. She got into the car, held up her hand and said, "Mommy, see this finger right here (points to middle finger)? If you hold it up without the two buddies next to it, it means you hate God."

    I asked immediately who told her that, and then, of course, she wasn't allowed to talk to that little girl for the rest of the year because clearly, I'm all about being a compassionate person.

    I'm so happy to hear that you go to lounge and read some mags. The old ones are the best sometimes. And to couple that with pizza? You're a lucky lady. Well, in more ways than just pizza and mags, but you know what I mean. xo.

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