Peter and the Starcatchers

Goodbye Old Friend

So Long Soda Shop

Wow.  It's like losing a good friend.  That's how I felt today when I heard the news that the Elliston Place Soda Shop is closing on Saturday.  Over the last few years I have not eaten at the Soda Shop very often due to the proximity of my home and how often I get over to Ellison Place.  But there was a time when the Soda Shop saw my face 4 or 5 times per week.  Maybe that's why I feel like I'm losing an old friend.


The Soda Shop is perpendicular to Louise Avenue where I worked as a manager for a small local bookstore named Magical Journey.  MJ as we called it was at the time the most popular and oldest metaphysical bookstore in Nashville.  It stood alone as one of the only independent booksellers left in our fair city and was a beacon to those seeking an off the beaten path to the Divine.  

While working at MJ I got married and soon after (like a couple of hours after) pregnant.  The owner of MJ was a generous man who loved good food as much as I and often sent me after his own lunch when I would go pick up my own.  Even if we did not have lunch at the Soda Shop, many afternoons he would send me on a milkshake run.  I was often seen waddling down Louise and then Elliston to pick up the most delicious handmade milkshakes in town.  (Must be why Noah LOVES milkshakes.)

Those were good times.  Newly married, pregnant for the first time, working in my dream job with an independent bookseller....that's what the Soda Shop signifies to me.  Each day I grow older - a fact that does not escape me - and I move further away from that time of my life.  There are new times now - good times too - but those are days that I cherish as a golden time in my life.
 

My dear friend who gave me the news is as sad I am.  Her father ate at the Soda Shop when it first opened in the 30's while he attended VU and she did the same.  She takes her own son - a third generation milkshake lover - there during the summers.  She and I along with our kiddos are having lunch there on Thursday.  I am hoping that we are going on the right day as I am craving one last meal of Soda Shop turkey and dressing.

It has been several years since I worked at MJ, the owner passed away a couple of years ago and now the Soda Shop is closing.

Oh Soda Shop....I will lament your closing each and every time I drive down Elliston Place.  I guess all that can be said is Thanks for the Memories.  I am grateful that I knew you. 

http://www.tennessean.com/article/20110718/NEWS01/307180052/Elliston-Place-Soda-Shop-closing-marks-end-an-era

First Day of Summer Break

Okay.  Technically we have half a day today.  But, I'm packing lunches and swimsuits and as soon as I pick up the kids we are headed to the pool for our half day of summer break!  I cannot wait!  Lazy days and lots of fun, here we come!

Summer Movie Scene

Oh the places we'll go......which includes the movie theater!  This summer is going to cost us a small fortune in matinee fees.  The viewing list for the family includes Kung Fu Panda and Cars 2.  For my adult list see my other blog Living Harmonies.

Summer Reading

Me:  "How many books can I check out at a time?"  
Librarian:  After he appraises me....."25."
Me:  "Thank God.  My son will be finished with the Summer Reading requirements by the end of the first couple of days."
Librarian:  Silence.

Maybe I should have asked him if there is a prize for not only 10 hours of reading during the summer but for at least 10 hours per week during the summer. I walked out of the library with 8 for him today.   Thank goodness for the pool, Nashville Shores and all of the history sites around the area!

Noah the Hunter

For those of you who even REMOTELY are considering that you can avoid gender stereotypes and raise your child gender neutral, read this.

1.  You are an idiot and sorely mislead by reading ultra feminist rants by people who more than likely never had children in the first place.

2.  You CANNOT take out of a person what we are naturally designed to be like.

We sort of held this notion that we would let Noah be whomever he wanted to be.  We wanted it to be okay if he wanted to play with dolls.  We did dress him in traditional clothing and we fulfill traditional husband and wife stereotypes but we wanted him to see that anyone can be who they want to be.

When Noah's first word was "truck" and he had an obsession with trucks despite the fact that we are not big car people or really into our vehicles, I knew that all of the things I had read about gender stereotypes to be largely false or at least misguided to a degree.

We also did not want to raise our son around guns.  We (meaning I) have lots of family members who hunt and have guns and I grew up with guns in our home.  But, as I was pregnant with him when 9-11 occurred and we had entered a war we did not support, guns were not something we wanted modeled for him.

Fast forward 9 years.....we have a war obsessed gun lover who I would allow to go and hunt but to be honest, I don't think he has the heart or the stomach for it.  And, as I am not particularly fond of meat  and am really not fond of game, we are putting off the hunting lessons.  So, for now, he is content with shooting at cans with his grandparent's BB gun and saving his money to buy his own.

Here are a few photos from Pop!

More Surgery

Well, we knew it was a possibility. I have put lots of energy into not having it. But, we are at the point where there is a chance that Arwyn will undergo what is known as a P-Flap or Pharyngeal Flap surgery. We are in speech therapy 1 day a week and we work with her constantly at home. But, she is hypernasal and her speech, though making HUGE improvements is not always clear.

We have her scheduled for a nasal endoscopy which will give definitive answers as to whether or not a secondary surgery should be scheduled. It gives me some comfort to know that the cleft team she sees has given her palate surgery a year to shake out, along with speech therapy to see how far she could come in making speech sounds.

This surgery does not come without risks. Not the traditional risks of palate closure - which are mainly anaesthesia risks....but real risks. Serious sleep apnea, snoring, possibly never being able to breathe out of the nose again due to how it all comes together. Is clear speech worth it?

If it all turns out the way it should, then yes. If it goes wrong, then no. Our little Moonflower is a fighter, though and very determined. I've rarely seen a more strong willed child. And, our cleft team we see is top notch. I am very hard on doctors and if I did not have complete faith in this surgeon, well, we would not even consider this option.

So, keep Arwyn in your thoughts. Let's hope that what she needs is shown to us and that the right decisions are made all around. Ugh.....parenting is not for the feint hearted!