The View from the Top

Today has been a great day!  I arrived at school to a room full of smiles.  It was "Grandparents' Donut Day" and my kiddos brought their families out in full force!  I am a teacher who absolutely loves interacting with students and their loved ones...to celebrate together and encourage excellence in the minds of some of the smartest youngsters I've been privileged to know.  I am blessed beyond belief.  I hope, somewhere on their lists of thanksgiving, these very special people count me among their blessings too.


I am also in a great mood because my Cape Cod adventure draws ever nearer.  Phase 1 ~ color, cut, and brow wax ~ is complete.  Thank you, Gail, for always treating me right!  I think the most important thing a woman can have - next to talent, of course - is her hairdresser. ~ Joan Crawford  Perhaps this is why Gail and I have a partnership that boasts twenty-one years.  Her salon, Bella Capelli, is aptly named.  Phase 2 ~ shopping (er, soccer tournament in Kansas City) ~ commences this evening.  I'll be spending the next couple of days crossing back and forth over the state line.  I think I'll relish the opportunities to bolster my wardrobe.


On another note, I rediscovered the July issue of Oprah's O magazine while at the salon.  I do not often read this periodical but this particular summer issue is faithfully devoted to favorite books.  It did not disappoint.  I have already completed my Christmas list as a result!  There are titles I cannot wait to own...Kings of the Earth by Jon Clinch, The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender, and Someone Knows My Name by Lawrence Hill (previously titled The Book of Negroes...named for a historical document that lists slaves who sailed to Nova Scotia).  Other titles captivated me too:  Both Ways is the Only Way I Want It by Maile Meloy, and If I Loved You, I Would Tell You This by Robin Black. Included on my wish list are titles of heroic women:   My Name is Mary Sutter, by Robin Oliveira; Domby and Son, by Charles Dickens; and Elizabeth Street, by Laurie Fabiano.  I'm excited to read about these women...the Civil War era doctor, the daughter in Dickens' "ironic joke" of a title, and Giovanna, the Italian immigrant of the early 1900s.  My love of early American history will have me reading Peter Carey's Parrot & Olivier in America.  And not to be missed:  Howard Norman's What is Left The Daughter, Jane Mendelsohn's American Music, and Lily King's Father of the Rain.  The latter is of particular interest.  It involves a "narcissistic alcoholic with an ugly temper and a magnetic charm."  (I've known a few like that...) The daughter apparently never gives up hoping he'll change, then "finally sees for herself what's been clear all along."  I wonder if I will as well.  This one, I'm sure, I'll make personal. 


So why "The View from the Top?"  A forest bird never wants a cage.  ~Henrik Ibsen  Somewhere I have a copy of Ibsen's play, The Doll House.  I've never been one for reading plays, but this is an exception I actually enjoyed.  His quote (from where, I haven't a clue) is something else I enjoy.  It's me, this forest bird!  I am truly free.  The commitments and connections I have are of my own choosing and not based on any mandate.  I'm an independent girl...and independent thinker with a furious sense of direction and an imperturbable mind of her own.  Gloria Steinem, being the feminist that she is, one said A pedestal is as much a prison as any small, confined space. With all due respect, Ms. Steinem, you are absolutely incorrect.  No one placed me here because I'm some token female.  I climbed up here myself.   I'm worth it, and today, those who aren't just don't seem to matter much.


Have a great weekend.  I will, too. 
xoxo ~S.