Move Over Prince Charming!

When we're old and grey, I want Mr. Tilney and I to love each other this much!

True love is
Saying sorry, or forgiving
when mistakes are made.
It's cooking those awesome
Waffles- just because.
Making me laugh
through labour contractions,
Or getting up with the kids
So I can sleep in.
It's being the dad our
Kids love and need,
And eating my latest
Culinary disaster.
Love is reading my
Favourite book together,
Or mowing the lawn
Because you know I hate it.

Might not sell books,
But true love is slaying
All those daily dragons
And making one
"Happily ever after" real.

My love of romance notwithstanding, I've always hated Valentine's Day. Romance should be more than a status game of cards, roses, or chocolates. Naturally, I still appreciate such gestures. What fool wouldn't? But know what really makes my heart pitter-pat? Someone who finds me beautiful at nine months pregnant. When Mr. Tilney surprises me with pizza so we don't mess up the kitchen after a crazy day. Uninterrupted reading time... you get the idea.

So many books love stories grate on my nerves because they fail to capture that. There's far too many renditions of yet another heroine caught in a love triangle. Also, the valiant hero who simply waits patiently until she finally comes to her senses tests both my patience and credulity.  So, to shake things up, here's some original gems. Some gutsy heroines and heroes who perfect the art of everyday romance. Pure romantic reading bliss.

"Northanger Abbey" by Jane Austen

I adore all of Miss Austen's books, but this is my favourite! Navigating polite society, Katherine Norland gets far more adventure when she goes to Bath... just not the sort that her Gothic novels would suggest. The perils and pitfalls of dating have never been so delightful.


"The Blue Castle" by L.M. Montgomery

After a lifetime doing just as she's told, and living out dreams in her imaginary"blue castle", Valancy learns that she's dying. Finally doing and saying exactly as she pleases is a shock to both her bossy mother and snobby clan, but no one is more shocked than Valancy herself when she falls in love. With the town reprobate no less. Normally this would be a steamy bit of brain candy, but in Montgomery's skilled hands, it is a beautiful story sure to melt your heart.

In fiction, or real life, true love is really about the little things. Let's celebrate that. Enjoy both; with whoever is in your life and makes your heart glad.

Happy reading to you all!

~K

Manic Mondays

Contemplating my great to-do list (Monday's list always seems to be the most daunting, don't you think?) the one thing that made me smile and hop with excitement was the one right on the top; "Post in Blog". That made me skip out of bed, and face the daunting task of preparing three children for school, plus all of the aftermath from our two-week holiday from reality, with much better grace than normal. Home may be  a haven away for everyone else around here, but this is where I work. On vacations though, I figure that if the rest of the family gets a break, then I will take one too. As a result, certain jobs have been neglected of late, quietly piling up, awaiting my return.

This morning Mr. Tilney shovelled the walks, then hurried off to school. After cleaning out some juicy and smelly specimens from the bottoms of backpacks my school crew (Jared, Seth and Jack) headed off. With a cold winter day before us, just the two of us at home, Bruce seems set for hibernation. He's still in his pajamas, reading a book and singing to himself upstairs.

It would be all too easy to follow suit. I do have a tempting pile of books from the library... and over the past two weeks I've honed hibernation down to a fine art. But no, I need to be a good little Bookaneer- at least for a few hours- and get things done. There are several other things loudly clamouring for my attention. One such thing is the little matter of food: today's school lunches were creative to say the least, scrounged up from leftover Christmas cookies and whatever we currently have in the fridge.  Seeing as I don't not want to repeat this for dinner, we'd better bundle up and trundle off for groceries. First though, I have the great joy of writing here.

Do you like poetry? I'm not talking about that dreary stuff that was crammed down our throats (rather like salad)  in an effort to make us more well-rounded, cultured individuals at school. I'm talking about the stuff that makes you laugh, smile and even think for a moment. The words of Shel Silverstein or Jack Prelutsky have always been a favourite of mine. I call it my "poetry pickle", for whenever I'm in a writing funk, upset, or just feeling mischievous I like to play with rhyme, stanzas and meter. It helps me not to take myself too seriously. Life provides ample inspiration for this, so I thought that each Monday I will post an original "pickle" that I've scribbled about stuff. Here's today's.

Back to Reality...
We got off to school
Quite smoothly today-
A quite big surprise
For me.
So with a great sigh
As I wipe my eye
I'll take down the Christmas
Tree.

That's it for today folks! After all, there's grocery shopping, laundry, and all those other necessaries to do. Have any ideas for next week's poem? Share them in the comments below. Until tomorrow, keep out of trouble and happy reading.

~K