12 October 2006

thursday love



day trips, outings, miniature adventures, field trips. there are so many things to see, everywhere you look, all the time. I don't know why I don't get out and go more often. and when I am with the kidlets, everything looks so new to me. through their eyes, possibility is in every little thing. growing up, do you remember what that felt like? when your parents planned an outing in another city or neighboring town or your class was boarding the bus to go on a field trip? oh, it was too much for me, too much. I was so thirsty to see the world.





except for maybe the time my fifth grade teacher took us to a funeral home for our yearly field trip. her family owned the town's main funeral business and so while other classes were going to the state park, we were off to learn about the wonders of embalming fluid. dear readers, my fifth grade mind was unprepared for that sort of reality. honestly, I think I was more deflated over the fact that it was such a short bus ride across our small town. and there were no refreshments served. yes, I distinctly remember feeling cheated out of the standard kool-aid and cookies. I vividly recall the oppressive scent of formaldehyde and remember thinking that if I was going to have to endure the smell of death, then someone better cough up some refreshments. and of course, my entire class had been buzzing for weeks over The Question. would we be seeing any dead bodies? no one dared ask the teacher. because we all knew the answer would be a most emphatic NO and why kill a good buzz? it was all we had, that possibility. especially since we were the laughing stock of all the fifth grade classes (sample exchange: what's that you say? you're going to see all the pretty leaves and the big lake? well, we're going to see DEAD BODIES. yeah, that's right-- nature is for BABIES). I also remember lightly touching the satin lining of the display caskets and feeling like ms. rankin was the meanest teacher ever.

still, it was an adventure. better than sitting around in class, mean old ms. rankin pointing a finger so craggly and crooked that we never knew exactly who she was addressing.



ah, but I digress. to be out with my kids, exploring the city (or country)-- that's the thing. it's what I live for, what I absolutely love to do. (fifth grade funeral home field trips included).

recently, I took the kids to see the niki de saint phalle exhibit at the atlanta botanical gardens. more of her fantastic work (and us playing in and around it) can be seen here.

(and more thursday love here plus the lovely TILT originator and all my other thursday loves here)

14 comments:

  1. i LOVE how you describe that feeling... and the coolest mom ever? taking them to the niki de saint phalle??

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  2. you have got to be kidding me?! The funeral home? did your parents have to sign off on that? I just don't know if i would want my kid going to learn about death. EW!
    but i DO loves these pics :)

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  3. I loved climbing around those sculptures! It was so deathly hot when we went. I went with Cat and friends. The Lion was one of my faves. Beautiful pics.

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  4. Beautiful photos that take me away to another place... I loved your crazy stories of school field trips too!

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  5. I adore Niki de Saint Phalle. She lived here in San Diego. I have a book of her Tarot Gardens in Italy (I'd love to see those one day), and she has several sculptures here (UCSD, Balboa Park, Escondido...)
    http://flickr.com/photos/barbian7/176583512/

    http://www.queencalifia.org/

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  6. I can't believe you went to a funeral home for a field trip! I thought the museum of natural history was bad.
    The photos of the kiddies are gorgeous and I love that mosaic sculpture thingy.

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  7. what beautiful art for you to share with the kiddies. touchable art is so wonderful for families. so glad you guys had fun, and you took your camera!

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  8. fabulous exhibit- looks like a lot of fun, plus some really amazing photos.

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  9. Ya know, I thought her work looked familiar. Duh me.
    A funeral home? That's just not right, except that it gave you a great story to tell us. :)Lovely photos, lovely Thursday Love.

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  10. oh their little sweet faces....are just so darling!

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  11. Beautiful pictures! just love them....enjoyed your writing too! I remember when you went to the funeral home too! I remember thinking at that time that this was a weird place to take grade school kids. What grade were you in anyway?

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  12. hi,ı'm yagmur((yagmur means the rain ın englısh))ı'm from Turkey and ı have wanted to wrıte you,because ı lıked your sentences,your blog and your pohotos..ı have a blog sometimes ı put my photos sometımes ı wrıte my opınıons on ıt.ıt lıkes a personal dıary:)ı want to add you to my blog ıf you want,too..
    take care
    yagmur..

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  13. what adorable pics! your kiddos are too cute!

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  14. I didn't know there was anybody else out there who loves taking their kids on adventures like that. I love the beauty you display in them. What a memory - not only the adventure, but the picture to hold on to forever! This inspires me to start doing that again and photograph it even more so.

    PS Found you via your Flickr album thru Amanda at London Southern Belle.

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