Tribute to a Fallen Idol

How has it already been 10 years since she died? I still can't even believe she's gone.

Princess Diana was my absolute idol when I was growing up. I was 9 years old when the Royal Wedding took place and I still remember waking up at 5:00 a.m. to see the celebration from the very beginning. The whole day was just about the best thing ever as far as I was concerned. Surprisingly, her going-away outfit had more of an impact on me than her wedding dress. I thought the frilly peach dress & jacket she wore was SO pretty & don't even get me started on her ostrich-plumed triangular hat! I coveted that hat. I think I still do.

Ten years later, I lived in England for six months & when I finally got to see Buckingham Palace, I stared at those windows for a long time, hoping to catch a glimpse of HER, walking through the halls. When I took a trip to Harrod's, I wished that she would just happen to be there at the same time so we could meet. And when it was time for me to leave London, I never thought I'd be saying goodbye to the only chance I might have had, however remote, of actually seeing her in real life.

Like so many others, I'll never forget "that night". August 31, 1997. Marn, Merd & I were moving into Toronto that weekend and it cast quite a pall over what should have been an exciting event in our lives. To me, there was an eerie calm to everything for quite some time. The disbelief that my childhood superstar was gone enveloped me. The sadness was intense.

And now, watching all of the specials about her life during this last week has been a little bizarre...almost like rediscovering a part of myself I'd forgotten about. She's so familiar to me; it's nice to see her again on TV & on the covers of magazines. Maybe I just haven't realized how much I've missed her.

Even though that old familiarity still exists, I also feel like I've been seeing her in a different light this week. She seems more "real" than the sparkling image of a princess I used to see. And tonight, I finally figured out why. It's b/c we're the same age now. She's been frozen in time for the last 10 years, stuck at age 36. And now that I'm almost 36 myself, I can relate to her more as a woman. Now when I see her, it feels like I'm watching an old friend I haven't seen in a while.

Seeing William & Harry, & how well they appear to be doing, has been reassuring as well. They were so young to have lost their mother under such tragic circumstances, but she shines through in each of them. And that's really nice to see.

Royally,
PortlandGirl

Happy Days

I got a nice phone call from my boss this morning. She called to wish me a happy one-year anniversary. What the hell...a year already? I can't believe it!

Well, actually, I lied. I can believe it. Because this is one of those things that feels like it happened five minutes ago & five years ago all at the same time. And although my job has that ever-so-slight tarnish that year-old jobs get, I'm still so grateful & feel so lucky that I'm doing one of the things I was meant to do in life. It's the most well-suited job I've ever had. And it's the job in which I've learned the most about myself. It was worth everything I had to go through to get (even if I don't feel that way some mornings!).

And best of all? I'm still pretty happy that I don't work in an office.

Not in a cubicle,
PortlandGirl

Parental Guidance

As I was drifting off to sleep last night (at 9:30 p.m. - not exactly livin' in the fast lane right now), I replayed the day's events in my head and it made me tired. Yesterday was Sunday and even though I had the day off work, I still worked all day. I did some laundry, finished up some job notes, ran some errands, paid three bills, sent a few emails and finished up with one more load of laundry (there's always just one more load, isn't there?). A productive day, but an overly busy one nonetheless. And I know I'm not the only one spending my off-duty work hours running around like a maniac.

Isn't this why Sundays were invented? To NOT do any of that stuff? We're so accustomed to running here, running there, checking emails, checking voicemails, being available to anyone 24/7, that we've forgotten how to relax. I know I have! No wonder ADD is running rampant. We're all constantly engaged in five different things at the same time. And although I'd love to go off on that topic, it's not what occurred to me last night in bed. No, the question that came to mind was this...

How do parents do it?!

If I'm feeling this exhausted after a full day of activity without making sure a little one (or two or three) is taken care of, how do people with kids manage to stay awake until 7:00 at night, much less 9:30?! How do they finish what what needs to get done & enjoy their growing children at the same time?

If you are a parent, this post is dedicated to you. I take my hat off to all of you who are able to fit it all in & make the puzzle work. It's a hard juggling act to maintain & even if you occasionally drop a few balls (I said balls), you're still doing A-OK in my book.

With admiration,
PortlandGirl

Question for the Day

Why do school buses always have chains dangling from the bottom of them?

When you're entrusting your child to a form of transportation, shouldn't everything be really well attached to the vehicle rather than dragging along the ground?

Just wondering,
PortlandGirl