Jack Sparrow: [to Barbossa] No one. He's no one. A distant cousin of my aunt's nephew twice removed. Lovely singing voice, though - eunuch.
For the benefit of those who don't know, and those who might like a little refresher course, I thought introductions would be in order.
So although you now know that I lost my mom and that family is very important to me, that's pretty much all you know. Unless you deduced by my avatar that I might be just a touch obsessed with a certain rum-soaked, dreadlocked pirate.
Okay, maybe not a touch. Maybe a WHOLE lot.
That's right, I love Jack Sparrow. And I'm fortunate enough to have my very own. How's that, you ask? Well, like this.
That's my DH and myself dressed for a
MNSSHP a couple of years ago. And let me tell you, his costume is so good that people stop him in the park and ask to take pictures with him.
And he eats it right up. One of the greatest laments of this particular trip is that we have a sad lack of Halloween Party, but alas. It's time for something new, something different.
So I love the good Captain, to be sure. Savvy? I've been a fan of Disney for as long as I can remember. When I was a child, I dreamed I would grow up to be a Disney animator. Life can take us in different directions, but I've never lost my love of that art form, my love of the parks, and my love of Disney in general.
I'm still an artist, as much as time allows, and my latest endeavors are those tie dye Mickey shirts you may see on the boards. I learned how to make them here on the DIS, and have had a blast ever since.
I'm sure there's more that will come to light in future posts, but that's pretty much me in a nutshell. (NoAustinPowers)
Obviously, judging from the headless photo above, I don't post pictures of us on the DIS. I prefer the anonymity that provides, for personal reasons. That doesn't mean I'm opposed to headless revelry or that I haven't blocked myself out of photos with lots of fun graphics for your personal amusement, so there is that to look forward to.
Also, for the purposes of privacy, I've taken to giving my family DIS names. And I'd like to thank creativeamanda for this next one, which was something we discussed a while ago on the babnana thread, and I knew I wanted to use it.
My DH henceforth shall be referred to as MJS.
My
Jack
Sparrow. Amanda, when you called him that, it was JUST perfect, believe me, and I've been waiting to bust that out ever since.
What can be said about MJS? He's the type of man who can be friends with everyone, and pretty much is. He's always seeking out the good in people, works extremely hard, and is surprised when others around him offer anything less than their best. He'll push himself, and he'd never ask of anyone something he won't do. He's my rock. He's my life, and one of the reasons I married him (Jack Sparrow resemblance not withstanding, the movies hadn't even come out yet when we met) is because he makes me laugh.
MJS is one of the happiest people I know. Very little in life frustrates him, and I remember how he could joke and laugh with his cousins at the luncheon after his grandmother's funeral. More recently, I can remember how he literally held me up during my mother's. I clung to him like he was the only thing that could keep me standing, and he was.
He's been my rock; he'd do anything for me, his children, his family. That included my parents, and I know he misses my mother just as much as I do. One of our running jokes is what to do with our time now that she doesn't need us to fix things at the house or is inviting us to go places. It's a sad joke, but it's true.
MJS loves Disney, it's a love that started with my mom insisting we take him. How many of you knew that little tidbit? Once she heard that he'd never been, she decided it was high time to change that, and so one winter break during college, she, MJS, and I went and stayed at the Polynesian. That was the first of many trips, obviously, that we'd take together.
We've been before and after we were married, with and without kids. We've loved each trip for its own unique qualities, and we're really looking forward to getting back to the style of trip we used to have, which I'll discuss later.
Now MJS may love Disney, and will defend our repeat vacations like no other (which warms my heart) but his real affinity is for Batman. All superheroes really, but especially Batman. It means something to him that I can't even begin to explain. Let's just say that I have a giclee of Jack from the Nightmare Before Christmas signed by Tim Burton hanging in the hallway, and MJS has a giclee of Batman and Catwoman (ha ha Kat-woman
) signed by Bob Kane.
We're a touch obsessive, but also quite lovable.
Moving on.
What was two, then become three.
Our first son, Nemo was born in 2005. He's a beautiful, auburn red head with an unbelievable spirit who never fails to amaze me. He's five years old and just started kindergarten. It's hard for me to believe that my baby is old enough for kindergarten when quite frankly, I remember my first day. When did I get to be a grown up, I wonder?
Nemo is a lovable, emotional sweetheart. He's had a bit of a rough patch lately, between losing my mom, getting a new baby brother, and starting school, let's just say the little kiddo's got a lot on his plate. We're struggling to provide a healthy emotional environment for him while making sure that he's not walking all over us. There's a fine line between love and discipline, that's for sure.
Nemo is your typical boy. He loves his Transformers and Bakugans, but there's a special place in his heart for classic cartoons, like the older Mickey Mouse and Tom and Jerry shorts. He likes to help me bake, loves to play board games, and loves, loves, loves to go to the library and read. I think one of the most exciting things for him at school was discovering they had a library there and he could take out one book a week on his own!
My mother spent a lot of time with Nemo. She was really like a third parent, as she watched him for me for several years while I worked part time, and we spent loads of time together anyway. I'm sure he's missing her, missing the attention he got from her, and struggling to find his way in this world without her. He may not verbalize it all the time, but just recently, he told me, "I wish we could go backwards to when Mimi was here." That's what he called my Mom. Mimi. He calls me Mama. And I'm not ashamed to tell you that sometimes, he would call us the wrong name.
Because that's how special she was to him. We were interchangeable in that he loved us so much.
If you're still with me after the introductory extravaganza I have going on here, you'll notice that I said Nemo got a new baby brother. That he did!
I was pregnant when my mom passed, and one of the hardest things was knowing that she wouldn't be there when our second son, Squirt was born.
Squirt. What can I say about this kiddo?
Honestly, some days, this baby is what keeps me going. It's like my father said after Squirt was born, "Look at him. He's a pure, innocent soul with a totally clean slate. It's amazing." And my dad is right.
Squirt is a sweet baby who looks a lot like his older brother, but for his hair and eyes. While Nemo is redheaded with hazel eyes, Squirt has dark brown hair (which seems to be getting lighter) and when he was born, his eyes looked just like my mother's. They're continuing to change to a blue-ish gray, which is actually similar to nana (my mom's mom), so we'll have to see how they end up.
He's my joy right now. And I don't mean to disparage Nemo in any way. Nemo thrills me in a different way. The things he says, the ideas he has, the way that he talks about what he's thinking is what gets me where it counts.
But Squirt is all expressions and just recently smiles, and the ever so rare laugh. He's a snuggler who prefers to sleep with Mama and Papa, thank you very much, none of this crib stuff for him. He's a lovey and a joy and I just feel like I cannot properly describe how grateful I am to have him as part of my life, especially right now. How I know that I have to put one foot in front of the other because this little guy needs me.
And sure you can say that Nemo needs me too, but it's amazing how self-sufficient five year olds are. Nemo needs me in the sense that he needs to feel loved and secure and know that even though Mimi is gone, I'm still here, and that he has a family that loves him. It's more complex, and sometimes, I'm ashamed to admit, exhausting.
Squirt's needs are simpler. Feed him, change him, bathe him, and he's a happy boy. I've always marveled when people say babies are hard. Sure, they're hard in the sense that you don't get to sleep, but this is the easy part. The part when I can protect him, when I can shelter him, when he doesn't know that Mimi is gone.
And Nemo does. So let's just say that we are struggling. We're all grieving, we're all making our way in this world without my mom, and it's a learning process for us all.
So, if you're still with me that's my little family, or the key players in this vacation of ours. We're all a work in progress, and I'm sure things will change a thousand times between now and the trip, but that's the starting point, at any rate.
Of course, there is one last thing that I forgot to mention.
We're all a little
Savvy?
At least she knew it was a boy. I'm still so sad that she never got to meet him. He's such a joy, she would have loved him.
Thanks, TK.
I miss mine being babies.
