lisa congdon

Oh Wilbur!

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Is there any other animal so unfairly maligned and misunderstood? Pigs are not dirty. They’re intelligent, curious and clean.

And just TODAY, it was reported that collared peccaries (javelinas) may actually mourn each other’s deaths. Thanks to an 8 year old’s science fair project, there is video footage showing javelinas nuzzling, sleeping next to and protecting a fellow corpse for ten days. (Pigs and javelinas are only distantly related…but still…!)

Fun facts: pigs have poor eyesight, but excellent sense of smell (hence the truffle finding). They are also smarter than dogs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

All Dressed up and Nowhere to go

Female Emperor Penguins will walk 50 miles to the ocean in harsh whether while their male mates stand over their eggs, keeping them warm and safe. The mothers return against all odds and regurgitate food for the newly hatched chicks. The fathers – who have not eaten for two months – then go to the ocean to eat.

March of the Penguins is an amazing film. If you haven’t seen it, it’s truly inspiring. These animals embody true passion. If you’re having trouble finding motivation, watch the movie.

Sunflowers

Sunflowers are my new favorite flower. I just learned that they are “hyperaccumulators”! They absorb toxins and pollutants so well that thousands were planted in Chernobyl to absorb radiation. They were also planted in Fukushima to clean up that toxic spill.

The trick is to harvest and destroy them before they produce toxic seeds that birds could eat. sunflowers

Lion

#1: When your computer breaks down and you have to type and publish your blog on your cell phone, ROAR like a lion.

#2: When the bonus they promised to deliver in December gets postponed to February, ROAR like a lion.

#3: When Pinterest tells you that someone in Russia has hacked your account and you can’t reset your password (see #1), ROAR like a lion.

#4: When you start to feel overwhelmed, anxious, angry or depressed, ROAR like a lion.

Or…close your eyes, breathe deeply and know everything is fine.

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Mean Girls

My 15-year-old daughter went to the bathroom at school today. She didn’t feel well. There was another girl in there – a waif with thin blond hair who looked like she was on meth.  The Daughter felt self-conscious, barfing into the toilet.  Outside her stall, the waif snickered. Suddenly, the lights went out. The door slammed shut.

Shrouded in darkness, she had to feel her way around to the light switch. Retching and bewildered, she cried. She’s still out there, waiting to see my reaction.

So when the tears stopped, she rinsed her face.

The waif was waiting. The Daughter walked out, head held high.

As she told me the story, she started to shake.

“Why did she do that, mom? She knew I was sick. She could have asked if I was OK and if I needed anything. Why would she do that? Why would she be so mean?”

I didn’t know what to say. Mean people have always existed, like cockroaches. They’re vile, but they must serve a purpose somehow.

“It wasn’t you. It was her. This was not personal, she didn’t even know you. She’s obviously very unhappy and wounded.” I hugged her and told I was sorry that it happened.

I was aware of several facts all at once:

  • that I wanted to exact revenge on The Waif;
  • that mean people will hurt my children and everyone I love many times over;
  • that we will never know why people do cruel things; and
  • that I have very little control over anything.

All we can do is be our best and be kind and provide love and comfort to each other.

And practice drawing octopodes.

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Leap!

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My favorite children’s book series is Frog and Toad. I’ve always loved the simplicity and hilarity of the stories and it dawned on me only recently that perhaps Frog and Toad were more than friends. Lobel, author and illustrator, came out to his family pretty late in life and then died from AIDS. Everyone needs to accept everyone for who they are. Why judge others?

Which brings me to a comment my husband made to me this morning. He was looking over my shoulder, watching me draw the frogs.

“So when are you going to draw your own things?”

“Like what?”

“I don’t know…the things you like.”

“I like what I’m doing. I have drawn things on my own and they were pretty terrible. I’m still learning.”

“Just draw your own things.”

I understand what he’s saying. And I have wondered if I’m playing it safe by drawing out of a book, but I really am a beginner. My goal is to practice drawing until December 31st and then try my own “things.”

And that is when I will make my leap!

 

 

 

It’s That Time Again…

Holidays. Busyness. Stress.

Don’t forget that stress and complaining are choices. Complaining is a form of denying reality*. It also makes you sound like a victim. You don’t want that, do you?

Below are my drawings for today. They are incomplete. I helped my daughter learn how to drive today. Someone honked at her loudly as she paused at the red light, uncertain if she should go or not. She got stressed.  And then we went out to help her buy her boyfriend a birthday gift. She worried it wasn’t enough. I assured her that her thoughtfulness in choosing the gifts was what really counted.

I am now at my other daughter’s high school concert. When all is said and done, I will have been here with her for six hours.  I didn’t get to complete my drawing or get my workout in or get any holiday shopping done. Oh well. But I did get to have a wonderful lunch with her between two concerts and talk about everything she wanted to share with me. We ate and talked and ate and talked and then we had enough time to buy makeup from Target before going back for her final performance.

It’s all good. I’m grateful I can do these things – be completely present for each of my daughters…and be completely present while I draw my funny-looking lizards.

*Eckhart Tolle

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