Sun, Jul 06 2008 by Vanessa.

El ….. bow ….. El ….. bow ….

I never imagined the word elbow could be so completely entertaining.  However, when uttered from a tiny little mouth resting just below a cute little button nose and two bright blue eyes with a sound that is so sweet and innocent, much like an angelic version of Elmo, one absolutely cannot contain the overwhelming melting sensation that takes over your body and is quickly enhanced with incredible laughter.  The sweetest little girl accompanied John, myself and her parents to dinner last night and managed to thoroughly entertain me as she uttered the word ‘elbow’ after her mother pointed to her own elbow and asked, “What is this?”  To think that a 15 month old human being understands the concept of labeling a joint in the human body when her mother asks “What is this?” is just amazing to me.

Not only does this little tiny girl know the word elbow, not only does she know she is supposed to say elbow when someone points to that particular arm joint but she seems to actually comprehend what the phrase “What is ….” means.  She seems to actually understand the construct of the question posed to her and she’s only 15 months old.  Makes you think about all those poor children who grow up in houses where people are always yelling at each other,  talking negatively and ignorantly assume that they’re just babies.  Surely, babies have no comprehension of the world around them.

It gives me hope to know that there are a few children out there (I hope there are more) whose parents understand that even at 1 minute old, their child is absorbing the world around them.  Every action a parent takes and every word they utter shape the adult their child grows up to be.  I applaud our friends who have sacrificed, although I’m sure they do not see it as a sacrifice at all, to arrange their priorities so that their little girl has her mother around all day every single day.  She wakes up knowing her mother or father is nearby.  She eats her meals and snacks with her mother and/or father.  She sees both parents each day and I can attest, she is one happy girl!  What a lucky, sweet-voiced little baby!

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Fri, Jul 04 2008 by Vanessa.

Last night we had dinner with a good friend and he casually mentioned the recent addition of a Cancerous tumor to the side of his head. I took an extra sip of wine upon hearing this news. How does this happen? Why do such good people have to endure such horrifying events? He’s a good guy. He works REALLY REALLY hard with a bunch of morons that test his patience each day. His family could replace the Keaton’s on Family Ties with their all-Americaness. So why him? Why did a Cancerous tumor decide to develop, within the course of a month, on the side of his head? It just doesn’t seem fair.

However, I have to admit, last night’s news adds more fuel to my Section 2 fire. You just never know when it’s going to be your turn to endure an extremely difficult life-challenge. A car wreck could end it all in a split second. Why waste your life away, arguing with people who refuse to accept logic? Why spend so much time confined by a job that is not fulfilling, is not challenging and is just not something you could ever imagine having a passion for? Why waste time feeling sorry for yourself? It’s time to get out there and experience life, experience this world and know that when my end comes I will have lived a life that I feel has value and meaning. I love Section 2!!!

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Wed, Jul 02 2008 by Vanessa.

John and I discovered one of the most hilarious shows I have ever seen in my life. Wipeout - http://abc.go.com/primetime/wipeout/index?pn=index

This show brings out the evil Vanessa giggle. It’s one of those shows where you know, in the back of your mind … the VERY VERY VERY back, dark, hardly-ever-accessed recesses of your mind, that you probably should not laugh at these people. I find myself feeling much like you do when you see someone all bundled up, walking slowly but surely through the snow and suddenly they slip on a patch of ice. You know you can’t laugh because that poor person is probably in pain, they are probably overwhelmed with embarrassment but it’s funny as hell anyway. So you stifle your giggle and see if you can help them stand back up again. Same feeling here except it dawned on me last night that these people aren’t falling on their heads by accident. They have volunteered to try out all these crazy obstacle courses, they WANT to be there, they’re trying to win $50K (it all makes sense now, huh?) and so I am free to laugh out loud as someone falls down on a treadmill and is shot 10 feet, horizontally, through the air. The last time I saw someone fly off a treadmill was at the gym and again, no laughing is allowed in that situation. I also very much enjoy watching people try to jump across the big balls. Four REALLY REALLY large bouncy balls are lined up and secured in place. The people then have to try to jump across all four. Only one person has come close to making it all the way across (a woman, mind you) and I’d say 85% of the contestants wind up getting tossed all around like a rag doll, literally. It is absolutely, fantastically hilarious! I’d love to give it a shot myself!

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