Category Archives: nostalgia

Climbing the Camel

March 4, 2010hard work, nostalgia, travel, vacationKirsetin

No, no, no. That is not a euphemism for some weird bedroom trick I don’t even know about. Get your mind out of the gutter, people.

No, really, let’s talk seriously.

When you have a 2 year old and a newborn, I think a really fun thing to do is quit your jobs.

Okay, it wasn’t that fun, but that’s what we did. My baby was two months old, and hey, it seemed like a good idea. Sort of.

That was eleven years ago.

Fortunately, we were still able to eat and send our children to school as they grew. Life has been good that way. Also, the company my husband started after quitting his “real” job turned out to be a real company itself, with lots of employees, and photocopiers, and even conference calls. It’s a nice ending to the story, I think. Much nicer than, “It didn’t work out and we were hungry, so we went crawling back.” That would’ve been tough. And I’m sure this isn’t really the ending, but it’s been an interesting ride so far.

We sold the company a few years ago and everything was recently finalized. To celebrate, we flew west to thank the investors who helped us get this thing off the ground. The bonus: they are fun, and funny, guys, not at all the stodgy-old Wall Street types you might expect investors to be. Nope, these were some farm boys from Utah who worked hard and done good. Real good. They kept us laughing all night.

And when we weren’t eating swanky dinners with funny, smart, grown-up farm boys turned businessmen, we enjoyed our lovely hotel, and its fantastic spa.

We didn’t want to be those spa-like people, though, who forget where they came from, so we decided to keep things real with a little activity. A walk, maybe? Or how about a hike? 2700 ft up Camelback Mountain?

See that tall peak on the left? That’s where we were headed. We climbed over rock after rock after rock.

We passed 150 year old saguaros and cool-looking trees,

took a break in this little cave,

and loved the view from the top.

We especially enjoyed gawking at the incredible homes around the mountain. How about this one? Just a small summer place, I’m sure.

We came back to much colder temperatures, but, thankfully, we also have sunshine. And in March, that is a very good thing.

Any other Camelback hikers out there? Woot!

Another Year Closer to All Grown Up

February 18, 2010birthdays, nostalgiaKirsetin

Eleven years ago today, I became a mother for the second time. There were so many things I didn’t know at the time.

I didn’t know that this tiny baby would steal my heart so completely that I would never entirely get it back.

I didn’t know that two years later this sweet boy would hit his head so hard that I’d panic. I didn’t know what it would feel like to watch his eyes roll back and see his breath stop. Before that moment, I would’ve thought I’d maintain my cool, be level-headed, and take action. Instead I screamed and yelled for help and it was my neighbor’s realtor who called 911.

I didn’t know that he’d be completely fine after an event like that, but I’d never fully recover.

I couldn’t have known, on that day I spent in labor, that when this child grew older he would be so tender, so careful with younger kids.

There was no indication, that day, that this new baby boy would develop an intense love for a sport his father and I rarely glanced at, until his love for it drew us in, too.

I couldn’t have known what an adoring little brother he’d be. I didn’t know then how his status as second-born would influence his personality. He is a peacemaker, this boy.

On that day eleven years ago, I knew I had some tiring months coming up. I knew I’d be waking several times a night and slogging through my days with an infant and a 2 year old. But I didn’t know that some days and nights would be infinitely slow and that occasionally they would drag me down with them, into the ugly pits of self-pity, doubt, and second guesses.

And I certainly could not have guessed that no matter how painfully slow some of those days were, that the years would fly by like this and suddenly you’d be halfway to all grown-up.

I should be happy today. I should be singing and yelling “Happy Birthday!” and soon enough, I will. But as I think back through these years with you, my tender-hearted boy, I keep choking up and the tears keep coming. If I’ve told you once, I’ve told you a million times: I didn’t get to pick you, but if I could have, I’d pick you again. Every single time.

I love you baby. So much. Happy Birthday.

Farewell, Joseph Schmidt

February 16, 2010food, holidays, nostalgiaKirsetin

This year, I didn’t ask for truffles for Valentine’s Day.

I’ve never been a big chocolate lover. I’d much rather have some kettle chips, but you know, that’s not really something you can ask for for Valentine’s Day. Is it?

Twenty years ago, when I was single and living in San Francisco I discovered many things, among them the finest truffles I’ve ever enjoyed. And just like that Joseph Schmidt Confectioners turned a non-chocolate lover into a lover of their finely crafted chocolate truffles. The crunchy shell, the smooth-as-silk middle…they got it perfectly right. They’ve produced my favorite chocolate ever since and for every special occasion, that’s been the go-to place for tasty treats.

Can you imagine my horror when I discovered that Hershey bought, and then closed, the store?

There are so many things I could write about this. I could go for nostalgia and explain how the aroma of those pretty little truffles could transport me to a wonderful, exciting time in my life. I could be indignant and rant about corporations destroying the locals. I could be angry, I could be disgusted, I could, I could, I could…

But instead I am simply sad. I’m heartbroken over the demise of this little confectionary I stumbled upon as I stumbled my way into adulthood.

So it turns out it’s a good thing I didn’t ask for them, because that would’ve been even worse, don’t you think?

And even though I didn’t ask, did I expect truffles? Flowers? Trinkets? Find my thoughts on Valentine’s Day and gift giving (and receiving) over at Blissfully Domestic.