Saturday, June 16, 2012

What's New Pussycat, or How Smoking Saved My Life




Hello devoted readers, all three of you!  Well, it has been a few months since my last post.  I hope you all are doing well.  I am very ready for a vacation.  Soon I will be relaxing at an undisclosed location.  Hint : it rhymes with The Pamptons.

pillow made from a vintage needlepoint, sold


In the mean time I have had to deal with the school year's end, swim team, and day camps.  Where is the time for ME?  My dogs and I have to watch at least an hour of Law and Order a day or else we are not ourselves. 


Lucy likes Law and Order SVU

El Rey, my husband, has been traveling constantly for work.  Places he has been recently include Beverly Hills, Las Vegas, New York.  Places I have been recently : carpool lane, pool, grocery store.

Every summer I ask my kids, "are you sure you want to do swim team, it's okay to take a year off."  Wouldn't you know I have the kids who swim butterfly willingly, say the cheers the loudest, and support their teammates. 

Ordinarily I would find this kind of sweet, but we parents are forced to volunteer.  My job is to write the swimmer's time down after their race.  Their are four timers for each lane so it is a lot to write in a short amount of time.  Plus we are not allowed to drink during our timing sessions, for obvious reasons.  Plus it it 100 degrees and I am not allowed to time in the buff, for obvious reasons.

small swim team child : "What was my time?"
me:  "What am I, a computer?  Go get me a margarita, no salt."



Just kidding, of course.  The point of all of this is that I have had little time for my work.  How to handle all of this stress?  Vices, my pets, vices.

Sometimes after I put my children to bed I like to go out on the back porch for that seventh, I mean second glass of wine and have a cigarette.  I know, such a crime and there are no excuses.  But it saved my life.

A few months ago I was on the back porch ,legs crossed and by the light of the silvery moon I saw an odd spot on the back of my calf.  Being all Irish/Scottish/Englishy I thought it was just another freckle.  But I wanted to see if I needed Botox so I made an appointment with my dermatologist.

Well it turns out it was the bad kind of skin cancer and I had to get it chopped out.  I have the scar to prove it but I will spare you the photo.  Plus how do you take a photo of your own calf?  Physically impossible.

Anyhoo, I am fine.   I am happy that I am here to see my children swim like mad this summer.  And wouldn't you know I find myself chiming in to the swim team cheers.....  I drink the Koolaid, my readers.  I will be momming it this summer...until the New York Gift Show in August!!

If you see me in The Pamptons, please say hello!


At Bobby Van's in Bridgepampton



xo,

Kate