A New Kind of Fun: Perfect Moment Monday

Saturday afternoon we went to see the Star Wars exhibit at the Indiana State Museum (you can too, thru Sept 2). The kids are no strangers to museums- we visit a lot of attractions around town. I’ve been waiting for them to really “get” this museum though, because it’s not a hands on children’s museum. It’s a museum I’ve always thought “school aged” kids would really enjoy.

Well guess what? My kids are school aged and I was right! 

The kids dived into the Star Wars exhibit and took part in every hands on activity. They kept themselves busy for two hours in the exhibit, waiting patiently in line for their turns, and working through each activity.

It was by far the easiest, most relaxing, and enjoyable museum visit we’ve ever had, no exaggeration. Not that trips to assorted museums with strollers, diaper bags, and snacks weren’t fun, but it was a different kind of fun. This was an “I can read and learn things today too” kind of fun.

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It was a new kind of  fun I can definitely get used to.

Have a perfect moment? Link it up!

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Perfect Moment Monday: Instant Friends

Life has been good and life has been busy lately. We’ve had all kinds of fall fun, and have Fall-Breaked our hearts out. This week’s perfect moment, though, didn’t involve anything seasonal or sensational, it was a simple impromptu play date.

When my friend Liz put the call out that her church was having a sale on Friday afternoon, I brought the kids over to peruse their wares. Liz was cashiering, and her children were off in a room playing quietly. After trying on a few pairs of shoes, my kids wandered off down the hall, found people their size, and started playing.

After a few minutes, I told the kids it was time to leave, and they protested. They were having fun with their new friends and didn’t want to leave. I really didn’t have anywhere to go, so I pulled up a chair and continued to visit, while Liz’s kids (who match my kids in gender and age) and my kids played like they were long lost friends. After playing for over an hour, we had to go home, under their protests.

Watching the children, meet up so easily and become fast friends was my perfect moment this week. Too often we move from one event to the next, going through the motions. Taking the time to slow down and hang out was exactly what we needed to do.

Check out more Perfect Moments on Lori’s blog, WriteMindOpenHeart!

Perfect Moment Monday: All For the Love of Nancy, and Nancy’s Love For All

 

 

I Capture Perfect Moments.

 

 

Last Tuesday I posted my Perfect Moment Monday post. Then I went out to dinner and realized I had this week’s post in the bag. Want to read more Perfect Moments? See what’s linked up at Weebles Wobblog!

Most of my posts about Nancy are now in the past tense. My friend passed away in April from Multiple Myeloma, one of the worst, one of the trickiest, one of the most painful cancers a person can get. Nancy was part of a larger group of friends, a group of friends brought together by a post on a Cooking Light Forum back in August 2001.

Really, my perfect moment starts there, back in 2001.

I’ve mentioned before that I met my cooking club, named Stir Crazy by Nancy, in September 2001. We had started talking on the Cooking Light Forums, and within a week or two of online conversation, someone was organizing an in-person meeting. If we were going to  cook together, we probably needed to case each other out on neutral territory.

Enter the Corner Wine Bar.

The Corner Wine Bar is, as it name implies, a corner. A corner in Indy’s hipster neighborhood, which is centrally located and easy to find. We agreed on a time and a date, and somewhere in the first week of September, 2001, we met.

There were maybe 14 or so of us, and we went around the table and introduced ourselves. I really don’t remember much more than that, except that they served a carrot souffle which was to die for. And that I like the women sitting around the table. We ranged in age from late 2o’s to late 40’s, we were married, single, with and without kids, and we liked to eat. What more did we need to know?

From there we had a brunch at someone’s house. Not all of us were able to be there. We continued to meet after that — the next dinner the group was a little smaller, and then the third dinner, it seemed we were down to about 9. I don’t know what happened to the other women–we joking say that they split off and formed their own group. Maybe they did. If they found the kind of friends in each other that I’ve found in Stir Crazy, then I sincerely hope they did form some kind of group.

Fast Forward 9 years. We’ve been to wineries, we’ve been to films, we’ve been to farmer’s markets, and to each other’s homes. We’ve never actually gone back out to dinner locally. We’ve cooked dinner for the Ronal McDonald House. We’ve supported each other in fundraisers. We’ve welcomed members becoming moms with love and gifts.

We supported Nancy as we could, doing helpful things for her and fundraising what we could.

Last Tuesday night, the perfect moment of having dinner with strangers who’ve become good friends came full circle.

Last Tuesday night, Nancy treated us to dinner at the Corner Wine Bar. Unbeknownst to us, she left our group some money, with simple instructions,

“Go to the Corner Wine Bar and EAT!”

And eat we did. We toasted our dear friend, and we ate wonderful food. We ordered one of everything off the dessert menu, including the lemon tart, which was a running joke, and one that had us all laughing at the memory of our friend.

One night at dinner, at Nancy’s house, lemon curd was needed. For what, I don’t know. Nancy ran into the kitchen and came back out, holding triumphantly a jar of homemade lemon curd, exclaiming, ” You know you’re old when your stash of weed in the fridge is replaced by a stash of lemon curd!”

Oh Nancy. My friend, you are missed.

**With the bit of money leftover, we are making a donation to Second Helpings, a charity whose events we’ve attended over the years, and well, a food charity just seemed right.**