Good Job, Mama

To say it's been busy is a wild understatement. But I would like to relate a couple stories that continue to illuminate the character of Samuel Zephyr.

1. Snow
As last night's snow turned to slushy mush, Sam and I took a walk. Fresh air is a necessity in our lives. Sam stopped and was picking up clumps of snow-- snow-wads rather than snowballs-- and tossing them down the sidewalk. My response is usually a "Hey, nice one" of "Good job" to the thud of wet snow on pavement. He then turns to me and says, "Mama do it." I oblige. Sam offers,"Good work, Mama!"

2. Drinks
Over Christmas, while at my mother's house, we were all relaxing in the living room. Sam approaches me with his sippy cup full of milk and stands before me, offering/demanding "Mama drink!"
"Oh, no thank you. Mama doesn't like milk." I reply.
He withdraws the cup and looks at me seriously for a moment, nods slightly and says, "Mama drink beer."
In between snorts of laughter, Charlie offers that Mama prefers wine, but Sam seems unimpressed and sticks to his first assertion.

He is a frank and delightful kid.

I'm glad he's here to tell it straight and give me the occasional "good job" right now. He's going to have to replace someone who was very good at that, for me: S. Nina Pinckard-Fechtner. Yesterday I got the tragic news that Nina had died suddenly over this past weekend. Nina was my friend, my boss and a mentor from the time I was 19. She was the Costume Director at SRT in Santa Rosa, the Costume Shop Manager at CSUS and the woman who built my wedding dress. She was one of the best cutter/drapers I ever knew and one of the best collaborators I ever had the privelege to work with. The things I learned from her, I can't even begin to count. She leaves behind her beautiful family, a group that is a model for the kind of relationship I hope to have with Sam. Nina was a straightforward, no b.s. person with an ever so slight gruff exterior. Behind that, she loved her husband Don, and kids Katie and Eric deeply. It is a far grimmer world without her in it. But the world is so much better for Nina having been a part of it.