Solara Speaks

The Things We Do For Love

By Solara Key

When most people think of February, they think of Valentine’s Day, perfume, candy, and love. Now, I have never been in a love relationship, (I am not opposed to it, but at age 14, it just hasn’t happened yet!) so the only relationship I am close to is that of my mom and dad’s. My dad proposed to my mom on Valentine’s Day. Sound romantic? Anyone who has read my “Solara Speaks” articles already knows that my family is a little “left” of normal. No....I take that back. We are off the chart of normal! Which leads me back to my parents and relationships. “This ought to be good” you are saying to yourself. Sit back...you are in for the ride of your life! Living in this environment is a cross between living with Sonny and Cher, Robin Williams, I Love Lucy and Peter Pan in Neverland. One year as a Valentine’s Day gift, my dad got my mom a lawn edger, electric at that! After that, a leaf blower. Then, a 10 year-old riding lawn mower with a lawn sweep behind it, a power washer, an unbreakable shovel which broke the first 10 minutes in our red clay, an unbreakable rake (all of the teeth are now out of it,) a “pretty green” outside extension cord, a tiller, and the icing on the cake....a portable cement mixer! Now that is love! If my future husband bought me any of the above, I would bean him! After the cement mixer, I stepped in. “You are not suppose to buy your wife anything WITH A CORD ON IT!” I huffed. “O.K.” says dad, “I will order her a hard hat to go with the mixer.” (I must have struck a nerve, as that year for Christmas, mom got a 4 foot dragon named Nod – she is crazy about that dragon.) Fact of the matter is, she likes all of that stuff. And what does she really, really want someday?

A BOBCAT! I’m sure my dad will get one, but for now he is afraid she will tear down the house and start over. He is saving that for retirement days. Dad says mom needs to live in a place that is two weeks away from everywhere so she can have her Bobcat! Just like my mom wanting to treat Thanksgiving like it was originally meant to be, I started investigating what Valentine’s Day is suppose to be. It began as a Roman fertility festival called Lupercalia. "Lupercalia," which commenced on the Ides of February (the 15th) was dedicated to Fannus, the Roman god of agriculture, and Roman founders Romulus and Remus. O.K., so maybe mom has this Fannus DNA agriculture thing going on, and is a descendant of the Roman god! That is fine, I’ll be the Venus descendant and find a future relationship who likes to give perfume! (So, this doesn’t sound like a karate girl? Who says karate girls can’t be frilly, fluffy, and tough?) And what about my dad? He is HIGH MAINTENANCE! Especially with his house shoes. Just like those people who sign prenuptial agreements, dad was firm from the first day of marriage....no pets.

That lasted till I was four years old. Besides, prenuptial agreements are meant to be broken. My mom and I both have a love of animals that is so strong even a high maintenance person can’t change us. When I was turning four, my mom went to bat for me and begged my dad for a puppy. He finally gave in on these conditions...no ticks, fleas, eating from the table, going potty in the house, drinking from the toilet, eating shoes, tearing up furniture, no sleeping in the bed, getting into the garbage, or paws on tables. Introducing...Heidi the Wonder Dog. She has never had fleas nor ticks, as she takes a shower every night. She doesn’t eat from the table, just an occasional lick off of the plate when mom sneaks it to her, she doesn’t drink from the toilet, as we practice Feng Shui and keep the lid down so our energy doesn’t go down the toilet.

And what about the other part? It’s really not her fault. It seems that dogs can sense when people don’t like animals, and that is the first person they try to convince otherwise. Besides, mom and I were busy when Heidi put that nice pile of poopy behind daddy to step in with his high maintenance house shoes. “Lucy, you have some splaining to do,” dad yells to mom (her name is Elaine, but when he calls her Lucy in his Ricky Ricardo voice, she knows something isn’t just right.) That night, after all the commotion, Heidi came up on my dad’s side of the bed with her blankey in her mouth, and dad said, “just for tonight.” She is still cuddling up to him in bed 10 years later. She also has a wonderful doggy door that was installed after the poopy incident. And, who can resist Heidi the Wonder Dog when she puts her Harley outfit on? House shoes come, and house shoes go, but the love of wonderful gifts stay forever. Just ask mom, she has a barn full of them.

I got an e-mail from someone wanting to know my workout routine. On Mondays when I get home from school, I do my homework, then use my Dynamic Flex. After dinner, I go to train in Gymnastics. I have an awesome trainer by the name of John Davis here in Murfreesboro. Tuesdays and Thursdays after homework, I stretch on the Dynamic Flex, then I go to karate class and spar the Black Belt men. My sparring partner is usually Paul Caruthers. Wednesdays, it’s homework, Dynamic Flex, then church. Fridays, it is Dynamic Flex and weights. Saturdays it is Dynamic Flex, then my kata class with Sensei E.J. Greer, (that is a real workout!) Sundays are my day of rest and church. In between times, I try to do Billy Blanks Boot Camp DVD. If you look on the World Black Belt web site under shopping mall, you will see numerous workout DVD’s, and they are all discounted if you are a World Black Belt member. There are some great DVD’s. Remember to give your sweetheart something special this Valentine’s Day..... WITHOUT A CORD! Don’t forget the World Black Belt Trade Show. Keep an eye out on the web site for dates. It is soooooo awesome. I’d love to hear from you. Join in on the Discussion Forum, or you can e-mail me at: solarakey@worldblackbelt.com

This has been a Youth E-Zine Article.