I should be helping Lily make up her bunk bed at camp. I should be slipping the note I wrote her under her pillow, the one where I tell her how much I am going to miss her for the next six weeks. I should be doing all that, but I'm not.
On our way to camp Lily felt ill. A trip to the doctor confirmed she has mono and is down for the count. So we are spending today getting blood work and feeling bummed out.
I remember getting mono when I was a teenager. I was so sick I ended up in the hospital with a high fever. I don't know whether it was the ice bed they put me on to help reduce the fever, or all those aspirin suppositories that came my way, but I was definitely disoriented.
I was a patient in the Catholic hospital where my Dad worked. All the nuns and priests loved Dr. Vieira, so they made it a habit (forgive the pun) to drop in on me frequently. Of course in my delirium, brought on by the mono and exacerbated by teenage histrionics, I thought they were administering last rites. Apparently, I was wrong.
Lily also will recover, but for now I'm laying low. No speeches about how life is full of ups and downs. For this Mom...mum's the word.
On our way to camp Lily felt ill. A trip to the doctor confirmed she has mono and is down for the count. So we are spending today getting blood work and feeling bummed out.
I remember getting mono when I was a teenager. I was so sick I ended up in the hospital with a high fever. I don't know whether it was the ice bed they put me on to help reduce the fever, or all those aspirin suppositories that came my way, but I was definitely disoriented.
I was a patient in the Catholic hospital where my Dad worked. All the nuns and priests loved Dr. Vieira, so they made it a habit (forgive the pun) to drop in on me frequently. Of course in my delirium, brought on by the mono and exacerbated by teenage histrionics, I thought they were administering last rites. Apparently, I was wrong.
Lily also will recover, but for now I'm laying low. No speeches about how life is full of ups and downs. For this Mom...mum's the word.
June 20, 2008
Meredith tackles more of your questions! Ask yours today, and check back next Friday for the answer. Maybe she'll choose yours!
Tracey said: Ha! Meredith, that's why I feel like I could sit down and chat with you in a coffee shop - my mind is always going too fast for my mouth! I heard you say Beirut, too, but I just chuckled and chalked it up to jet lag. I love that blog about your missteps and can laugh about them - it makes for an interesting read and a delightful glimpse into your personality. So now I'm curious, though - what was your biggest "oops!" on live TV?
My biggest "oops" moment occurred on The View. We were doing a show on proms and at the end we all put on our prom dresses and I was trying to show how you could "enhance" your bosom by simply reaching into the gown and scooping up one breast at a time. Well, with my first "scoop" my cup runneth over and the camera caught it (but even more disturbing is the fact that no viewers seemed to notice). The View enjoyed replaying that moment over the years. As they say on the show: "Take a little time to the enjoy the view."
Jodie said: Hi Meredith....Are your kids out of school yet and do they have summer jobs to earn spending money?
Ben will be an intern with sports at the Olympics, Gabriel will be a counselor at Camp Pals again; they team up counselors with campers who have Down Syndrome, and Lily is going to a camp for the performing arts.
Amy said: Which section of the wall did you visit Badaling or Mutianyu?
I don’t know which section it was - it wasn’t the part of the wall that’s really wide, but I don’t remember the name of the section. I just remember there were a lot of steps and it was breathtaking.
Feel free to post a question of your own for next time!
Meredith tackles more of your questions! Ask yours today, and check back next Friday for the answer. Maybe she'll choose yours!
Tracey said: Ha! Meredith, that's why I feel like I could sit down and chat with you in a coffee shop - my mind is always going too fast for my mouth! I heard you say Beirut, too, but I just chuckled and chalked it up to jet lag. I love that blog about your missteps and can laugh about them - it makes for an interesting read and a delightful glimpse into your personality. So now I'm curious, though - what was your biggest "oops!" on live TV?
My biggest "oops" moment occurred on The View. We were doing a show on proms and at the end we all put on our prom dresses and I was trying to show how you could "enhance" your bosom by simply reaching into the gown and scooping up one breast at a time. Well, with my first "scoop" my cup runneth over and the camera caught it (but even more disturbing is the fact that no viewers seemed to notice). The View enjoyed replaying that moment over the years. As they say on the show: "Take a little time to the enjoy the view."
Jodie said: Hi Meredith....Are your kids out of school yet and do they have summer jobs to earn spending money?
Ben will be an intern with sports at the Olympics, Gabriel will be a counselor at Camp Pals again; they team up counselors with campers who have Down Syndrome, and Lily is going to a camp for the performing arts.
Amy said: Which section of the wall did you visit Badaling or Mutianyu?
I don’t know which section it was - it wasn’t the part of the wall that’s really wide, but I don’t remember the name of the section. I just remember there were a lot of steps and it was breathtaking.
Feel free to post a question of your own for next time!
I'm heading to the train with Matt and our executive producer Jim Bell. We're going to Washington, D.C. for Tim Russert's wake, and will be broadcasting from the bureau there tomorrow.
I will check in when I get back. In the meantime, I hope you all say a prayer for the Russert family.
I will check in when I get back. In the meantime, I hope you all say a prayer for the Russert family.
I am writing this blog on Father's Day...sitting in our garden and thinking about Tim Russert.
As a relative newcomer to NBC, I didn't know Tim as well as many of my colleagues. In fact, prior to my joining TODAY, I always thought of him as larger than life and probably unapproachable. So early on when I confided in Matt that I felt a little rusty covering politics, I was surprised by his response.
"When in doubt," he told me, "just call Tim. He'll always take your call and walk you through whatever interview you're doing."
I did call Tim on numerous occasions to pick his brilliant political brain. He was always gracious and encouraging, ending every conversation with "Go get 'em!" And whenever he came through Studio 1A he always talked about his family and asked about ours.
You didn't have to know Tim well to get a sense of what drove the man... faith, family, friends and his love of politics and journalism. But mostly, it was family.
The last time I saw Tim I asked him how his son Luke's graduation from Boston College had gone. He flashed that wonderful smile of his and his eyes started to brim with tears. That's the image of Tim Russert I will always remember—a man of uncontainable life.
Well...this time I really did it.
There I was, live from Beijing on TODAY. Matt threw it to me at the top of the show with a simple, "Good morning, Meredith.” I should have said, "Good morning, Matt and Ann" and left it at that. But noooo...I had to add, "Or should I say good evening. It's just past 7 p.m. here in Beirut."
“BEIRUT?!” What was I thinking? I didn't even realize what I had said until I called my husband after the show and he told me. Anyway, no need to adjust your TV's. The only thing out of whack is me.
Meredith, live from Beijing
Speaking of wacky, should you visit Beijing (yes, I do mean Beijing!), be extra careful crossing the street. Cars and pedestrians co-existing is still a new concept here and they're still working out the proper road etiquette. While driving back from the Great Wall the other day with our fixer, Joy, I couldn't believe how many people stepped blindly into the middle of traffic. I finally asked her, "Doesn't anyone look up?"
"No," said Joy. "In America, when pedestrians make eye contact with a driver, it's a signal to the driver to slow down and yield the right of way. In Beijing, it's a signal to the driver that the pedestrian knows there’s a car barreling down at them. If they get hit, it's their fault."
Now I'm really lost!
Meredith with press pass, in Beijing
There I was, live from Beijing on TODAY. Matt threw it to me at the top of the show with a simple, "Good morning, Meredith.” I should have said, "Good morning, Matt and Ann" and left it at that. But noooo...I had to add, "Or should I say good evening. It's just past 7 p.m. here in Beirut."
“BEIRUT?!” What was I thinking? I didn't even realize what I had said until I called my husband after the show and he told me. Anyway, no need to adjust your TV's. The only thing out of whack is me.
Speaking of wacky, should you visit Beijing (yes, I do mean Beijing!), be extra careful crossing the street. Cars and pedestrians co-existing is still a new concept here and they're still working out the proper road etiquette. While driving back from the Great Wall the other day with our fixer, Joy, I couldn't believe how many people stepped blindly into the middle of traffic. I finally asked her, "Doesn't anyone look up?"
"No," said Joy. "In America, when pedestrians make eye contact with a driver, it's a signal to the driver to slow down and yield the right of way. In Beijing, it's a signal to the driver that the pedestrian knows there’s a car barreling down at them. If they get hit, it's their fault."
Now I'm really lost!
