Already

I’m so grateful that
life was already bringing me closer to (zooming me towards)
Blondie and Dough
when I was 12.

Blondie moved to Virginia in sixth grade and transferred to my middle school for three months. I was in seventh grade. I was really depressed that year. It’s so weird that Blondie was walking the halls.

Also, when I was 12, I attended a three-week summer camp session in Michigan. I hated it (I’d probably love it now, but I’m a little too old). I never went back. But there are many reasons I’m grateful I was there. Probably número uno is that I can relate to Dough on the subject. She tried out the Michigan camp the same year I did; we went to different sessions but were there the same summer. Unlike me, she returned for nine more summers. At least I know what she's talking about when she talks about morning dips in Lake Michigan.

Blondie and Dad goofing in the living room. January 9, 2011.

Dough pretending to be Jasmine in the dressing room. November 7, 2009.

"You're the closest to heaven that I'll ever be
And I don't want to go home right now."

Breathing Again

I visited the beloved alma mater (May 15 to May 22) and Dough hosted me! I saw important artistic productions: Llama’s installation piece, 'Gravity and Grace'; the musical Dough was in, ‘25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee'; the musical the college put on, ‘A Tale of Two Cities.’

Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The best analogy I can come up with for how I feel right now is: like a sponge, which had been removed from the coral reef for twelve months, and has just now had a week soaking in water again.

St. Louis Airport. May 15, 2011.

You Can Find Good Everywhere

Sometimes, I whine about how hard it is to find kindred spirits. Now that I’m not in college with a bunch of like-minded people, how am I ever going to find friends?
Then, Mom reminds me, “you met your husband at a dinky little high school in Richmond.”
Good point, Mom.

August 16, 2006. Look, Blondie still has braces.

"My mama told me when I was young,
'We are all born superstars.'
She rolled my hair and put my lipstick on
In the glass of her boudoir."

With Me Everywhere

As I mentioned in March, I’ve been intent on getting rid of things.

I had another round of symbolic gourd-throwing at the lake. I picked up the miniature pumpkin on my draftsman table this morning–a rotting memento from the wedding–and it was hollow, except for a few crisp bits, which rattled around. I meant to give it to Ripe at the wedding, but I ended up being too busy getting married to think about bringing along pumpkins. I mean, I didn’t even have a purse.

I brought it to the lake today. As I threw, I screamed in thought, “Ripe is with me everywhere!”

I also got rid of something else from the wedding today. At my bridal shower, a friend put together a bouquet of the bows and ribbons that had wrapped my gifts. It’s been on a glass shelf with other wedding paraphernalia until today. Now, it’s in the trash.

I gave the bouquet the honor of a photo shoot before burial. May 10, 2011.

The pumpkin perching before flight. May 10, 2011.

CNN Update:
Blondie is a manager at Applebee’s! Kinda funny that I wrote that post last night about managers without knowing.

"Lucky you were born that far away
So we could both make fun of distance."

Oh, Management

Do your bosses ever criticize you?

How do you deal with it?

Do you even have a boss?

Some people say, “My only boss is God.” Some people say, “I do not give a flying textbook what my boss thinks or says.” Some people say, “I hate my boss.” Some people say, “I know how to handle criticism–both constructive and destructive.” Some people say, “We get along like Jack and Rose.” Some people say, “I’d prefer eight hours in an outhouse with a spiny orb-weaver to one hour in a boardroom with my twisted boss from hell.”

What role does your boss have in your life?

The beautiful Principia woods where I discovered spiny orb-weavers.
October 2009.

"We got egos like hairdos
They're different every day
Depending on how we slept the night before
Depending on the demons that are at our door"