2012

This year ends. Some little
things in it mattered so much and
some not at all. In the beginning of the year,
Blondie and I joined the gym and sweated
on ellipticals while watching movies in the theatre room.
It's as if Gold's gym tried to find as many movies as they could that received
less than 30% on rottentomatoes, and on his birthday, we didn't
make the same mistake we did the year before of going to the
car dealership, collecting car salesmen as boyfriends. Instead, we ate Greek
with his family. A little later that month, in March, we welcomed our friend Dough,
pampered her for her spring break with veggie corn dogs, and she
inspired us, and, actually, after she left, I felt like
some permanent joy had lodged in me and wasn't going away,
and spring was good
with an Easter visit from Gandalf, Joie, and Kit and
a visit to Aiko and Sans, and then up to Canada
with my parents and Ziva for my first time. On our way, we stopped
in a medium-grade hotel and I visited the hot tub by myself, billowing
in seemingly salty water, thinking of how far I was away from the
bank. But speaking of the bank, it wasn't so bad this year. I learned
to handle a very understaffed teller line and not freak out about
making people wait. In Toronto, we stayed with Mom and Ziva's cousin,
a woman I'd never met, Kath, a kindred spirit. In her kitchen booth, she
described memories of my grandparents. She took us to Stratford, Ontario
for a picnic by the Avon and a production of Shakespeare's
little-known play Cymbeline, and after the play,
as we were leaving the parking lot, I noticed
the actor who played Iachimo, and I climbed
most of the way out of the car window and
screamed applause at him, and he got it. He really got it. And Ziva got us
hotel rooms with a view of Niagara Falls, and Dad drove me over the
Canadian border early the next morning, so I could meet Blondie
for wolf pack wedding number two, Blondie and mine being the first.
For my birthday, I saw Cymbeline again, courtesy of Blondie.
I went to Mione's to say goodbye before she left our home state for the West.
Jo, my best friend at work, left the bank, and I learned to work
in an even shorter staffed branch, and I started talking with Sleek
a lot on the phone. Mom retired on Halloween and has found that
she has plenty to do every day. Blondie and I spent Thanksgiving
with my family in D.C., Ant and Vette and the whole gang,
including my cousin's redheaded little baby.
Blondie turned up Gangnam Style in the car.
Gandalf, Joie, and Kit drove hours
to spend Christmas with the folks in VA, a Christmas of
miniature helicopter flights and the Red Lobster
Christmas Eve tradition. Kit drew an amazing
rooster for us in charcoal and framed it in dark wood.
Joie sang songs that reminded us of Lake George.
Gandalf showed me his latest poetry. This year ends
with a post and "Ho Hey."

Niagara in May

(Ho!) So show me family
(Hey!) All the blood that I would bleed