Yee-Haw!

I'm not cured, but certainly better. I can still feel the catch in my back, but the horrible stabbing lightning strike of pain associated with that catch yesterday is all gone. As my friend Curious would say, "I've got a hitch in my giddy-up."

Dawn's at work, so the kids and I are going to load up in the Old Slow Coach and see if we can find any yard sales. Then we're going to the Used Book Store to sell our finds and hunt for treasures. I LOVE the Used Book Store, which refers to itself as an Index which makes me love it even more. Index is much more romantic than Used. Doesn't it call to mind a dusty forgotten library where our hero finds the last of the clues that will deliver the world from certain evil? Yes, it does.

Fall has started straining at the womb that Summer has made for it. She will soon be here, and we will hang orange garlands to celebrate. Until then, I hope you all enjoy a restful Saturday! Don't forget to revel in the last days of Summer. In a few months, we'll all be bitching about how cold it is.

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Thursdays' Treasures

I have been negligent about posting my Thankful Thursdays or Things That Make Me Feel Rich. Maybe that's why I haven't been feeling so rich here lately.

1) My children's school - School starts on Monday. I spent a good bit of yesterday in the classrooms and getting things together. I hadn't realized that I missed the people there over the summer. They are an amazing group of women who have come together with the noblest of intentions - the respectful nurturing of a child's innate curiosity. They do it with warmth, gentle and quiet words and easy smiles. This school is easily on the list of the top ten best things that has ever happened to me.

2) Tax Returns - Dawn just had her taxes done and got a whopper of a return. We were able to pay off a good bit of the yearly school bill. The monthly bill will be significantly less than last year which means that I won't be sweating so profusely on the 14th of every month.

3) Good Coffee - I make a great cup of coffee, mostly because I buy really good coffee (on sale, of course). I like thinking about the lives of the coffeepickers and wonder if they think about the lives of the coffeedrinkers and if either of us is even close to imagining the other's life as it actually is.

4) Lightning at Bedtime - Our window faces East. We lay in the darkness last night, snuggled together watching for, waiting for and ahhhhhing when the lightning struck and lit up the room. She is beautiful in lightning light.

5) Books and Children Who Love to Read - Faith and William and I have read through #14 in the Magic Tree House series this summer. Dawn has read Runaway Ralph by Beverly Cleary to anyone who would listen. Bedtime Stories is a most precious time of our days. I especially cherish the nights that William falls asleep next to me in the glow from the aquarium, just pages away from the end of the book.

Addendum - William has been especially loquacious this summer, as I have noted here before. He has just now said something perfect, and I had to come back and include it here. He asked Dawn if he could use the flashlight he found when we go to the beach tonight. Dawn said, "We're going to the beach tonight?" He said, "Yeah, to check on the moon."


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The Good, the Bad and the Heartbreaking

It's Father's Day. Yikes. Not my favorite day. I have a tenuous, at best, relationship with my dad. My step-dad who I lived with for 10 years is long gone. My father's father hasn't spoken to me since I left my husband. My mother's father is struggling against his daughters who just won't let him die. And the father of my sons is in Iraq, hating my guts when he has the time.

I made a slide show with pictures of the boys and catchy diddies and sent it out this morning. My ex will hate the music and tell me about it. My father won't be able to open it. My ex's father will love it, show it to everyone and never mention it to me. I hate futility. And I really hate my compulsion to participate in it. I simply can't help myself; I'm a glutton for punishment.

In the midst of all of this self-pity, I may have made a semi-brilliant decision. (Did you notice all the outs I gave myself right there?) I'm going to start really working on my book. It's been seeding and putting down apprehensive roots in my drought-prone mind for quite some time. The timing of Caleb's visit and Father's Day, though has brought on the rain, I think. (I'm all done with that terribly cliche imagery now. **Collective Sigh of Relief**)

Lesbians, Butches, Femmes, Dykes, Lady-Lickers of all walks, shapes, sizes, colors, ages, creeds, ethnic and national origins, I need your help. I would like to hear your stories about your fathers. The Good, the Bad and the Heartbreaking. If you're willing to share with me, would you please email me ( refocksa_chicks@live.com )? Thank you, my friends.