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After 2 years, you'd think I would have gotten hip to this already. I keep telling people that there is something about the pace of life out West that is so much more relaxed and soothing than any other place I've ever been, let alone lived in. It crystallizes for me every time I walk outside, day or night, and smell the desert and look up and ( Read more... )

I posted this to my Facebook wall because it was hysterically funny, and because I can relate to these parents. I think anyone for whom this resonates will get it, and can find the commonality we share with those who would do such stuff to make a point to their children. Or rather will, as is our collective fate, do this stuff to further ( Read more... )

So, as many of you now know, we had one of the most hellacious dust storms ever here in Phoenix last week or so. This thing was a monster, and the residual dust and the stress of life caused me to have the worst migraine of my life. It raged for 8 days. Just 8 goddamned agonizing days. As soon as it was over, I went out to look at the pool, ( Read more... )

I cannot say that all in all I really KNOW who I am, but I can say with some degree of confidence that I'm learning more about myself and who I want to be. I went through a major life change recently, and that's what this post is all about ( Read more... )

It's a little disconcerting for me to have had him on my brain so much recently in conjunction with all of the coincidences occurring around me right now. I made that art piece about him just a few days before he tried to contact me for the first time in almost 2 years. Yesterday, after I collected myself and decided I needed some distraction, I ( Read more... )

There's a funny thing about friends. The real ones, the ones who appreciate your relationships with them and work to maintain them understand that it's not really difficult to make friends - it's keeping them that involves the hard work. Those who aren't really your friends invariably reveal themselves by their intentions and/or failure of ( Read more... )

I was sitting and having a late lunch earlier and channel surfing for something to watch while I ate. I flipped back and forth between an episode of Roseanne and the 1989 film Parenthood on HBO. Something interesting happened. There was a commonality that connected both to each other and then to me and my own family - blood family and chosen ( Read more... )

I've had a very long but very great day. I got to see all of my babies except for Haley and everyone has had a great Christmas. I have my boys with me tonight and while we were outside earlier I really had to take stock of how fast they are growing up. In a week, Cole will be 12 and in a little over a month Jake will be 16. I made a giant pot ( Read more... )

Someone I admire greatly recently blogged about some of the things she has learned over the years and how much they came to her as surprises. Some as gifts, some as lessons in grief, some as arrogance checks and some as plain common sense. I liked her idea very much. We also are going through some similar emotional conflicts and questioning ( Read more... )