So the other day I met Liz and Natalie at the Hanes Park tennis courts where Rebecca and Sarah were having tennis lessons. I have no idea how old any of them are so I won't embarrass myself by trying to guess... well, then again: Sarah is in first grade, Rebecca is maybe in third grade, and Natalie is in fifth grade. So however old that makes ( Read more... )

I have been thinking of Maggie a lot lately, thinking of her and who she is in my memory and who we will be to each other as we grow older, thinking of what it means to be a friend and what it means to be family and whether or not there are real lines that separate those two ( Read more... )

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At the risk of... well, a lot of things, actually, I have decided to reread the journal entries I kept while living with the McLaurins. I want to write everything down on paper. Part of this is because I feel that reliving the entire year will cleanse me of some things, maybe help put things into perspective - the bad with the good, I mean. Part ( Read more... )

Yesterday I didn't get any, since I slept later than I meant to and had to book it to plasma in Bellingham. So today's cup seems absolutely to die for delicious ( Read more... )

My time at the McLaurins' is ending. We all seem to be thinking about it ( Read more... )

It is one million degrees. Okay, really, it's probably 85. No air conditioning, but everyone now has a box fan or a working ceiling fan in their rooms. We sleep with the windows open as far as they go, and with the wood doors open on either side of the house, box fans in front of the screen doors. It's tolerable that way, but I wouldn't say ( Read more... )

The kids are all sprawled across various pieces of furniture watching Seventh Heaven. I'm in my room, and all of a sudden I hear -

Anderson: "Yes, Kennedy, he gave him the finger. Because they were just goofing aroundEllie: "What's the finger ( Read more... )

... and now my coffee's cold. Oh well ( Read more... )

My things are packed mostly, the exceptions being things I'm still using - clothes mostly, and my quilt. I went to the library yesterday because even though I'm trying to spend more time with the McLaurins now that I'm leaving in less than a week, I found that I've simply got to have something to read in the between-times. My books are packed in ( Read more... )