Heptadecagon

DISCLAIMER: IF YOU READ THIS WITH YOUR LITERATE CHILDREN BEHIND YOU, THERE MIGHT BE SOME EXPLAINING TO DO. Around this house, we seem to be overly concerned with the mammary glands. I'm not sure if it's because I nursed all the kids and we're very open with our bodies around here or what. But boobs come up in conversation often, at least as of late. Just today, the girls asked a very important question. Zoe: Mom, what are stripper boobs? Me: Well, they are breasts that are very large in size. Talia: You mean like Aunt Tara? Me: [snorting] Well yes, like those. I looked at Zoe and Talia and then down at my chest. Me: I do not have stripper boobs. Zoe: [Eyeroll, as in I just stated the obvious.] No, you do not. And we had another discussion about breasts, forged this time by Aaron of all people. Aaron: Girls have breasts but only boys have nipples. Me: What?! Melina: I have nibbles. Me: Nipples, Melina, although I like your term better. But everyone has nip...

A mother: A woman who, after driving four hours with three of her children on the way home from a weekend with a best friend, manages to stop at the grocery store, buy fresh food, and proceeds to cook dinner, despite the fact that her legs and back hurt from driving, and because her period has arrived. A father: A man who eats said dinner. P.S. In all fairness, Tim kept Aaron here and they had a guys weekend. Which apparently didn't involve thinking about what they would make for dinner on Sunday night. P.P.S. I anticipated this happening, especially because Tim had a baseball game and wouldn't be home until 5:30 or later. So really, as long as I don't have to dishes, I'll be fine. P.P.P.S. I will probably have to do dishes, since Tim is old and baseball on a hot day will wipe Tim out. We'll use paper plates.

One month ago today, the kids walked out the doors of their schools for summer break. I remember thinking to myself that I wasn't ready for them to be home, that I needed more time, and I wondered how everything would get done over the course of the day. I knew how food would be prepared, laundry would be accomplished, and grocery shopping would be done. What I didn't know was how I'd ever get to my things: writing, running, reading, and generally taking care of myself and my psyche. But I'm pleased to say that, despite already having been on three trips over the last month (one that included a week-long stay), I'm finding some time for me. I still find some moments to read, a little time to write, and I've been sure to get some good summer running in. I've even managed to carve out a block of hours to clean -- thanks to Tim and his willingness to take the kids out of the house -- because I find cleaning satisfying and therapeutic, and I prefer to do it al...

I broke my FB hiatus. Willingly. Because I was alerted to a message that would be sitting in my inbox. I probably should have just left it there, waiting for me to open it, but I couldn't. Curiosity got the best of me. And while that message wasn't worth the time, while I was there, lurking around FB but not commenting on anything, I was pleasantly surprised by a post. That a friend of mine, Jon (a guy I became friends with when I was twenty-two), and his wife, are expecting baby number three. They are adding a little boy to their two little girls. It's the best news I've had in a few days. On the other side of the coin, though, Jon and his family are moving. We haven't seen them in years, but knowing they were only three hours away gave us possibilities to get together. Now, they will be almost twelve hours away by car, one by plane. But who gets six people in a plane these days, simply to head south, into a region accessible easily by car? Not this family. But...

I admit it: I'm a fan of Taylor Swift. But I haven't listened to that many songs of hers besides those that are on her Red album. (Can we still call it an album? Or it is only a CD? Ah, no matter.) Today, as I cleaned the first level of our house, I heard her song, Enchanted , which is several years old. In fact, it comes from her Speak Now album which was released in 2010. (So I'm a little behind. What can I say?) Anyway, back to the issue at hand. I stopped in my tracks when I actually started listening to the lyrics. I'd use it for my novel, Beyond the Trees , if I were to make it into a movie.Of course, it needs to be published as a novel, first. Details. Minor details. See for yourself: "Enchanted" There I was again tonight Forcing laughter, faking smiles Same old tired lonely place Walls of insincerity, Shifting eyes and vacancy Vanished when I saw your face All I can say is it was enchanting to meet you Your eyes whispered, ...

thoughts spin like a whirling dervish, an analogy so overused, yet so appropriate. i sit and try to collect the thoughts into some semblance of order. lined up like soldiers, or cereal boxes, or cans of tomato soup. it's hard, though, when the story i want to write is so close to my heart. too close, really. i need more space between it and me before it can come out. so the three hundred words i started last week will need to sit and stew, brew, percolate, just wait. until i can step back and look at it with clear eyes. then, i hope, i'll find the right story.