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Rocky Mountain bye

by Mir on June 19, 2009 in Friends, It's not a regret, it's an "experience"

As predicted, I remained in Colorado just long enough to get adjusted to Mountain Time and then come home and be really tired. I couldn’t seem to get to bed at a reasonable time last night, but had to get up to the alarm this morning, and the net result is that I am now typing this while face-down in a very large cup of coffee.

That’s just as well, because it’s good nasal irrigation. I don’t know if you know this, but Georgia is just a WEE BIT more humid than Colorado. It’s true! And as a result, if you take southern nasal membranes up into the Rockies, it’s only a matter of days before all of your boogers calcify and leave you with a crispy dried-out nose that feels like it’s full of glass shards. YOU’RE WELCOME. That was such a wonderful experience for me, I just felt like I had to share the joy on that one.

It was such a wonderful trip, though, that it was not to be ruined by a dessicated nose or even the marked lack of oxygen. (more…)

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Comments { 16 }

Whirlwind

by Mir on June 15, 2009 in Friends, Ottomatic For the People, Woohoo!

The invaders on my tomatoes were so horrible, I decided to run away from home.

Actually, I’d decided to go before that particular discovery, but nonetheless, yesterday afternoon I got myself to the airport and got on a plane and crossed the country to check out the Rockies. Oh, and also to hang out with my darling Kira. And snoogle her baby. And pick up all three of her boys and tuck them into my pockets. (Note to self: Get bigger pockets.)

Shortly before I left, we received word that Otto’s mom had been taken into transplant surgery overnight; when my plane took off, she’d already gotten a new liver. When I woke up this morning, she’d gotten a new kidney, too. I can’t speak for the rest of Otto’s family, obviously, but after we almost lost her last year we doubted this day would ever come. But it has. And so far, so good.

That means that even though I woke up at 4:30 (local time) today, I’m thinking it’s a pretty fine start to the week.

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Comments { 33 }

Love is enough

by Mir on June 4, 2009 in Friends

I tend to think of myself as somewhat friendship disordered. I have never had a big crowd of friends, and even the ones I’ve had tend to be intense relationships that burn out over time. In my younger days, when difficulties in friendships cropped up, I—ever bullheaded straightforward—would bring up the issue and demand resolution (yeah, that works about as well as it sounds like it would, in case you were wondering), and if things weren’t resolved to my liking, that would more or less be the end of the friendship.

Why yes, I definitely AM a delight to have in your corner. Line forms to the left! No pushing or shoving!

With time, I’ve mellowed. I’ve had to. For one thing, I’ve realized that the perfect relationship, free of disagreements, doesn’t exist; and to either strive for perfection or settle for being lonely are two equally losing propositions. For another, the wisdom of age has finally taught me that other people handle things in other ways, and that doesn’t make them bad or wrong or even lousy friends. It’s like I’m growing as a person, or something. (more…)

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Comments { 38 }

Love is at its best through the worst

by Mir on April 9, 2009 in Friends

This Love Thursday, I invite you to take a deep breath, hug your children, and then go read about Madeline Spohr. Her life was too short, but her legacy is (already) a swell of love and support that restores my faith in the human race.

My thoughts are with the Spohr family, today.

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Comments { 12 }

What a long strange trip. . . you know

by Mir on April 7, 2009 in Friends, Woohoo!

I honestly don’t remember how or when it started, but I know that it was not too long after I began blogging, so about five years ago.

Somehow, Kira and I found each other. We read each other’s blogs, we emailed, and—eventually—started chatting via Instant Messenger. Every night.

There I was on the East coast, and Kira in Colorado. By the time she would get her boys into bed, I’d be thinking about going to sleep, myself. But she’d appear online and I’d vow to just chat with her for a few minutes, and three hours later—stomach sore from laughing or crying or (often) both—I would tell her I had to get to sleep.

I’d been divorced a year, and had two small children. She’d been on her own with her three boys for longer—a veteran, you might say. There were days when she was pretty much the only thing standing between me and a nervous breakdown. (more…)

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Comments { 38 }

Instead of Love Thursday, Cake Friday

by Mir on March 6, 2009 in Friends, Offspring: ecstasy and agony

Whoops! Was yesterday Love Thursday and I missed it? It’s not because I was without love, I assure you. I was OVERFLOWING with love, yesterday! Inbetween the curse words!

Um. Sometimes I curse when I’m especially overflowing with love. Or especially overflowing with cake batter. Yes.

A few days back Otto told me he was having a colleague come to town for the week, and then he laid out their schedule of events and asked if it would be okay with me if we had him come to dinner on Thursday night. And we’re having kind of a busy week, here, so I may have looked… less than thrilled… and he hurried on to say that he would TAKE CARE OF EVERYTHING. So I said “Sure! Let’s have him over to dinner!”

And then I lost my mind. (more…)

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Comments { 39 }

Wicked awesome

by Mir on October 22, 2008 in Friends, Haven't been hit by lightning yet!

So, last week my pal Foodie (remember Foodie? Perhaps I should always refer to her in context in a way that makes her sound all mysterious, like Hey! Remember Foodie and the Gazpacho of Doom?) called me up and said, “I have a friend who got a couple of show tickets she can’t use for Tuesday night. Wanna go?”

This was a no-brainer for me, for several reasons.

1) I was a theater major in college, and although I’m very very very glad I didn’t decide to pursue that as a career, I am still a fool for a great stage production
2) I very much like hanging out with Foodie
3) Getting out of the house on a weeknight for something other than a school-related meeting sounds like the height of decadence to me, because I have no life.

So of course, I said HELL YES. And also probably “What time are you picking me up?” (more…)

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Comments { 64 }

Do you have a cat?

by Mir on September 22, 2008 in Friends, Haven't been hit by lightning yet!, Job? Huh?

Remember back about a year ago, when I was all “I am so looooooonely here! I love my husband but I have no giiiiiiiirlfriends! Woe is meeeeeeee!”? Remember that?

Yeah, me neither. Lord, what a difference a year makes.

Yesterday I had a local signing for Sleep Is for the Weak, and I don’t know if you’ve ever been to Athens, but this is a town with many fine offerings in cuisine, music, cultural events, etc. In other words, many folks have better things to do with their Sunday afternoons than to pick up an anthology about parenthood and have it signed by one of the twenty-three contributing authors. I’m just sayin’. And yet, for an hour and a half there was a steady stream of folks—who bought almost all the available stock (I think there were three copies left, at the end)—because so many pretty, pretty friends of mine came out to show their support.

Did I mention how pretty they are? (more…)

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Comments { 65 }

Mixing work and friendship

by Mir on August 23, 2008 in Friends, Job? Huh?, Retail Therapy

I had grand plans for this afternoon—plans that did not, in fact, involve the computer—yet somehow it’s nearly dinnertime and here I am. I had several hours all to myself today, too. Poof! Gone! Not sure what happened there, but I strongly suspect it involved PathWords. And in case y’all are unaware, you know Aimee? Aimee who comments here all the time? Aimee is a PATHWORDS NINJA. I could play PathWords for a month and never get anything near what she scored. I strongly suspect she cheated.

(Confidential to Aimee: Haha! Just kidding! I’m sure you’re just brilliant!)

(Confidential to everyone else: Total cheaterpants, that one.) (more…)

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Comments { 17 }

For the love of food

by Mir on July 23, 2008 in Friends, Haven't been hit by lightning yet!

I have a new(ish) local friend who is, like Otto, a professor, and therefore is free to do all sorts of things in the summer which she will be far too busy for once classes start up again. Me, I’m all slacker, all the time, but I’m coming to the realization that summer is a mystical time for most people here in Universityland. For one thing, most folks are working a lot less in the summer. For another, you can actually go downtown for pizza or whatever and FIND A PARKING SPACE. It’s lovely.

Anyway, my new friend—let’s call her Foodie, because it will make her laugh—and I have been engaged in an educational project of sorts. Yes. The education is mine, and it has to do with the fact that I’ve lived here for over a year and yet I’d only been to maybe three different restaurants in town, because we hardly ever eat out. But it’s SUMMER and she’s not teaching and there is parking to be had, so we are studiously touring many of the finer local eateries for lunch. (more…)

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Comments { 43 }
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