Dear Friends, Today Joshilyn blew my cover, and pointed out that this trip is to be our own personal BlogHer event. That's an interesting way of putting it, I think. This is JUST like BogHer, really, except fewer strange hats and a lot more people saying, "Hey, how are y'all doin' today?" I was sort of getting into the swing of the southern dialect--not speaking it, myself, but finally resisting the urge to say "HUH?" every time someone spoke to me--when we stopped for coffee this morning and the young man who greeted us at the counter sounded JUST LIKE ME. "YOU are NOT from GEORGIA!" I...
You know the saying about how "getting there is half the fun?" No. Not even close. Not even a quarter of the fun. Actually, just not fun at all, compared to being there. Not that there's anything WRONG with getting there, just that it's wasted time in comparison to the rest. Mir's Handy Travel Tips: DO bring lots of reading material. DON'T bring a book about the ebola virus if you are predisposed to anxiety. DO transfer important items to your cool new purse. DON'T forget to remove your girly leatherman tool which now belongs to the security dude at the airport. DO catch the handy train that...
If I close my eyes, the part of my mind that is adrift will actually impose an undercurrent of motion on my senses. It's a slight but steady pull. My eyes always pop open before it gets so strong that I'm washed away. But I'm tired, you know. Bone tired. And when I'm too tired to lift my eyelids again, I half-expect I will be taken out to sea. It must be the rain. Anyway, if you thought I was in a jovial mood this morning, you shoulda been around this afternoon! Murphy has a bone to pick with me. I don't know what I did to anger him so, but it was a doozy. I don't think he's done with me...
(You're Pretty, I'm Pretty, We're All Pretty!) Armed with a really good story about why we rolled into town half an hour late, we entered our destination town, triumphant! "Welcome to Manchester" said the sign. And there was much rejoicing! And then some more driving! And then "Thank You For Visiting Manchester." Ummmm. Wait. Then there was stopping at some random inn to declare myself "just a little bit lost," followed by arriving at Joshilyn's inn. And let me tell you this: people in Vermont are so cute and friendly! Observe: Me: Hi there! I'm looking for Joshilyn Jackson. Nice Innkeeper...
The teensiest of updates, as a lead-in for what's to come: Arrived; though not without sirens and flashing lights and a couple of tears that I had to suck back into my eyeballs before they escaped. Shopped; Joshilyn was clearly the day's winner in terms of pure bargain nirvana, but I now possess some aubergine tuxedo-pleated pumps that made me want to make out with myself a little bit when I put them on. Clarified; to a certain someone that it was most certainly NOT okay to walk two miles to your own signing out of an unwillingness to "bother" anyone by finding out whether arrangements had...
Before I left work today, I tidied up my desk. The papers had been mating. When I was done, you could hardly tell I work there, even. My car is freshly gassed up--only cost $432.64 to do it--and gulped down a gallon of windshield wiper fluid. I took out the booster seats, and vacuumed the Horror That Lay Beneath. I have my maps, my camera, my laptop, and a deep need for pretty new shoes and someone who will call me a gigantic dork and mean it as a compliment. I dunno... I looked it up, and supposedly the Vermont state motto is "Freedom and Unity." I am here to tell you that that's all wrong,...
I could write about the sun being out or the errands I ran yesterday or all the things I need to do today or the fact that Monkey is now suffering from my headache-and-fever malady of last weekend or that I have LESS! THAN! ONE! WEEK! to finish up things for Chickadee's birthday party. (Remember the capes from Monkey's birthday? Because I am incapable of learning from my mistakes, we're making aprons for Chickadee's party! Yes!) (Shut UP.) But, no. We'll not be talking about any of that, right now. Instead we'll be talking about HOW FREAKING COOL it is that Joshilyn's pretty, pretty book...
I think it's important to celebrate milestones. I think it's particularly important to sit back and reflect on the past and be able to pat oneself on the back and say, "Wow, I made it a WHOLE YEAR without killing anyone, ending up in a padded room, or falling down dead, myself!" And if there is growth that happened in that time, yeah, so much the better. Please go wish my dear friend Kira a very happy birthday, today. She complains a lot less than I do, even though no one would blame her one bit if she did. And she's an awesome mom and an inspiring writer. But most importantly: she's a...
I am exhausted. I am physically exhausted, because I'm not sleeping enough. Funny how a job can cut into your nap time, and how having become accustomed to staying up til the wee hours makes it hard to get to bed early even when you have to get up at o'dark thirty. I am mentally exhausted, because my brain is on overdrive. I am still reeling from the shock of my recent good fortunes. I want to say that I am merrily traipsing along, enjoying all my blessings. But the reality is that even "good" stress is still stress, and my neurons are shaking with fatigue. There are things I will need to...
