Friends Articles

Detours

What I wanted to tell you, after yesterday's post, was that my fears were for naught, and Monkey had a great day and a hard but meaningful farewell with his parapro. What I wanted to do was gently poke fun at myself for always fearing the worst, for always tensing up for the collision. I would make a joke about how being angry and worried had clearly appeased the Gods Of Suck, and everything worked out okay, after all. We would all exhale together and Otto would tell me I worry too much but look, everything's okay, and then life would go on. What I do not want to do is to detail the phone...

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Are we friends?

friend (noun) 1. a person attached to another by feelings of affection or personal regard. 2. a person who gives assistance; patron; supporter: friends of the Boston Symphony. 3. a person who is on good terms with another; a person who is not hostile: Who goes there? Friend or foe? 4. a member of the same nation, party, etc. 5. ( initial capital letter ) a member of the Religious Society of friends; a Quaker. I understand that my personal definition of friend is not necessarily going to exactly match everyone else's. I likewise understand that there are degrees of friendship; I myself, if...

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Love is grateful, day 6

Otto and I have a running joke about how the mugs in this house all get busy in the cupboards when no one's looking, and then, BAM, before we know it, our humble family of four is trying to get by with only forty or so mugs to see us through. Hee. These four are currently my favorites: With the exception of the Chickadee/Monkey mug---which I bought my own damn self as part of a personal celebration of sorts---the rest of the mugs shown here (and all of the "extras" in the house) were gifts. Each mug reminds me of both an important message and the friend who was sweet enough to think of me....

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Love soars

I am in a very weird place at the moment. The simplest explanation is that I am just exhausted; physically, mentally, spiritually. I want a nap. About 30 hours should do it, I think. HAHA. Yeah. Anyway, there's that. I am tired and overwhelmed and let's face it, I am probably not the world's greatest friend to begin with, but when I am tired and overly hurt-y about everything, I am an even worse friend. I retreat, and then I wonder why I am wallowing all by my lonesome. Lather, rinse, repeat. It's delightful, except not really. Fortunately I have a small group of folks who always poke into...

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The power of a princess

You may recall that I visited Kira last year, too, and it was a wonderful trip and I had a hard time leaving. I was just getting to know her boys, and while I'd been allowed to freely snoogle the baby, I knew that she would be a whole different person this year, and it was hard to leave her sweet babylump self knowing that that she would change so much before I could see her again. What I hadn't anticipated---despite Kira's stories in the intervening year---was that when I returned it would be to boys who had grown a bit, yes, but also to a tiny, adorable tyrant who has effortlessly wrapped...

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Eating is complicated

I am back from a whirlwind weekend of jetting off to the Rockies, wrestling with Kira's boys, attempting to snoogle a baby who is now a toddler whose favorite word is "NO!" (thankyouverymuch, now please hush up and get her some crackers), and talking Kira's ear off. It was lovely. Well, for ME, anyway. Kira's husband always seems a little shell-shocked when I'm around, as it does throw off the testosterone/estrogen balance in their household pretty significantly. As both Kira and I were long overdue for some decadence (not to mention a girl's night out), we elected to go out for a Dinner...

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Looks Like Kidnapping is Now Legal in Ohio

UPDATE 8/10/10: Here is a scan of the affidavits filed in this case for those who are looking for official proof. UPDATE 8/11/10: I granted Hollis the space to share this story to hopefully generate some media attention. It worked. It also brought over a lot of people who aren't very good at playing nicely, and as I have a life to maintain I'm now moderating comments rather than allowing y'all free rein to spew all over my site. UPDATE 9/11/10: Mandy has regained custody of baby Madison! April Brown tested positive for illegal drug use three times in the last month before the hearing....

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Inspiring things

I'm not here right now. Rather, I'm here, but I'm hiding. I am not being my best self right now, and as such I am looking for inspiration elsewhere on how people do the right thing even when, maybe, life is not feeling so right. Do you know what I mean? If you do (or even if you don't), here's three places to go today that I promise will up your good karma: 1) Please visit this post at BlogHer to painlessly donate a book to a child in need. Your comment = a book for a kid. It's that simple. (Bonus points: You blog about it, that's another book, too.) 2) I couldn't be more excited about my...

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Love is where you see it

I have a young friend who's going through a difficult time, right now. And so I counseled her---feeling impossibly old and insensitive and Terribly "Adult Who Doesn't Get It"---to try finding one thing every day that makes her happy, for a week, and to focus on that. "It will help," I told her, knowing that she was probably rolling her eyes (internally if not externally) and thinking about how I just don't understand. The thing is, I totally DO understand. I mean, it may have been a long time since my first heartbreak, but hello, here is my six-year-long shrine to Things I Obsess Over...

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Things I Might Once Have Said

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