why teenage boys in central ohio aren't all that bad

bringing smart and snarky back to the high school boy world

labor day, how i love thee

i'm taking the next 2 days off to extend the already nice and lovely long weekend. this will create kind of a mini-vacation for us, which i'm so grateful for. it's been much needed for my already clouded head. in addition to the r&r needed, the main goal for this extra time is to reconnect with my son, who is currently watching dora's pirate adventure as i type this. we'll soon whisk ourselves away to the fun that awaits us in columbus, ohio (woo woo!).

on the agenda:
cosi
library
zoo
train exhibit/celebration
haircuts !
nature walks
a trip to yellow springs for bike riding
crafting

on my agenda:
crafting with some ladie-friends
cleaning up
sleeping
sewing
eating
happy hour with co-workers tomorrow
giving lots of kisses to my boys, who i am so grateful for

happy labor day, everyone.

joni mitchell

joni mitchell's music has always made me feel wonderful. she's releasing a new album at the end of september. the lyrics are available for preview at her website. she's updating big yellow taxi on this one. can't wait!

holy blessings

i work for catholic social services--actually, in the dept. that does counseling for catholics and those who are uninsured. and consequently, i work with quite a few catholic folks day in and day out. today i discovered that a lot of folks who work for the church close their phone messages and conversations with "god bless you". who knew?

this is something that i have never experienced until today...when i was the recipient of 4 of them, including a voice mail from sister mary frances.

i will just assume with all of these saintly send-offs that god is wanting me to be blessed. thanks catholics! i needed that.

cross stitch text generator @ subversive cross stitch!

Get your own cross stitch pattern (text only) here:

http://www.subversivecrossstitch.com/howto/robot.htm

Yay!

and the sweetness of the leaving

ah, and every day you gaze upon the sunset
with such love and intensity
why it's ah, it's almost as
if you could only crack the code
then you'd finally understand what this all means

ah, but if you could...do you think you would
trade in all, all the pain and suffering?
ah, but then you'd miss
the beauty of the light upon this earth
and the sweetness of the leaving

from jane siberry's "calling all angels"

in the last few days i have lived through quite a loss all to myself with my first experience with miscarriage. it's no fun, at all. nothing redeeming, as anyone would guess. just ugly and tormenting and brutal. and i'm so very, very sad and angry. yesterday i read sharon olds' very raw and personal miscarriage over and over. i needed that though, i think in order to find my own recollections somewhere else--in someone else, i should say. it didn't bring much light though. just stretched out the darkness i was lying under. and i know that's okay to do.

on my way to my ob's office this morning, i shuffled through paul's very icky 80's-male-laden ipod collection and found some light: jane siberry. i'm always aware that things will be okay in the end, even when they're not right now. and when i'm in the thick of pain though, especially this kind which is so foreign to me, peace seems so damn far away. hearing these words, "but then you'd miss/the beauty of the light upon this earth/and the sweetness of the leaving" helped remind me that there is love on the other side of so much of this that's sad and heavy.

for nay nay

Wild Geese

You do not have to be good.
You do not have to walk on your knees
for a hundred miles through the desert, repenting.
You only have to let the soft animal of your body
love what it loves.
Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.
Meanwhile the world goes on.
Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain
are moving across the landscapes,
over the prairies and the deep trees,
the mountains and the rivers.
Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,
are heading home again.
Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,
the world offers itself to your imagination,
calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting--
over and over announcing your place
in the family of things.
--Mary Oliver

index my heart, index my heat

Up until this weekend, I had forgotten how much I hate my lovely barely air conditioned house. We have a tiny AC unit on the side of the house that emits just a whisper of cool air during the summer. The sweltering weekend reached up to 90-something at one point. Even my anti-AC, "I heart window fan" husband brought in the extra troops--our second AC unit, which we installed in our bedroom window. That unit, so icky and awkward and big and loud, was a godsend (This is where my husband would say, "that's what she said". I second.) Every year I am reminded that we need to update the AC--primarily because dualing units are a fire hazard for the outdated electrical system, something that the electrican will probably be reminding me when he visits us on Friday. I'll be so glad when October is here.