:: kaela ::

It doesn't make sense how one little human can hold so much meaning without ever accomplishing anything but being. But here she is, all tiny and bundled and greatly loved, to remind me that I want to know what she knows: to be me, and let that be enough.

:: running ::

If one must run, beating mind and body in the process, then it's best to do this at sunset, where there at least is a little solace for the eyes if not for every other part of aching, obeying being.

"Good. I'm good." And that's all you're getting from me if you're already turning to the next thing before the question has time to dry. Why don't you try listening and I'll try not noticing when you don't. It's just that I'd rather be silent than ignored, would rather not write than entertain the bored.

:: front yard photo shoot ::

This is for Ellise, because today is the last day of her being my only niece.

:: moon in the window ::

We were watching KPBS, a show about chimpanzees being reintroduced to the outdoors and then one about underwater tunnels. Fascinating, mostly because it was all in high definition and (I must admit) that does change the viewing experience.

So I was lying on my spot on the living room floor, on my stomach, learning about rebreathers, when I looked up and saw the moon perfectly framed in the highest window. It was full and clear and there was even a palm tree right next to it, like a postcard picture. I pointed it out to the person closest to me, who was in a recliner to my left. Look. The moon.

The only trouble was, from where he sat the moon was blocked by a big piece of house. There was no moon, no postcard palm tree in his view.

But instead of telling me it wasn't there, he got out of his chair and got on his hands and knees till he could see my moon in the window.

And I'm thinking about this because I'm thinking about being right, and about what a difference a little perspective can make. Maybe we're both right. Maybe I'm right and you're right and it's just a matter of getting out of the chair to come see that there really is a moon in the window.

:: mom ::

My Mom just wrote me an email and finished with: "Be sure to get enough sleep and eat right." That made me smile. I love moms.

Sam is a rock star.

"What others think of us would be of little moment did it not, when known, so deeply tinge what we think of ourselves. " Paul Valery

This one reminded my why I like poetry in general, and Shel Silverstein's specifically. From Where the Sidewalk Ends:

LESTER

Lester was given a magic wish
By the goblin who lives in the banyan tree,
And with his wish he wished for two more wishes--
So now instead of just one wish, he cleverly had three.
And with each one of these
He simply wished for three more wishes,
Which gave him three old wishes, plus nine new.
And with each of these twelve
he slyly wished for three more wishes,
Which added up to forty-six--or is it fifty-two?
Well anyway, he used each wish
To wish for wishes 'til he had
Five billion, seven million, eighteen thousand thirty four.
And then he spread them on the ground
And skipped and sang, and then sat down
And wished for more.
And more...and more...they multiplied
While other people smiled and cried
And loved and reached and touched and felt.
Lester sat amid his wealth
Stacked and counted--and grew old.
And then one Thursday night they found him
Dead--with his wishes piled around him.
And they counted the lot and found that not
A single one was missing.
All shiny and new--here, take a few
And think of Lester as you do.
In a world of apples and kisses and shoes
He wasted his wishes on wishing.