Sweet Meets

'Someone' stopped by my office and claimed that they weren't at all homesick, but lingered for over an hour to just talk, requested a bunch of food from home, told me he missed us ("Not all the time, okay? Just when we're all texting on family chat and stuff"), and even let me take his picture. I'm glad he's not homesick, but am so happy from getting some time with him.

I may have once wished that he'd choose head hair or face hair, but this groomed beard and tiny bun look really nice on him... in a hipster Chewie kind of way.

As he was leaving the English bay, I bumped into Sophfronia Scott who'd come to read for us last term, and whom I'd kept in touch with (via FB mostly). Turns out that she was on her way to a lit festival in Grand Rapids, and stopped over to see us. In an odd way, it feels like we've shared thoughts for a long, long time--it was lovely to see her again, and hang out at the coffeeshop for a while.

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Spring Break "travel"

Nu's spring break doesn't coincide with ours, 

and the poor love has had a tame week of it.

She's been to Ann Arbor with Big A 

and tagged along to Alma with me

The highlight was having lunch

with her big sib two days in a row...

Here they are "being so cute" by 

not letting me take their picture.

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Toolbox Chronicles

A long time ago, when At was a kindergartner, he earned a nickname. One of his classmates was describing him to her mom as her new best friend and thought his name was "Toolbox." We laughed and thought it was cute. We've called him that on and off, and he claims it as his YouTube channel name, etc.

So when I saw this cool cooler that shaped like a toolbox, I got it so we could ferry him food  from home. Imagine my dismay when I found it was liberally plastered with references to beer. So Nu and I set to work obscuring all the references to beer. I got a Rosie-the-Riveter fan art for feminist cred, Nu blocked out "beer" on another patch so it now reads "I love puppies." Then I filled it with treats and sent it off via grandparents for his Boss Day treat.

Delivery was accomplished and they even took him out for lunch at the pub.

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On this 13th Day

I couldn't find a black cat to ride with me today, 

but I did give Kat Blaque a ride back to her hotel.

It wasn't bad--just a bit awkward after I disagreed with her.

And 15-hour workdays are no fun.

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Choice

Faster than a speeding train/star

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Always, the Kindness of Strangers

Four classes back to back to back to back and all I wanted was to get home. First though, I needed to gas up the car. I did.

And then the car wouldn't start. The key fob just stopped working.

The temperature was in the teens (with bitter, biting winds), so I fiddled with the key fob, then scooted into the gas station looking for fob batteries (they didn’t have them) and then tried to get warm. I was piteously warming my frozen fingers on the side of the coffee maker when this woman with a gigantic, Kardashian sized ring asked me what was up. I thought she wanted me to move along. And I will forever be ashamed that I thrust my chin out mutinously, thinking mean thoughts about her, and told her I was trying to fix my key fob.

After that, she just took over. She found her reading glasses, pried the fob apart, and found some button cell batteries from old Christmas decorations, replaced the battery, checked it from the gas station window, gave me hug, and sent me on my way.

I got her name so I can take her a card and some pastries tomorrow, but it doesn’t feel like I can ever thank her enough.

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Fine

flashes of light 

insistent, slash 

the rear view mirror

tired, I look

for the cop car

speed-limit reminder 

but all I can see,

washing over me,

is sunset through the trees 

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Change

Today

I thought I was lost on the way to work

because the light and the leaves were so different 

from yesterday

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