I've framed summer

 

intense

<< Nu's sketch book project is complete. And it's intense and detailed. I love every element of it. My not-so-little emo punk has been a fan of rats their entire life, I think. The MCR fandom is more recent.

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I got the kind of day in the garden I'd hoped for all summer--just weeding, de-scumming the pond, puttering. Scout was (as usual) the only baby who kept me company.💗 Got some neater paths and tons of burrs and mosquito bites to show for my labor.

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Monitored the Evite for next week's celebration, and finalized the food and setup. I wish everyone would hurry up and RSVP! I want to move on to the next stage of prep!

farewell summer 2021

This summer had teeth like mosquitoes 
flush with hail and all-day rain

I wave goodbye to this 

all summer long, the heavy air settled

into my narrow body, caught me 

out of breath every time 

a decrescendo of repeat, mute, rewind

until my mind is white noise

my heart half silence

and my hands sail safely to my sides

opening, undone--bones plummet

in percussive emphasis

You know what...

I think I've taken on too much this year. At the end of this first week back, I'm deeply depleted and exhausted.

Pic: Late evening walk with Big A. The river was peaceful and lovely, but when one walks with Big A and his Apple watch, there's no tarrying.

another day

why am I here bitten, forgotten 

arraigning a legacy of crazy

with remembrances

where my body and yours are

flattened by blank screens

and seen everywhere

why am I here, I wish you 

well, wish you could

just tell me

what will I not hear, this time--

more problems, every time--

no problem

I say--but there were always 

problems and prizes--

with surprises

I spy

 

sibling rivalry

birthdays and first days

It's my grandmother's birthday today, so this picture of her just before she got married at 16 has been doing the rounds on cousins' chat. As has something I wrote long ago.

First day of classes today... I panicked hard yesterday, despite having taught in person all of last year. But the usual combination of over prepping and the endorphin-adrenalin rush of being in front of a class kicked in and all was well. Finished up work with a small reception at the president's house for being on a search committee that met all summer long.

When I got home, Big A was napping ahead of a work-night, At was off canvassing, Nu was in the basement knuckle-deep in a paint project for a class. So I grabbed my Culver's dinner from L's fundraiser for Peacequest, queued up some Felicity on ye olde laptop, and ate with Scout and Huck for company. 

A bit of an anticlimactic end to the day, TBH.