Yellow Dog/Bleeding Heart

Furry and his mom came over the other night. I was also sitting for a neighbor's 7 year old. Bob stopped by. My sister called. It was one of those perfect spring evenings where my house seemed like the hub where all points met. There was a roast in the oven, laughter around the table, wine in the fridge and music in the air. It's nights like this that I cherish because I've learned what a luxury it is. So, with this in mind I witnessed a moment. The older boys were playing Trouble in the living room floor. Furry toddled over to watch, quietly planting his diapered butt between them. He watched the two boys take turns hitting the pop-o-matic and moving their pieces. Back and forth he turned his toddler head - eyes fixed on the player in action. He figured it out pretty quick and then he made his move. He stuck his arm in and touched the plastic dome; smiled and then pulled his arm back. He continued to do this for the next 30 minutes – never grabbing the board or mussing the...

So, Furry might be sick. Very sick. Cystic Fibrosis . I’ ve read med MD. I know the general prognosis. I also know that life is not always fair and I believe that everything happens for a reason. Regardless, it is a bit overwhelming to think that this child, whom we love so very much, may be ill. That we have taken his health and his future for granted. I’ ve asked a lot of people to pray. I’ ve reminded myself to pray. I’ ve promised that even if Furry is really really sick, I will still be annoyed by his brattiness . I will still tease him mercilessly and indoctrinate him into the ways of my family where we laugh at everything - even the bad stuff. Especially the bad stuff.

Today I had lots of errands to run and I decided to keep a tally of every little expense. See, money has a way of fleeing from my life - even when I'm not intentionally out shopping. First I dropped off Little Dog at the High School to take the SAT. (Why they have 7 th graders taking the SAT is a story for another day.) Next I went to the gym, where because I forgot my goggles, I had to buy a new pair. Luckily I was able to dig the three bucks from the depths of my coat pocket. Less than 30 minutes out and I was down three bucks. Then I dropped off the recycling and made $6.50. All that Pepsi I drink put me ahead by $3.50! I further increased my day's profit by $20 for selling some CDs I had copied to my iPod . Now I am ahead by $23.50! Picked up Little Dog, who was hungry. A Greek restaurant and some spinach pie for me, $5. Burger & fries for him, $6. That cut into the profit a bit, but I was still feeling pretty good. That is, until Little Dog reminded me we need cat fo...

Little Dog's school wants to implement a mandatory uniform policy and I am furious. I absolutely detest the idea of uniforms. The idea of conforming, itself, kind of puts me off, but I respect that in order to achieve in this world some conformity is necessary. We're talking about Jr. High School kids here. You remember Junior High? Young teens who are only beginning to find and define themselves. Kids who are experiencing more independence and more input than ever before in their lives. And we want to preach a message of blind conformity?! I can tell this is going to be another situation where I yell at someone in the school administration. Much like the time I got rather heated with the Principal of his grammar school because she implemented a lunchroom policy of "Girls-on-one-side-Boys-on-the- other." Yeah, that one did not sit very well with this feminist momma. Anyhow, back to Jr. High. The school sent home some printed propaganda about why uniforms are so great,...

In Which a Sweet and loving Mother commits an Incredibly Selfish Act When we last left off RB and I had met, slept together, shared an apartment, broken up and conceived a child ... All in the span of about 5 months. It also bears mentioning that RB's mother had put a gun to her head and killed herself a month prior to the breakup. It was the most "considerate" selfish act I had ever heard of. She spread an old blanket to minimize the mess, bought a new gun (rather than taint any in her husband's collection,) locked the cat in the guest bedroom with plenty of food and water and neatly laid out all of of her insurance information on the kitchen table. See, she had been struggling with major depression for at least a year prior. In fact, she had made some minor attempts in the previous weeks - nothing more serious than to warrant a quick trip to the ER and a recommendation for counseling. And she was indeed in therapy and on numerous medications. I don't kn...

In which a fairly intlligent girl hooks up with a boy based on his good PR. The year was 1991. I had just ended a long term relationship with the only man I have ever loved b/c I wasn’t ready to admit just how much I really loved him. He was 6 years older and at a point in his life where he was ready to move into the marriage/babies/mortgage phase of adulthood. Me? I wasn’t even ready to admit I wanted those things – much less to actually pursue them. I went back to school and he went to another state. We ended our physical relationship, but have remained the best of friends throughout the ensuing decades. So after that was over, some friends from my literary group began selling me this guy they knew from high school. He had been living in Ireland for a while, but was soon coming back to the University. “Oh he’s prefect for you,” they said. His virtues were listed as: intelligent (in the University honours program,) a writer (like me,) funny (a must for me,) nice (duh,) cute (not so im...