Thursday 13

This is a hard Thursday 13. I have nothing to write about except my average life in the little city:

1. I've been knocked unconscious twice. The first time I was 13 and a frustrated friend at a pajama party punched me in the nose as I was innocently walking by. The second time I walked into an air conditioning unit in an underground parking garage (don't ask how I managed to do that). In both cases I fell to the ground and was pretty embarassed when I came around.

2. I simply cannot keep track of my earrings. I love earrings and I've had several pairs that are my all time favorite. Even those I lose. Why oh why do I not keep them in one place? This is a question I cannot answer.

3. Having an outside hot tub is the biggest luxury I have ever had. All winter, even when the temperature hovered below zero, jb and I would sit under the stars in perfect and unbelievable warmth. I don't even need the jets, although they're nice enough.

4. I recently had a past lives reading by a woman who is nationally known. My neighbor asked me to go with her--her husband died unexpectedly and she wanted to understand why that had to happen. My reading was blander than I expected, but she did keep stressing that in five past lives I've had to be ultra responsible and as a result i am very competent in the ways of the world but I can be too firm in my beliefs.

5. Following # 4, I want to be less responsible and less firm in life. I am following a path of faith and flexibility these days, and I like it.

6. The opening of the word-art gallery show with Carla is this Saturday night. What an honor for me to have done work with Carla, and what a treat it will be to see my poem splashed across a wall next to her painting.

7. Ryan is now 11 weeks old. I love how he wakes up and it takes him several minutes to process the outside world: he looks at a loving face talking to him and he tries to figure out what he is seeing. Then he makes eye contact, follows intently and is beginning to smile. The process of being a person is a miracle. It again and again tells me that none of this is one bit random.

8. I am saving my customary $ 20 bills and extra cash here and there for a special trip with my pal Ces. So far I have $ 620 and I'll be up to $ 800 once I cash a couple of unexpected checks. This is a great way to save: just stash $ 20 bills away, even once a month--you'll be surprised how quickly they turn into hundreds.

9. I took my mother to the Casino and she won $ 500, then $ 250, and in the end, following a day of putting quarters into these sweet slot machines, she came home with all her original money plus $ 300. She was estastic! She is 91 and has to hold on to me when we go anywhere, but once she's seated in front of a slot machine, she's gleefully on her own. It makes me happy that I can make her happy in such a simple way.

10. My recent post on relationships and all the great suggestions and comments reminds me how hard it can be when there are different styles involved--and how important it is to respectfully address and resolve those differences when people care about eachother.

11. jb and I are close to spontaneously dropping into the animal shelter where we got Stella and bringing home another dog. I know it will happen on total impulse, and that is fine.

12. jb and I are headed to Colorado to visit family in a few weeks. We're planning to take a week in May to check out South Carolina (think no snow) and perhaps a week in Santa Fe in the fall. I wish we could get in the car and drive where ever whenever in America for 3 months. Someday I hope we will figure out a way to do that.

13. I am still writing away and still not working for $$$. And I may have to change that pretty soon.