Empty House

I am no longer here.  If you'd like to follow me elsewhere, send an email to the address mentioned in "About."

Birthday Cookies

We are cleaning in preparation for a birthday party.  Plum, having eaten her fortune cookie, asks me to help her read the "instructions:"

"Your road to glory will be rocky, but fulfilling."

"Well of course," I tell C.  "With a name like [Plum]*, it's gotta be.  She's gotta usurp somebody.  Too young for Egypt, though she couldn't do much worse.  It'd be all, 'Okay, cookies for everybody, and no hitting!'"

Mau takes advantage of his position on the coffee table and gives my butt a friendly head bump.

*Plum's real name has several meanings, one of them being 'usurper'.

Thank You

Thank you for being a woman with a voice, when I was young and needed to find my own.
Thank you for being a woman with boundaries, when I was young and needed to set and respect my own.
Thank you for showing me how to cut ties that needed cutting.
Thank you for introducing me to a wider world.
Thank you from the depths of my heart for being the means of meeting my husband, partner, best friend, love, reason.
Thank you for the many years of friendship and encouragement.
Thank you most sincerely for your final lesson.  It will serve me well through my life.

May you know happiness and the root of happiness.

Cat Bliss

He leans against me with all his little might, head thrown back, pink tongue extended, throat vibrating.

(a river of stones)

Tender Kisses to Fine Hair

Ill and tired, she wails in my arms.  I press her hot body against my chest and rock silently.

(a river of stones)

Endure

We lie yin-yang, warm hands and eyes connected.  He waits patiently.  Ocean waves pound in the distance.  My eyes drift shut.

(a river of stones)

Stones by the Wayside

Stones are being collected, then let go unpolished and unpublished.

It was my intention to publish a daily stone, but three large fires popped up shortly after the beginning of the month.  (Nothing bad, just things that require hours of attention and effort each day.)

I'll leave the "river of stones" badge up to remind me to continue collecting stones this month, because that was the point of this for me: to come back to mindfulness.


(a river of stones)

the sun sets violently tonight

the sun sets violently tonight,
spilling colors like wine across the sky

(a river of stones)

Shot Across The Bow

A knife of pain cuts breath short.  Pull muscles in, move so carefully, hold yourself together.

(a river of stones)

Response

I turn, knowing.  She is watching me.  I smile, and miniature features transform to joy: brows lift, eyes widen, mouth laughs silently, body stiffens in thrill.

(a river of stones)