back to school

it's fascinating - so much going on at work, so many people feeling so serious about such... serious stuff. and zev is off to grade four. which is the most serious thing for him. homework for the first time; he gets a little buddy in kindergarten or grade one to take care of (he's been looking forward to this since grade one). he's not sure that a "character" lunchbox will do; it needs to be a "grade four" sort of lunchbox. superman isn't cool enough anymore. something sort of navy blue and with no pictures on it. and a water bottle.

and amanda is in her graduating year - photos to be taken, yearbook momentos to write... dances to plan and hair and makeup and a dress and shoes and a little sparkly purse. and gary is back to work, for the first time in a long while working outside the home on a schedule (rather than a workshop here, a tutoring session there). changes and changes.

garden 2

what i was going to say was that we have spent the whole week prepping the garden for our little party - gary and mishel helped clear the apples off the tree (though they're still falling), andrew came and cut the lawn, amanda did a great job cleaning the lawn furniture, davyd weeded a bed of roses... gary helped with everything i asked him too, which was wonderful. so it all looked very nice and was, for maybe the first time since we moved here, sort of the garden i've wanted to have. i think i want more - a big pond, a cobbled patio, all that stuff... but this was good. for most of my adult life gardening has been so important, has been the first and last thing - it's where any extra money i had went, where my energy went... it's the place i could write about, be in... a bit obsessive. and i was alone there. i invited people in, but only when i wanted them to and it was always an occasion. this garden, like my life, seems to be about the community - the extended family that we've made. and that obsessive alone-garden hasn't been true for a long time. part of that is being with gary - gardening, not matter how active, is a passive sport. it's a lot about waiting. gary is all about action - doing things... jumping in and living bigger. it's been great. i wonder if i'm on my way to making a garden that expresses that?

garden

yesterday we had a barbecue for gary b - a belated birthday party - really nice friends, great ribs, wonderful salads and of course (zev's choice for uncle gary) a chocolate cake with chocolate icing and chocolate ice cream with chunks of chocolate in it. i'm not sure i'll ever have a chocolate craving again but the kids loved it. gary b loved it... nice to spend some time with him.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8QHEFKoexSU

old friends

nice to spend some time with R and M tonight; R and i have been friends for 28 years... wow. been through so much together - college, real estate, marriage(s), kids, parents getting older, homeopathy college, grandparents dying, different courses on spiritual growth... she taught me how to type; one of the best things i've ever learned. one of the things i am really liking about growing older is this sense of personal evolution. a bunch of things that used to be important, no longer are. and the same with my friends, of a certain age. and equally a bunch of things that used to seem silly, are now important and worthy of attention. she's just been on a retreat where there was 2 days of silence; i've just learned how to play chords on the guitar. i sound like crap; she snuck into the bathroom and phoned home on her cell. and we're doing fine... still growing.

You're out of the woods You're out of the dark You're out of the night Step into the sun, step into the light Keep straight ahead For the most glorious place On the Face of the Earth Or the sky Hold onto your breath Hold onto your heart Hold onto your hope March up to the gate And bid it open