Memory

So I really wish I liked shopping, just for the record. Sometimes I make an attempt to go looking for clothes for myself, but as soon as I step into the store I feel a familiar pang of fear... what monster lurks behind the clothing rack?  And then I flee.  Every so often I have a lucid day.  I have certain places that I feel safe in. The Thrift Store in the town just north of us, for one. Because, you know, you can avoid shopping for yourself, but those kids grow so darn fast.

And shoes. I don't deny that I like shoes.  I have certain shoes that I ogle at outdoor stores. Keens. Campers. Uggs. No woman seems to be exempt from the great shoe love. We watched a Dora the Explorer show with some of the little friends here at the Land, and our little friend Bria spent the entire time after Dora turned into a True Princess trying to catch another glimpse of her SHOES. "WHERE ARE HER PRINCESS SHOES?" she asked, in the one decibel level that she has.

You all guessed right, however. And I hoped to have more to tell about the possible upcoming trip to Turkey, like a definite yes or no, but the truth is that I'm still hovering, mid-air, trying to play Memory and hoping that the pieces are going to start matching up sooner or later. I feel like I have eight cards turned over and none of them have matches, and I'm staring at the board trying to decide which piece I will turn over next.

One thing I know for sure. My Superstar Husband is going. He has a ticket out of San Francisco towards the end of May, at which point I will pack up the kids, rustle them into the van, and head north to Canada, my home and native land. At that point, I may or may not leave the kids with their wonderful, strong, capable (I'm rooting for you guys!) grandparents for a week and fly out of Vancouver. But there are issues like funding and passport stuff and tickets to work out.

So, my brain is being stretched again. And I dream of a bus ride in a foreign country. There is a gathering that we'll be going to, focused on Peace. Israelis and Iranians and Americans and many others will be there, it is a Rainbow Gathering, and last year my Superstar husband had a really good time. We love the Prince of Peace, so it is the kind of event that we love to find.

Last night we had a small farewell/blessing party for the friends of ours that are moving away for a time. It was really fun, and we were able to talk about our friends and how much we love them. They have been in our lives for a long time, and they are like wedding twins with Chinua and I, since they got married only two weeks after us. We played music at their wedding and danced like we were dancing at our own. We spent a lot of time together in those first months, lived next door to each other in our cabins (we were living at the Land then, too) and I was able to be with them when their first daughter was born.

The sting is going out of it, a little, for me. I am feeling less sad and more excited for them, for what the next few months will bring for them.

Like the Irish Blessing says, "May the road rise up to meet you, may the wind be ever at your back. May the sun shine warm upon your face, and the rain fall softly on your head."