At work, grading online journal entries about the enlightenment.

I love how many of 'em try to say how unenlightened we are today because so many people believe in evolution. That's like the most popular example my students give for unenlightened thinking. Urgh.

Baby is kicking away today. I feel it especially in my right rib. Ossie and I have been having many conversations about this baby, but I'm pretty sure he ain't got a clue of what's to come.

I wish I felt more awake and energetic in these last weeks of Ossie's only childhood. I'd love to just be with him. We do have our afternoon ritual where-in I lower my exhausted whale-sized self onto the bed and he crawls up next me and we look at books or at pictures on the computer and then he drinks some milk and I fall asleep and he says mama mama mama and sometimes mama ossie mama ossie and we're together and lovely.

But I reckon we'll make out ok. I'm so wore out from work and the heat and the fucking trailer and Ossie (when he doesn't want to lay down with me he wants to run fast! in the pool! and in the construction zone!) that I can't seem to do anything but moan. Can't see the goodness that is this life. For intance: We LOVE where we live. We have FRIENDS. Actual real wonderful wonderful friends. I look back over my entries from Ramseur and we were so so lonely over there. I've been touched by how many folks have come out to work on the house--folks who don't know how to hold hammers or don't know the first thing about doing mudwork for sheetrock. Excellent people.

Plus, you know, Jeff's maniac of a mother came for a week and painted the entire inside of the house. She's going on 72 and she's on a ladder painting our 16-foot ceiling (I actually don't know how high it is, but it's really high). And running after Ossie. And making supper and looking fresh as a kitten the whole time. Looking at her next to Jeff and them both next to Ossie is like tracing one genetic strain of mania through three generations. I love them all. But also? This new baby better get some of my lazy do-nuthin genes. We need a little bit more relaxing going on up in here.

Have I mentioned that we live in the most beautiful place? I'll have to get some pictures up. We live way in the back, across a one-lane bridge (over the creek, which our slice of land borders as well--a creek that is home to many endangered species we've recently learned, including a tiny little shiner. Ain't that nice?) up a dirt path, at the very very end of everything civilized. Gorgeous.

I need to get these damned journal entries graded. Le sigh.

I'm glad to back, posting here. I missed you d-land.