5.27.2004

Busy and Happy

Yesterday was a good day.

I slapped on my favorite Classic Highlife CD to drive around to. So good to be reminded of my exchange student days, when my biggest worry was whether or not I'd picked all the goat meat sinews out of my stew.

Leelo's language was good. His behavior was good. Potty training was less good, but he's making progress. He asked for me a lot during therapy, has been greeting me consistently, and has been very liberal with the hugs and kisses.

I finally bought some maternity clothes. Not many, since the category as a whole is full of suckage, but I did find the one pair of capri jeans I'll be wearing four out of five days for the next few months, and a good utilitarian bathing suit.

I made sample copies of Iz's school work, independent writing, and the covers of books she reads on her own to submit to the Principal at Esperanza. I got permission from her current teacher to have the Principal call her to verify that she (the teacher) is going to certify Iz as having finished kindergarten this year. Wrote a polite yet assertive cover letter, put the whole package together.

Spent three hours watching the kids have a really good time at the park in the afternoon. Despite the lack of shade and incipient sunstroke. Water baby Leelo only occasionally tried to drink the dirty sandy water. Iz got to play with her long-lost friend Audrina. Almost everyone we know showed up, too.

Around dinner time, Ambah appeared, to our surprise and delight (she lives in the North Bay). We three had heady conversations about lampreys being anadromous like salmon, which led to the gender-reversal of seahorse breeding, which led to the evolution of marsupials, which of course then led to continental drift...I was happily bio-geeking, full force. Iz was into the lamprey and seahorses, but drifted off to dress up as Super Girl.

Ambah and I then traipsed around in my yard, taking deep draughts from the perfumes of the various salvias blanketing the ground. We found a volunteer chocolate cosmos seedling poking up from among the sorrel and coreopsis. We communed over the overabundant beauty of deer- and drought- tolerant landscaping. It was twilight. It was magic. I made her gifts of bronze fennel and chocolate mint seedlings (don't worry, Ep, there are still some left for you).

We then got tortas at the restaurant that laces its food with crack. I am not kidding. You try it and see if you don't get addicted, or have fever dreams about the Hurache el Regular. We had fully, happy bellies.

Spurred on by the aforementioned chemicals, I summoned the cajones to post a request for counseling recommendations on the local mothers club board (if I am battling with depression, I want it handled before #3 arrives). I received many excellent responses.

And, most importantly, I had an epiphany about Leelo while driving home. We've been getting so down about his crazy behavior that I've been taking his latest, completely retained, strides for granted.

If I ask the boy if he wants to see his beloved Occupational Therapist, he responds with a hearty "Yes!" If I ask him if he wants carrots, he says "No no no!" I would have gladly cut off several of my toes to hear such responses to non-concrete questions, even six weeks ago.

I need to remember to be grateful like this, all the time.

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