Laying Another Egg

Well, the nest has been vacant for over a year. I've thought about posting again but not quite gotten myself to do so, although I have gone through a brief obsession with political rants at Huffington Post. Now that my favorite candidate, Dennis Kucinich is no longer in the race, my passion for HuffPo has waned. So... encouraged by a number of people, I'm going to try again... to (oh what a bad pun) lay another egg into my little nest and see if this time I can nurse it and grow it into a real thing.

I've been inspired during my fallow time by the blogs of my nieces and their friends. Wonderful blogs all. Such wonderful young women who deal with the ups and downs of life with grace and wisdom and humor and love. They awe me and give me joy. They give me hope for the future too as do Cindy's two magical children. (Just in case that isn't clear, they are real, honest-to-goodness children who are smart and cute and beautiful and funny.... like their mother and their aunt and uncle.)

Anyway, I feel kind of like I lost my voice when I lost my agoraphobia column... at least my public voice.... however public this ends up being. I have backslid agoraphobia-wise... no car makes it easier than ever to hide in the house so I haven't left in over two years. I'm not unhappy, though. My "new" windows (see posts from 2006) give me a lovely view on the outside world. I have kind neighbors who clear my snow away in winter. I get my food delivered from Schwann's. I guess this is as good (or bad) a place as any to confess the guilty secret to my beautiful niece Diana that I'm not a vegetarian any more. The security of knowing that I have a safe, reliable food source and don't have to burden my friends won out over virtue, I'm afraid.

One of the best things that happened since I last posted is a "gift in ugly wrapping paper" that came to me when Tara Grace had a brush with death last Spring. There's a vet about two minutes from my house, just down two big hills. When I called to ask if they make house calls (no car and I can't walk), they said "no," but their receptionist is a kind young man and said he would walk up the hill and carry her down for me. That was the beginning of what has become a wonderful friendship not only with Dan but with his boyfriend Nate, Nate's mother Sue and another friend, Mary. Turns out we had common interests in writing and spirituality. We have created something called The Inkspot Society and we meet every other week to write and share our own work or words of others that have moved us. And we eat and laugh. Recently Nate and Dan have started coming over on Wednesdays for "Games and Garbage" night. Most of my yuckiest and most challenging chores get taken care of by their young, kind energy. I feel like royalty.

And then there's netflix. The guy who thought that up deserves some kind of reward above and beyond the fortune he is undoubtedly raking in.

Well, that's probably (probably?!!) enough boring trivia about what I've been up to for a first post.