VirusHead

More smoky air in Atlanta today. We’re also under a watering ban, except for once a week (at certain hours that I still have to look up). It’s hazy and hot and I’m taking it easy.

At the end of last week, we were honored by a visit from one of my dear, dear friends. Sharon moved to Jacksonville a few years ago, and it hasn’t been in the same in Atlanta without her dress-up dinners and magic closet. We’ve visited back and forth a few times. I only get down to JAX en route to my grandmother’s house, so it’s not very often.

When I arrived home from work Thursday, expecting Sharon to arrive at any moment, the boys grabbed me and brought me around to the deck to see the huge bird – some kind of hawk? – that had been sitting in a tree for about twenty minutes. The hawk was watching Evie (my stepson Evan’s part pit-bull/part Jack terrier) very closely as Evie tunneled into the back yard chasing chipmunks. Just before Sharon arrived, another hawk flew to the first one. They circled the house, then flew off together. So, our house is not only a local headquarters for bats at twilight, but also a trysting meet up location for hawks!

Sharon and John and I had a glass or three on the deck. Our friend Michael stopped in with Jay – and the two little boys went off to play Spiderman while we all talked for a while. Eventually, Michael and Jay went home, and the rest of us went out for Mexican food. Ben fell asleep in my lap at the restaurant. He’s tall for 7, and it’s really a challenge for me to carry him out the car anymore. It’s probably comical to watch.

When we got home, I put Ben on the mattress on the floor in our room (Sharon was sleeping in his room) then the adults took a dip in the hot tub. After the drive up here, I think she really appreciated that! She also gave my new pink bikini a trial run. I was in such a hurry when I bought it that I didn’t even have time to try it on. She’s more petite than I am, but I got an idea of how it would look on me (it will be an improvement on the aquamarine one-piece, which tugs at my shoulders).

I had to work in the morning, and it was the last day of school for Ben. John went in for the awards ceremony. Ben got on the Principal’s list for the quarter and for the year, but what was really great was that he got outstanding awards in mathematics and music. He shyly accepted our praise.

Last night Ben went to a friend’s house, so John and I went out to see Next. It didn’t ring true to its supposed foundation in a Philip K. Dick story (”The Golden Man”), but it’s awfully difficult to get that pinpointed right. I love to look at Nicholas Cage’s face under any conditions. Julianne Moore was great, and I was pleased to see Peter Falk, too (not least because of the “Columbo strategy” I learned from him). The pace was good, and if there were some logical inconsistencies, it didn’t bother me very much. Very fun.

Last night, I was too revved up from the movie to go to sleep. I stayed up a little too late playing with the blog and starting to reread Out of the Cocoon by Brenda Lee (By the way, this is one of my top book recommendations for Jehovah’s Witnesses, exJWs, and anyone who wants to understand more about JWS through personal narrative. It’s a sweet read, not brutal like some others. I’d love to edit it a bit and get it republished in a better format. She has some important things to say).

I was up until almost three. Fortunately, Ben was still gone, and my darling husband let me sleep until I woke up, which was not until ten. I can’t think of the last time I’ve slept so late. What a luxury.

So we’re not traveling. We’re not doing anything we don’t want to do. Well, I’m doing a little laundry, but that’s not a hardship. John is trying to locate a tennis match on network tv. It’s a low-key relaxing sort of day, and I love it.