gather no moss

Much ado...
It's been a very busy month here. We went to the Native Heritage Center for Mother's Day; MissK and her class released some salmon fry into a lake; we got to visit with our really good friend Donny and his sweet daughter; MissK sang in the 1st Grade Concert; T had a track meet (500 athletes!); then she had a bowling field trip and finally school ended.

While the kids celebrated the last few days of school, I flew up to Nome and celebrated the graduation of the daughter of my childhood friend... Thanks, Crystal- in a REALLY BIG way- and congratulations to Taylor! She's a beautiful, smart girl with great parents and a world of possibilities open to her. I also got to watch Linda's son graduate from kindergarten, awww.

It's hard to describe going back home after years of being away. I loved every minute of it... Willy and Bridie and the boys let me stay at their house, and I even got to visit with my mom and grandma who were passing through on their way to Indiana. Good times, but with a weird detachment from my three baby birds. K had a few days off of work and stayed here with them... they survived, so did I. It was peaceful.

Part of my excitement about being in Nome had to do with King Island in the late 1800's and early 1900's. That's where my dad's great-grandparents are from, we think... So I got to visit the King Island Native Corporation's archives and search for Anayak and Iutok and any other possible relatives. It was really interesting and I can't wait to go back again.

I came back after three days and celebrated our DownTheRoadFriends' son's first birthday. It was a beautiful weekend and we got all the leftover frosting. The next day, R fell on his face in the front yard and made a great bloody gash above his left eyebrow. Long story, two hospitals and six hours later we were home.

Now I'm just winding down from five straight days of ballet. Ballet, ballet, ballet. I was StageMom (DUNH-DUNH-dunh!) again, because I love how intense everybody gets and the whole process of putting a show together. I love how city-fied and pretentious some people are. I love the kids because they're brave to step out on that stage... and I love the music. Tomorrow I get to sit in the audience. I'm taking Mom. Yay!

a goodbye

What keeps me away from the blog? Aside from mom-duties, mostly Craigslist, Facebook, genealogy, sudoku or knitting. I can't get into myspace or twitter... even less would get done around here. I'm not devoting enough time to gardening either, as droopy lettuce starts tell no lies. The tomatoes are doing okay, but I've mixed them up now and can't remember which are cherry and which are whatever else I started. K got down to business last week and put the garden back together.

This week is the last week of school. I've been helping out the two librarians as much as I can. The kids are lovin' it since it's devolved into one long string of field trips and class parties. On Friday, each of their schools will have a picnic, and T's supposed to bring batches of cookies, extra clothes and a towel because they're going to have "water games" for the students all day. I've been planning a short trip to Nome to watch my friend Crystal's daughter graduate from high school... but that may not happen at this point - it depends on travel arrangements and weather - so we'll at least have the trip up there in June to look forward to.

Twelve days ago, our almost-6-year-old chocolate lab Chena died. He'd been put out on his dog run in the morning while K was flying and the kids and I were all at school. Sometime during the morning, he pulled himself out of his collar, ran away and was hit by a car. I don't know the details other than that the dog catcher was called, he picked up Chena and brought him to the shelter, where Chena was put to sleep. The kids took it pretty hard. Kevin brought Chena home and we buried him on Saturday the 9th. R cried because his sisters were crying, and he understood partly what was going on, but death is a big confusing concept when you're three... MissBoss grieved in her own way and then moved on. Chena was mainly a birthday present for T when she turned three, in Laramie. So his death affected her the most. I used to bitch and moan about his doggy-ness, the smells, the accidents... but she handed me a lesson in acceptance one day when she said so simply in his defense, "Mom, he can't help it." She loved her dog. I don't know how K's been affected, but for me, Chena being gone means that I don't have my late-night kitchen company, who'd lick himself for ten minutes and then fall asleep, whimpering and wagging his tail until he woke up to put up with me clicking and typing the hours away. It means that I know I should have been a better person for Chena, that's for sure.
We've got our good memories and funny stories...

forget waterboarding

I think we as a nation really didn't need Guantanamo all along. To squeeze anybody for a confession, deal, or national secret, all that's required are two kids in a minivan using the stream-of-consciousness-sing-song-pointless-jabber skill like a drill to the back of the head, and a third child splicing in "MAMA MAKE THEM STAAHHHHHHHP!!" every minute or so in a very high-pitched whine, the sun blinding everyone in the car and the radio blaring in a sorry attempt at blocking it all out. Simple.

We went in to Anchorage not long ago to watch K play in a hockey tournament, and that's when I came up with the idea of minivans as torture chambers. K's team lost badly - but there was a team from Nome playing, so it was worth it to go and see some familiar faces and catch up with friends.

It's been hot this week! We've put away the winter gear and caught spring fever. The kids only have three weeks of school left... I finished R's baby blanket, in a feat of perseverance. I also finished reading Little Dorrit by Dickens, after obsessing over PBS' adaptation of it. The book is overwhelming with its 1800's British phrasing, but it was mysterious and funny and I loved it. SO, now I can move on and hopefully get into a more productive mood.

This weekend we braved another road trip to check out the Aviation Trade Show, met up with Peg & family, then drove to Sutton to listen to a talk by the author Gary Paulsen. T's been doing a book report/project on his book "Hatchet", so she was excited to meet him and get his autograph.

Busy days...