For Clay

For what is it to die but to stand naked in the wind and to melt into the sun? 

And what is to cease breathing, but to free the breath from its restless tides, that it may rise and expand and seek God unencumbered? 

Only when you drink from the river of silence shall you indeed sing. 

And when you have reached the mountain top, then you shall begin to climb. 

And when the earth shall claim your limbs, then shall you truly dance. 

-Excerpted from The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran

For All The Dogs We've Loved Before

Cupid was a wedding present from my first husband. He was the runt of the litter- a reject with pointy ears and too tender a disposition. He was the first pet I'd ever really owned. We were inseperable and he loved me best. He was my reason for getting dressed a lot of mornings although now that I think about it, he really wouldn't have cared if I was dressed or not! He was the loveliest of companions and I still miss him.

And so here I am tonight, thinking of a Sheltie, a Boxer, the Moon's and all the dogs we've loved before.

Pornoriffic

I was working all this past weekend at a Bluegrass Festival. Joe originally planned to come with me but it would've been the second Friday in a row he would've taken off work for extracurricular activities with the wifey. And that would not do. He just got a raise and in this economy, we do not want to rock that boat. Someone has to pay the bills while I flit around being a school nurse and face painter.

Anyhoo. I was at the music fest and it was crawling with hot, bearded men. Literally. The heavy beard is back it seems and the weather was not only hot, it was humid.  I, myself, wilted like a hothouse flower and I wondered how long Joe would tolerate his own full beard.

I'm almost certain I've mentioned my affection for varying degrees of facial hair on men.To date, I've been influenced by Joe's George Michael-like scruff the most. And by influenced, I mean, compelled to get it on with him. You know, more so than usual. So imagine my surprise when I received a text and the picture above from my beloved. (I used his caption as the title for this post.) Yes, folks. That's a bonafide porn star mustache he's sporting. Per my request.

Life is good.

Spring has sprung.

The mustache lives on.

Coming Up Roses

I fed the kids a bunch of junk on Friday night before I shipped them off to Grandma's. Zoe still had powdered sugar all over her face when I said goodbye. Kiss my sweet lips, she said. I couldn't help myself; I did it. When the girl gives me The Love, I run with it.

Grandma called at 8 am on Saturday to report Zoe vomited just before breakfast. She laid around until noon and then reported home for the promised picnic lunch in the park. Zoe blamed me for all of it. She announced to everyone who would listen, "Sweets should never be given to a child for dinner because it will make them sick and people can't live like that!" For your information, there is a vicious stomach virus enveloping the county and I sent a classmate home with the same symptoms on Friday. I did not want to go to the park but they insisted. I figured a little fresh air wouldn't hurt them. So we headed over around 2pm. They did not have any interest in eating the picnic foods nor did they care to play. They lounged on the quilt. Then they asked to go to the restroom. In my infinite wisdom, I'd chosen the one park in town without facilities. I just hope the Dairy Queen doesn't hold a grudge against us now...

Everyone seemed to be well on the road to recovery Sunday night but around 11 pm my stomach was in the lurch. I crept off to bed and curled up on my side. Joe stood by the bed and teased me a little as he undressed. He mentioned he sure was glad we could get that hot lovin' out of the way the night before. I told him not to touch me and not to shake the bed lest God get him and Walter for it. He complied but within the hour, I was lying by the toilet praying death would take me quickly. Joe joined me in the trenches around 2 am. Boy, that was something. It helped me put our ability to survive in the face of physical suffering to the test. I'm not fooling myself and I won't lie to you. It was man overboard and every man for himself. It was you can't help someone if you can't help yourself. 

We will never be able to defend ourselves during the zombie apocalypse. We weren't even able to go to work on Monday!

TCB

Tomorrow will mark our seventh wedding anniversary.

But tonight? 

We're taking care of business.

.

.

.

The show starts at 7.

Coincidence? 

Probably.

.

.

.

We have a table for twelve reserved.

Was this my idea?

Yes. I do love a man with veiny hands.

Lovey McDoverson

We are going to see an Elvis impersonator the night before our 7th wedding anniversary.
Two hour show.
BYOB.

I can't wait!

"Last week the candle factory burned down..."

"...everyone just stood around and sang Happy Birthday."
-Stephen Wright

We celebrated six years with Sam during our Thanksgiving break.

Don't mind that bit of cake missing.
He was too busy playing with his gifts to blow out candles so
we and his grandparents had a little cake while we waited.

Part of me wishes I could freeze time and keep them six and four years old forever.

See what I mean?

Eeny, Meeny, Miny, Moe

Guess what? Today is mine and the beloved's Officially Unofficial Seventh Anniversary! You don't even have to ask. I'll explain. It's not our wedding anniversary. It's not our when-we-first-met anniversary. It's not even our shackin' up anniversary. It's our first-time anniversary. 

Now, I can go one of two ways here. I can paint the evening with soft poetic hues or I can tell you the truth. Eeny, meeny, miny, moe...  

The truth is, when we met the first time in a local bar, I was distracted by a conversation with someone else. I may have been a little drunk. I know he had the most striking head of hair. He was grey but he wasn't old. He was dressed well and he was handsome. I thought he was out of my league. I didn't dwell on him. The next time we saw each other we were both attending a reading at a local theater. There was a lot of free wine. We kept bumping into each other over the free wine table. He was very chatty. Later, I learned this was a side effect of the drink and not his natural way. After the reading, we hooked up with a mutual friend and that's when we got bent and wicked. We whooped and hollered all the way through town. Hours passed. Someone shared party favors. We partied on. We lay at the end of a dead end road in a triangular formation. We were looking for UFOs and there were three of us, after all. We walked down the path and into our friend's place. We sat on the sofa like birds on a wire. We turned up the stereo. We listened to the music he and his friend made together. It sounded like outer space. Time slowed down. 

Then our friend excused himself and went to his bedroom with a steak knife and handcuffs under his arm. He might have had some beef jerky too, but I can't be sure of that. So we snuggled there on the sofa. He lay his head on my shoulder. He told me it felt so good. time stood still. Then he stood up and said he was going to bed. He turned around and held his hand out to me.

C'mon...

That's all he said. That's all it took. I put my hand in his and he pulled me upright. And that's just what he did. He pulled me up right into my new life with him. And I never saw it coming. We were just going to get it on in a dark, cluttered room on a cot covered with a Star Wars blanket. No one looks for true love in a place like that on a night like that. But we found it there. The beginning of a whole new way of life was hiding under some Star Wars memorabilia in a trailer in the woods. 

Oh, it hasn't been all glitter and unicorns since then. We've had our trials. Neither of us is perfect. But we continue to discover things about the other. We continue to evolve together. We still love each other and we are still going strong after seven years. Who wouldn't want to celebrate that?

*Follow our lead. Don't hesitate. Click on that spider picture up there and be amazed at the writing on the web*

Zoe Ilene

Her name is Greek.

 It means "Life Light".

*I've been admiring fellow blogger's kids' names. (Did I do that right? Lot's of possesive apostrophes and such.) So I thought, "Zoe's name is Greek. I'll share that." And I love posting photos of her wonderful eye lashes!*