not-so-sticky

My food is trying to tell me something. Something happy. Surely, it's a sign... But probably just a sign that I need to get out more. Not only was I amused but I felt a need to photograph it, too.

Locusts. Livestock. Lice. The daycare program which Lil and Liam attend seconds as a synagogue. The walls just outside the classroom in the entrance have recently been covered with children's crayon colorings of the ten plagues of Egypt. Lil feels obligated to draw a new picture for us everyday. I think she believes we bring her to school for this sole reason - so that she can draw a new picture for our fridge. Happily, none of them have been of dead livestock.

Getting Dad anywhere in the car is not easy. So, I was happy to get an invitation from Aunt Babs to a family gathering in nearby Livingston. It wouldn't be too far - about 40 minutes. Typically, even 40 minutes would be far for Dad but I thought it'd be worth it for him to be surrounded by all the familiar faces he conjures up so often, especially his brother, Leo. Dad would be comforted by this since he spends much of his time gripped by fear, confused because he doesn't know who people are or where he is. Even though there isn't much left that is tangible to the Columbia County Dad remembers, the desire to get there is as strong as if there was. Throughout the day as habit, Dad typically seeks "a ride back to Columbia County". So today would be a bit easier than usual to get him into the car. [Exhibit A: children not properly attended causing mischief.] We spent most of the morning getting ready. It takes small milestones throughout the morning to make it ...

The kids were crying. A lot. So, we decided to take them all for a long walk on the Rail Trail in Hurley with Grandpa Bob. We couldn't lose any of them... Seriously, though, I can't believe how beautiful this place is, and how close I've been to it for so long now. Just beautiful.

There wasn't enough time to act; I was paralyzed. Dad rode off into the dark abyss. Last night, we went to the carnival. Everything about the carnival was quintessentially carnival, even the part where we got ripped off on admission but walked away from the window before we realized this. I'm not particularly a fan of carnivals much anymore. At least, it doesn't bring me the glee it brought to me when I was little. My tastes have become a bit more sophisticated...though, I admit, not much... But just because carnivals are less fun to me doesn't mean that I don't feel a certain obligation of bringing my children the same amount of glee I had as a child at the carnival. Now the fun of the carnival is witnessing the kids and trying to absorb some of their enthusiasm. Cotton candy. Fried dough. The merry-go-round. Sausage and peppers. The 'Fun House'. Ah yes! We did it all. The rides looked a bit suspect. The brought me a high degree of nostalgia, but I wasn...

Step by step, I walked Dad through the routine. "Empty your pockets." He emptied his pockets. "Take off your shoes." He took off his socks. "Now take off your socks." He took off his socks and looked up at me from where he was seated on his bed. " You're really enjoying this, aren't you? " he asked. I sighed. "O.K., let's go to the shower," I said. " What? But I don't have any shoes on! " "You don't need your shoes in the shower," I explained. He looked at with suspicion and a touch of irritation but he cooperated. "O.K., take off your shirt...now take off your eyeglasses...O.K., now I'm going to put shampoo in your hair," I explain as I dampen his hair over the sink and suds his hair. " Don't over-do it ," he directs me, sounding a bit cranky. His hair soaped up, I fiddled with the temperature of the water. "O.K., now take off your pants." " Heavens! ...

Last night, your Mum and I ate too much pizza. She deserved it, though. Do you know she actually worked late last night? It's true! Your Mum not only worked up until the day before you were born, but even worked late! Your Dad and I sat outside for awhile, a bit late last night under the moon and stars. Your Dad and I used to do this a lot. We used to take walks around Kinderhook late at night when we were kids, pretending to be zombies walking down the street. There wasn't much else to do in Kinderhook , as a kid...I'll show you how to this, too, when you get big enough. As we waited at the hospital for your arrival, I received a call from your Uncle Dana telling me your Grandpa Bob was on the loose. He had escaped while the house was still asleep, between 3 am and 6 in the morning. I was panicking a bit at the hospital. Too much pizza eaten too late the night before. You were on your way. Work kept calling me. And Grandpa was on the run! Thankfully, your Grandpa was f...

Kudos to Dana for going out on Saturday and Sunday, especially to fetch me coffee from the new place Uptown with the French-pressed coffee. I don't say much good about him here, so I should give him credit for this. :) The problem came up over the weekend, actually. Quite a dilemma, really. The large cup of coffee at Hudson Coffee Traders is not large enough. Initially, I thought I could overlook this. But I realized over the weekend that I pretty much run on coffee. I like to see how many days I can go by without eating and without sleeping, just running on coffee. ( That may be how I recently ended up very ill... ) It's a bit much to ask Dana to fetch me two coffees...that seems excessive. Though he did bring two home to me on Sunday, and I didn't even have to ask. I guess he could see the desperation in my eyes. Today, it was another problem for the commute. I had to order 2 cups of coffee just to get me to the office. Totally absurd? Totally necessary. Especially on a r...

It's early-ish in the night on the 4th of July. I'm really beat but I don't want to give up to slumber yet. I've been pushing myself a bit lately, trying to challenge my personal limits. I'm not sure to what ends I am hoping this will prove... But I'm sick like this. Anyway, my head is killing me. I'm kind of squinting as I type now because the light of the screen is making my head ache. I am wondering if I should post this tonight or wait until morning to make sure it still makes sense? No sleep = delirium. So everyone is asleep now except me and Seth. We're sitting in the dark living room, basking in the glow of our electronics - me with my laptop and Seth with the Xbox on the TV. There's a nice breeze in here and the crickets are chirping outside. Digital country charm. I knew he was downstairs so I was trying to get the kids to sleep and trick Dana into falling asleep so I could sneak back downstairs to hang out with him. It's so rare we get ...

A moment ago, I walked into the house and was struck by its awesome silence. It actually seemed peaceful. The curtains were breathing in and out against the screen as the ceiling fans quietly whirred. Not one footstep could be detected and that horrid box in the living room, often blaring mindlessly away, sat silent. Better yet, I held a hot cup of French-pressed coffee and a cranberry-orange muffin from the new place in Uptown Kingston - Hudson Coffee Traders. They serve coffee from Counter Culture . This may be the best coffee I have ever consumed in my entire life. This has eased my distress over losing the Green Mountain blueberry coffee from the suddenly-closed Citgo. (That's a whole other story...) I checked Dad's spot on the couch and found him absent. Dana and the kids were out already. Seth is on summer vacation, so he was sleeping in. I'm a bit jealous of that. But this is nice. I'm sitting in my house, with a cup of blessed coffee, and it is both quiet and p...