City still frozen. Campus still closed. Still Java-Loggin’ it at the ranch. Shane came home from work early yesterday (yahoo!) and we decided to venture out into the cold and barren wasteland that is Seattle this week. After we’d rushed from our car into the warm fluorescent bosom of Target, I said to Shane, “I’m [...]
The city of Seattle is iced over today. Campus is closed for the day, so Lina and I are kickin’ it at the ranch. Enjoying the crackling of a Java-Log fire. During times of inclement weather (which includes snow, rain, or simply damp and cold environs), Lily does everything she can to avoid going outdoors. [...]
I have my usual feeling of relief today. I think Thanksgiving is a fine holiday, but I like the day after so much better. The leftovers. The low stress. The lack of schedule. The quiet. Our house still smells like food. More specifically, it smells like food that has been through the garbage disposal. This [...]
Shane headed off to SF last week (who are the Seahawks, and why do they keep following him?) so Lina, Lily and I have been enjoying some serious girltime. It has looked less than feminine at times (as girltime does), especially our afternoon routine of eating chips and drinking beer while seated on the kitchen [...]
Lina and I spent almost four hours in the car today, with one sole purpose… to meet and visit with the newest member of our family: a tiny little fawn-colored pug baby named Cooper! Cooper is only five weeks old now, so we’ll travel to pick her up in mid-December. This will coincide with my vacation [...]
Turn and face the strain. Or at least turn anyway. Lina is now facing forward in the car! What next? Lip gloss? Listening to Marilyn Manson with her door closed? Eyebrow piercings? Though I am (and will continue to be… sorry, Art) a woman of the tattoo, the whole piercing thing freaks me out. I think it’s [...]
One year ago today, I met Lina. Was that the day I became her mother? I would argue that I was her mother before that day. That I traveled to China as Lina’s mother. That, in fact, everything I did up until then was leading me to her. But I would also argue that I [...]
I look at the girl, and she is mine. My daughter. There could be no other outcome. None that my brain will accept. She is a little miracle on two legs. An arrangement of atoms that takes my breath away. That pushes my buttons. That makes me a different person. Monday will be the one-year [...]
…one year ago today. Bags packed, cab waiting, coffee and an apple fritter at the airport, and the surprising realization that SFO is on the same longitude as Ballard. The flight to Beijing. The shortest thirteen hours of my life. Landing in China at night. The thick air. The darkness. The sounds of the traffic. We [...]
Yesterday you turned 20 months old! Mama can’t keep up. You know this, because you’ve noticed by now that I haven’t written one of my “monthly†Dear Lina posts for a few months now. You might be wondering why your normally neurotic mother would do such a thing. Or maybe by now you’ve realized that most [...]