Grounded

I think it has to do with my childhood (what doesn’t?) and the fact that I cried, incessantly, for months without cessation. My mother would rock me. My father would jostle me. And when they were dead tired and wanting to strangle me, they would put me in a car and drive me around. And I would sleep.

A couple nights ago Pike joined Jesse, Ellen and I in the trailer again. Jesse has missed his brother and Pike has missed the cave that is the boys’ bedroom. In his absence, Jesse covered the windows with fleece blankets that keep the place nice and dark. He also removed the A/C cover so they have a HEALTHY blast of A/C when it is on. As I went to sleep last night, the trailer was gently rocking with the movements of boys moving about, hitting the fridge, climbing the bunks, being boys. And it was so HOME for me. Such a grounding. It explains why I love plane turbulence, why I am so comforted by rocking trains, why driving the backroads (and not the interstate) keep me sane. That low rumble, the constant movement, it is home to me.

We have been bird-sitting while Tioga George heads to Israel for a few months. Our good friends Jonna and Mimi asked us to care for his bird and the kids were so happy to find they passed the interview. It seems the only danger could be over-stimulation.

Jesse would still love a cat and I would still love a dog, but for now we’ll be bird-sitters and see how that goes. I’ve already found that mom seems to be responsible for cage cleaning and I’m hoping that will change in the next week. The weather is heating up; today was only 96F but the next 10 days will be in the 105-110F range. Jamie and I are trying to start our walking/exercising again, after falling off the wagon when my sister and family came to visit, but we seem to have un-acclimated ourselves as evidenced by my fever and zombie-like sleep the one day we took a mid-day walk. Sissy accompanied us and skipped, sprinted and ran about the whole way. I don’t think she even considered it any kind of exercise.

I’m thinking about martial arts classes for Sissy and Pike as Sissy has such natural athletic ability and Pike has such a surplus of testosterone. I have a real estate guy looking for something for us in Merida and I am hoping we’ll head there soon; perhaps next week, depending on what happens with my FM3 tomorrow. We’re laying kind of low, conserving cash and trying to appreciate the amazing days.