It’s Friday after a long week and I just emptied out my backpack on the desk and, looking at it all, decided I should come for a minute and say I’ve been. And am still being. Sarah’s got the pastels out. Shane’s hands feel just right in the morning. Ryan’s eyeing Quarter Midgets. My sandwich is ready. Still no good rain to speak of.

Soon, I promise.

Posted by tee in de la vida
Leave a Comment | Permalink | Add this to …

In the morning
After taking a cold shower
What a mistake..
I look at the mirror.

There, a funny guy
Grey hair, white beard, wrinkled skin
What a pity
Poor, dirty, old man!
He is not me, absolutely not.

Land and life
Fishing in the ocean
Sleeping in the desert with stars
Building a shelter in the mountains
Farming the ancient way
Singing with coyotes
Singing against nuclear war –
I’ll never be tired of life.
Now I’m seventeen years old,
Very charming, young man.

I sit down quietly in lotus position,
Meditating, meditating for nothing.
Suddenly a voice comes to me:

“To stay young,
To save the world,
Break the mirror.”

- Nanao Sakaki

Posted by tee in verse
Leave a Comment | Permalink | Add this to …

Generally, I set two alarms. One “get ready to wake up” alarm at 5:10, and the final “get the heck out of bed” alarm at 5:30. This has been a foolproof plan for me for as long as I can remember. I oversleep maybe twice a year. So of course I see no reason why the two-alarm plan shouldn’t continue to be adequate, even with Shane here now, sleeping next to me.

Not so. Twice in the last six days we’ve overslept. This morning, it was by more than an hour – leaving me about 30 minutes to get up, get a shower, get breakfast, get dressed, pack my backpack, find my shoes and keys and glasses, get the kids set for the day, Sarah ready for school, do a mail check for potential pending tragedies and then hike the half mile down the trail to the bus stop. I barely made it.

So tonight Shane’s bringing over his alarm too, to add to our growing arsenal. I wonder how many staggered, obnoxious alarms it’ll end up taking to pierce that forcefield of Soft Warm Comfy that, unattended, will one day result in our living out that charming van-by-the-river dream.

Posted by tee in de la vida
Leave a Comment | Permalink | Add this to …