After several days of being taunted, even Patient Gentleman Cat got fed up and took a swipe at the divine miss m. She has a scratch above her ear. It’s been healing wicked fast though. Between that and her nails, which sorely need clipping, R has taken to calling her Wolverine.
[UPDATED TO ADD] The divine […]

after i said
what i shouldn’t have said,
after the words settled as dust
on a cluttered kitchen table,
i turned, and tumbled into a photo on the fridge
of you, me and the girl between us.
i got tangled in its grinning trinity
and couldn’t tell whether the hand cradling her back
was yours or mine—
lean, tanned fingers, or mine in shadow?
nails […]

One of mine:
Many areas of the United States are having a heat wave. Global warming, anyone? Look on the bright side of melting glaciers and enviro-destruction by taking a crack at the Friday Five:
1. What’s the high temperature today where you are?
Highs in the lower 90s, 50% chance of rain. Actually I had to look […]

there would be no jingle jangle,
no slogan-sputtering mascot.
instead, with almost-evening
pouring through the window,
i’d turn on the camera
and sprinkle them like confetti,
let them pile around her toes.
she would rake them with her fingers,
grab one or two in a lucky pinch,
shove her fist into her mouth,
withdraw it, and start chewing
just in case.
mostly they’d be clinging to her […]

The divine miss m is seven months old today. To celebrate, she slept from 7:15 p.m. to 6:15 a.m. with only a brief snack at 5:30. Blessed be. Of course she just finished her morning nap, which is often 90 minutes long; this morning it was maybe 40…
When asked to explain herself, she replied, “Ba […]

little she-who-is
On the way to swimming lessons this evening:
RM: [eating a bagel energy bar]
[to C] Wanna bite?
[C takes a bite, passes it back]
RM: Do you want another bite?
C: No.
[a little later]
RM: Wanna bite?
C: No.
[a little later]
RM: Wanna bite?
C: No! Mommy stop asking me!
RM: OK.
…Hey guess what?
C: What?
RM: You wanna bite?
C: No! [smiling]
[a little later]
RM: Hey […]

twenty-eight
twenty-nine
twenty…
a confused pause, a quick conference
with a deeper voice—
thirty,
and i crouch behind the brown chair,
head bowed but neck turned, eyes wide on the place
where she will appear.
my whole life, i have hated this part, the
breathless silence after the counting, the
frantic beating in the brain, the stalking,
swishing tip-toe of socks, the pouncing,
never-knowing-when—the
unpredictable inevitable.
but the way we […]

Senate of Southern Commonwealth
The Office of Senator Earnest P. Pontificator Reverend Senior Pastor
Suburban Presbyterian Church
Suburb, Commonwealth
Dear Reverend Senior Pastor,
I am writing to ask your help with one of the most important moral and legislative issues of our time.
Oh, my gracious!
You must be referring to the two million children in our state who lack health insurance!
Or […]

The RevGalBlogPals webring is one year old today! Yippee!
[blowing on noisemaker]
Click here for a little history.
1) What is your first memory of the RevGalBlogPals?
I was blessed to be there in the beginning. The link above will take you to the very first discussion at St. Casserole’s place. She suggested a T-shirt, and I started […]

Update:
M woke up twice last night, and then at 4:45 for good.
R dispensed with the first wake-up, and tried with the second, but she wanted to nurse. He also got up with her this morning.
So I feel pretty great and *he* feels like I did yesterday. Which is a little gratifying since he was so […]

2:30
miss m awakes for reasons unknown, goes back to sleep after 30 minutes of nursing
4:45
GOOD MORNING WORLD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
5:00
I write a bit on a project I’m working on, get a crummy half page written in between handing her toys and comforting her after she bumps her head on the couch.
5:45
She’s no longer self-entertaining. Time to work out. […]

ExhausTed.

The divine crawling m woke up at 4:55 with a nurse-nurse-nurse and a “ba-ba-ba!” Gah!! She also woke up twice last night, requiring minimal management (R’s theory is that she’s dreaming), but still! Gah!!!!!
VBS is going fairly well, although I collected my kids yesterday from their class, then the nursery, and came back to my […]

Forward mobility!!!!!!!

• Cheers: VBS starts tomorrow at the church. I am commandeering a group of youth to present the Bible story through drama each day. Tomorrow we are doing the creation story, and I wrote a little reader’s theater with props to prompt audience (kid) participation:
Narrator: In the beginning when God created, there was nothing.
And God […]

Mark 6:14-29
“A Peculiar Banquet”

King Herod heard of [the acts of Jesus], for [his] name had become known. Some were saying, “John the baptizer has been raised from the dead; and for this reason these powers are at work in him.”
But others said, “It is Elijah.” And others said, “It is a prophet, like one […]

This is one of mine…
Yesterday’s post about the Strunk and White (and I’m told the image didn’t show up, although *I* could see it–anyone else?) got me thinking about grammatical pet peeves, which got me thinking about other pet peeves. And so…
1. Grammatical pet peeve
I abhor misuse of the apostrope.
Hot dog’s for sale (hot dog’s […]

I purchased a copy of The Elements of Style–Illustrated for Writing Sister-in-Law for her birthday, and couldn’t help getting one for myself. It’s the classic volume, with illustrations by artist Maira Kalman for many of the grammatical examples…

Somebody else’s umbrella
I keep peeking at it throughout the day. It’s totally charming.
And I’m finally starting to get […]

A few weeks ago, our presbytery had a luncheon to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the ordination of women. It was one of my “take M to work” days, so I schlepped her and all of her stuff to the church where it was held—one of the closest ones to Suburban Pres. Still, I arrived […]

Random stuff
• We came home to no Internet, which is why the blog has been dark for several days. Bah! Obviously, it’s back now.
• Speaking of blogging, check out this Post article about clergy-blogs, featuring one of the RevGals!
• I’m thinking about growing out my hair.
Vacation Wrapup
• We left Maine Saturday morning at 7:30 […]

A Short meme for what was for many a shortened week: tell us about five noteworthy Short things in your life. (Be liberally imaginative.) Short People, Short Hops, Short Stories, Short Lists, Short Stops. As always, let us know in the comments if you play on your blog!!
1. Until R, every guy I’d ever dated […]