Blessings 7-9-10

My first full week as an unemployed person has ended, and I'm still not sure how I feel, besides adrift. Being part of a working community for years and suddenly finding myself utterly on the outside is as poignant as I'd expected. I knew about the "out of sight, out of mind" phenomenon, but still I can't get over feeling that I've stepped from sunshine into a silent night.


I need to clean out my browser's bookmarks folder soon: The links are still there to log into my Brown email account, to password myself into edit mode on Today at Brown and the approvals screen of Morning Mail, but I'm nobody now; the university network has total amnesia where ADiffily is concerned.

It's OK; I'm keeping busy, albeit in a disorganized fashion. My office/workroom here is still a mess, so I must get serious about that. I did empty, declutter, and organize two large storage closets last week, which felt great; and I've delivered bags of clothes and miscellaneous household stuff to the Salvation Army. I've bought pretty much everything Kevin will need for his freshman dorm room next month, plus new bedding for Melinda. I'm working on a small copyediting job with a designer friend, which I'll finish tomorrow. The three-month temporary editing position I'd been called about turned out to have been filled before I ever heard about it. Good practice in rolling with the punches.

With the future a blank, this is a good time to resume counting my blessings.

1. Friday movie night at home with two kids and my husband. Tonight we re-watched Miracle yet again, and again we were impressed with Kurt Russell's portrayal of hockey coach Herb Brooks. At a key moment when Brooks was haranguing his young players to psyche them up, Daisy raised her head and gruffly commented: Wwrrooof.

2. July 3rd at home with dear friends from Connecticut: beer and cookout in the back yard, a stroll to the beach, the city fireworks viewed from our top deck, topped off with a late-night viewing of The Princess Bride. Lisp along with Wallace Shawn: "Inconthievable!"

3. Sunsets like this one on July 4:

Go ahead: Click this photo to make it bigger. You won't be sorry.

4. Putting away warm, freshly laundered clothes, sheets, and towels; later, after a shower, getting into a bed made up with clean sheets.

5. After days of temperatures in the high 90s and even over 100, today's gray blessing as I walked the dog along the beach.

Early Morning Fog

Cool, damp...

A cloud leans down

To kiss my sunburned shoulders.

6. The simple fun of Fridays with Caroline. She gets so much pleasure out of the small plastic wading pool that I set up and fill on our front walkway; the bright plastic fishing set; a pail of water sprinkled with cut grass. (Soup!) I sit in a plastic chair and do nothing but converse as she plays. Nothing but be here, for her and for me.