Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

Photo: The happy couple! :)














I'm pretty scattered today. There is so much going on in my world, and I don't know how to process it; then again, I don't know if processing it is the point, because it's just Life with a capital L. Here is what Life looks like in My World:

One of my dearest childhood friends, Sara, had her daughter a month early this week. Mother and Baby Reese are doing fine, and the exuberant dad is probably bouncing off the walls, if I know him at all. I remember when Sara and I used to play in her secret playroom, which was off of their actual playroom, which was in their daylight rec room (it was like a meta-playroom); you entered through a hidden door, and there it was: a mecca of old toys, dusty games, and a huge wall of mirrors. We didn't so much 'play' in there as much as we 'horsed around', but I'll always remember it fondly. Now she's got her own precious little girl, who will grow up one day, and totally hate her mother. Good luck with that.

Bobbi Frankel is a woman who was basically my aunt as I was growing up; the tiny, loud-mouthed, East Coast Jew was the type of 'aunt' who swore in front of you and made fantastic ceramic art. I have so many fun memories of her--she was the type of person who said stuff like, "Get on with it", and "Are you shittin' me?" I wanted to be just like her when I grew up. She had two children who were grown, and all I remember about them is that they had dark hair and moved away; my mom said the son had a falling out with Bobbi, but didn't know the details. Anyways, this fiery, pioneering lady--a real mensch--had a brain aneurysm a few weeks' back, and has fallen into a coma. I always wonder why they say 'fell into a coma' as though the person had been careless and took a wrong step off a cliff. Her son finally came into town, and they are taking her off of life support today. I am so very sad about this, but know it's the right thing to do. I remember telling her I was pregnant, and her happy reaction; I remember her enormous house in North Tacoma, with its' fabulous art studio basement; I remember she was the first small person I'd ever met who had a big personality. I wish I could convey how much she meant to me, even though I hadn't seen her in a while; I wish I could remember more.

And then, the happiest of news: our friends, Colleen and Randy--the very same Colleen and Randy who are responsible for the Esq and I being an Us--got engaged last night on their 2-year anniversary. I am so happy for them, because the world wouldn't be right if they weren't together; they're That Couple, without being annoying or cheesy. I lived in the same building as Randy when they started dating, and saw him go from *low-key* to *razzle-dazzle* in a matter of MINUTES. The positive change in him--and the way he floated four feet off the ground--made me like Colleen before we even met. And as they've built a life together, they've become more whole as individuals, and stronger as a couple--I like that. Their puzzle pieces match perfectly, which any half-blind idiot could see from a mile away. I hope that they continue to live on in true piracy and gothic, squishy bliss!

Life. You know? There's just so much of it happening around me, I can barely focus on my own. This is just a small slice of the week I've been having (or that other people are having), and today is my TUESDAY. Who knows what's in store for this weekend? Went to Femmes & Freaks last night (a circus/burlesque show) as Sara Rose's date, and it was really fun, but something to blog about later. Must make like a tree and get out of here like a fetus, or however the saying goes.