Andrea Dawn Writes

Grass wasn't safe.  She felt her breath catch in her chest as she ran, listening for the sound of people behind her.  She could not tell if the whistle and thud was pursuit or animals in the grass.  All was alien.  Strange. And then a lone shadow appeared, long and lean with branches curving in the dusk sky.   She let out a sigh, wanted to slow but was certain that if she did, she would be caught. So she ran for the next shadow and the next until they gathered around her.  Tall, long and solid.  Their bark rough on her hand as she stumbled, caught herself. Here she could move!  She leaped over roots and underbrush.  She was comforted by the sounds of the night birds and buzzing insects. Here she knew what it meant when the night sounds stopped.  She clamored up a tree and watched the lithe shadow of a predator stalk below her.  Nestled amid boughs and leaves she realized that her pursuers would have no knowledge to look u...

Last week I'd been worried about having time to write, now I'm here at my meeting with more energy than last week, despite my son having a meltdown early-ish this morning.  Despite a dental visit that let me know, unequivocally, that he needs to have teeth pulled. Well, that made me feel like a bad mom.  But the dentist said he could just be prone to cavities. So that's a thing. Something more to watch out for and worry over. I have my baby shower for baby #2 coming up the first weekend of April and my mom wants to get me a double stroller.  Which would be a nice thing if I had space for something that big... or the kiddo let me put him in a stroller anymore.  He doesn't.  The prospect of being given something that--while well intentioned-- I have no space for and am unlikely to use, is stressful.  Especially after all the work I've made purging and clearing the house of excess.  On that topic, I've resolved to call Goodwill and arrange a pickup fo...

My efforts to clean and maintain the house progress but there are points when I feel the greatest adversary I have at the moment is the weather.  Bins and boxes of items bound for the Book Den--the local Friends of Library Bookstore-- and the Goodwill have collected in the dining room and every Saturday for the past month or so, the rains have come, discouraging me from pursuing anything outside the house beyond what I must.  I have at least made a weekly habit of "assisting" my mother-in-law with her room, and I have gotten that space sorted so that there is a place for everything.  It should progress to become easier to maintain and, with luck, she will begin to develop the habit of taking care of it herself.  However, as she battles severe depression, I am working at withholding expectations. I have managed to keep up with our dishes for two weeks running and meal planned for a whole month.  Currently I'm working on getting my son on a schedule for napp...