A Day in the Life...

All men have a sweetness in their life. That is what helps them go on. It is towards that they turn when they feel too worn out ~ Albert Camus

So, Al. I'm thinking you may have wanted to say people instead of men there. Not trying to be politically correct, here. Just, well... correct. But I dig it, man. You definitely knew your shit. Ahem.

I may not be worn out in the truest sense of worn, like many of my dear friends have an actual right to say they are these days, but I get it. I have sweetness in my life, and boy do I turn to it when I need it. When I'm tired beyond the point of remembering where my toothbrush is (alongside the sink or maybe on the floor), when I'm supposed to send in that new ad (oh right, the deadline calendar's on my bulletin board), and whose turn it is to clean the living room (mine), I turn to what calms me and settles me to become, once again, me...

There are quotes I love that encompass my yearning for a life that was just as perfectly matched for me. A life with great adventure. Betwixt the glaciers of Alaska, amidst the crowds of Cairo bazaars, among the ruins of a Roman empire...

Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life? ~ Mary Oliver

Perhaps there are angels of some form, somewhere, whose job it is to determine each and every human's life story, here on Earth, before their baby-self gets a heave-ho into the universe of breath. I picture these angels as being, quite possibly, creative, empathetic, and yet perpetually in a state of despair. Picture the neophyte angel Guy, whose one personal goal is to decide for baby Z to be cuddly and sweet, with no further expectations. Then once Zoe's born, *bam!*, she screams her head off, refuses the boob, cheats on her mid-term (and her boyfriend), and later on becomes a Republican, much to her Greenpeace submarine driver mum's own chagrin. (And to the ultimate despair of Angel Guy.) You can't really plan these things.

I think my personal angel chose for me a life of adventure. I feel it constantly. I hear the sitar of India. I see in sepia. My drums are made of skins. My dreams are consistently framed by the billowing of faded batik curtains, and the notable absence of subdivisions.

One of these days, I'll go there...

But today? Today, we went to Normal. And I quite liked it..................

Lila wrote a "to do" list, including buying bananas, kissing dolphins, and dancing...

...while AJ continued on his quest to eat more Starbursts than anyone on this planet.

Lila lighted upon the couch...

...and pondered what to write in her field journal.

She loves to take notes on the universe. They may appear to be just scribbles, but I know better...

AJ relaxed amid the trappings of his environment...

...as did the notetaker.

Her pensiveness was pervasive...

Got it! Gonna write about my next adventure!

Don't ruin my thought process!

I'm serious.

I mean, am I the only one pissed, here?

Whatevs, you're not getting in...

'Kay, I may miss you...

Ahhh, how it always ends...

[Editor's note: A relatively pointless part of the day was the construction of this Jellystone gem. I could go on and on about how difficult this effing Wendy's Yogi Bear truck-cum-flying-machine was to put together, but I won't. It didn't take more than an hour full of expletives and 30+ uncooperative pieces of paper, so.... Let's just leave it at how difficult it is to focus with my new lens. Because, if Booboo is in focus in this shot and Yogi's not, and Yogi's, like, a millimeter further away from said Editor/photographer than Booboo, there's not a whole lotta "give". And there's no way for me to change the f-stop, as the Ritz rep so kindly told me that I could. But, I'm not bitter about how impossible it is to focus with my new lens. Or how long it took to put this crazy mess together. Or about the fact that, four minutes post-completion, AJ tossed said mess into the wind and it fell apart instantaneously. Meh. Carry on.]

Love my Lila's piggies.

Who's enamored by whom?

The usual scenario: Lila being quiet, AJ not.

Do you realize we're on the same side????

Yes.

What a wonderful day to be in Normal.

Nighttime last week:

Lila: I'm scared, AJ. It's dark.

AJ (hugging her): Lila, I'm here, honey.

Lila: Will you always be here with me?

AJ: Shhh... Always.

h a p p y    m o n d a y