Oh, pickles!

Boy howdy, I’d planned to get super-duper-ooper prepared for the mom-dot’ mini-trip to New York and the Stationery Show. Dinner reservations, a clear plan for which booths I want to hit first at the show, good organized lists of which stores I want to make sure to visit (like you and you and you). I wanted to blog about it all, too, and get back to trying to be a cool blog.

And then, life does some really irritating things. A whopper of a day. During which one good friend is in a lengthy surgery for a brain tumor I cannot pronounce or spell; surgery over, now in an ICU, but all “proceeding as planned”. During which I run around like an idiot trying to prepare for a job interview for a job an hour or so away that I don’t even remember applying for; the thought of going back to work full time giving me the start of a panic attack. During which another friend begs me to attend a ridiculous diamond jewelry event at a shu-shu bar - I am out of place at best. After which I get a call from Rob; the phone makes its usual turkey gobble, so I know it’s him on the other end. His voice, firm at first, wavers. Silence, then an announcement I don’t understand at first. “Jack died.”  

So, the cool blogging - the inspiration, the excitement, the energy - yeah, that’ll have to wait just a bit. Ditto the rest of the stuff on the list. Because today is all about holding it together. But I feel lucky to have this to read, which helps remind me about others and about how to handle myself with grace. And to read this and this, which get me to smile and laugh. And to listen to the soulful voices of Mary J, India, Erykah, who remind me to be strong.