Monthly Archives: August 2009

I tripped over to my husband’s office last week.  We live and work and school within the same walls so the journey was short. In my office, books occupy the tables, the futon, and nearly all horizontal and vertical surfaces.  Lights are full-on for prime paper-pushing efficiency.  Here in this function-first, Shui-second environment, I manage our business, keep our finances straight, and answer ceaseless seventh grade questions from our son. My office reeks of production. By stark contrast, my husband’s office has the nuanced ambiance of a new-age day spa.  Chill music gently vibrates, thumps, or sways as a muted …

A too-long vacation with my family might prove fatal.  Not from violence or toxicity but from unmitigated exhaustion.  We’re like kids at a sleepover trying to squeeze action, humor, or fun into every time slice before the parting.  Swimming, boating, BBQs, trivia, live music, shopping, games, the museum-renders rest a frivolous waste of shared time. Even after the many conversations across the table, over a glass, and in the hot tub, words seem cutoff too soon.  So much left unexamined.  New stories, familiar stories, new ones to be retold, next time.   Until then, I need some rest.