Well, its 18 degrees in Port Orchard today.  I haven't gone to school for four days, and our driveway hill is now just one long, sled-a-licious, frozen strip of ice, so I will probably not be going anywhere for the time being.   We are just not prepared for 5" of snow and frozen roads out here in the Western Washington lowlands.  In dire need of warmth, (Brrr....), I have been thinking about hot spots of happiness in my world  that might do the trick... (1) I am currently supremely excited about Nancy Pelosi (sp?) and her new position.  Listening to her talk about women breaking the marble ceiling warmed my heart and made me believe that change is possible in our government again.  (2) On my way up the driveway on Thursday, I had to stop and wait for one of my neighbors, who was flying down the hill on a red sled with one of my other neighbor's little girl clinging to his back and screaming in delight.  (3) The other night, Dorothy and I fired up the hot tub and then soaked in the velvet warmth of hot water while the snow fell all around.  Then we decided to roll in the snow, in the true Scandinavian style, and jump back in the tub.  Perhaps we are crazy (!), but it was exhilarating, to say the least. and I loved it. (4) A strange silence from all of my friends fell over our house for the holidays.  It was just one of those years that everyone was doing something else, and at first it felt strange not to be in contact with these people I love, but then Dorothy and I got into planning cozy nights together and practiced holiday traditions we have often skipped when we had guests, in deference to other people's comfort levels.  We bought a live, flowering Edgeworthia for our Solstice tree and decorated it with tiny lights and all of our favorite necklaces and pendants we don't usually get to wear.  And we had a huge breakfast of bacon and eggs, and opened presents all morning, and watched the third season of "The L Word" on DVD.  It rocked.  And, later, I sent New Year's cards to all of the people we didn't get to talk to, and I had a lot more to write than usual because we hadn't been in touch for a few weeks, and I felt full of myself in a good way, content and whole, and not overly worried about catering to other people's needs.  So, all, as they say, is good. 

        Two weeks ago, Dorothy and I flew to DC for my brother's wedding.  We visited my grandma, who just turned 100 (!), and saw some old friends, and took a really scary, rainy drive down to F street with a somewhat lost groomsman.  I stood up with the groomsmen for my brother as "The Best Mandy."  Dorothy read the perfect passage form Stegner's Angle of Repose, but I think the wedding party may still be trying to decipher it.  Leaving DC, I felt at peace.  It was so great to see my brother so obviously, deleriously happy and in love.  However, for some reason, we never danced the chair dance, and I for one, was supremely disappointed !!!  At least my brother didn't trip when it was time to smash the glass.  And I didn't trip wearing almost-unheard-of (for me) high heels.  And they had a pomegranate theme, which prompted us to come home and buy and eat the most delicious pomegranates on Halloween  (which made me think of Persephone getting trapped in Hades for six months of the year for eating 3 seeds...).  But anyway, here's a picture of my brother and his fiance at the Rehearsal Dinner:

        While we were in DC, we also learned what "quaint" means.  In a B& B, it means beautiful antiques, a 7-foot-long claw-foot bathtub, yummy fruit and sherry everyday, but also, no phone, no messages, no smoking, and water dripping through the roof after a downpour.  We just put the trash can under the drips, snuggled, and were grateful to be so near the Metro.   

        One morning, we had breakfast with a friend of mine from middle school whom I hadn't seen in 20 years.  It was so great.  She is 8 months pregnant, and we had the best time walking around the zoo and seeing the baby panda and talking about babies and the Cult of the Flying Spaghetti Monster and how life moves on.   But the weird thing was that it felt like we just picked up where we left off at 16.  When I was a little girl, I used to day dream that when I was 30 (an old lady), I'd throw a big party somewhere and fly in all my friends from all over the world.  I still think it would be fun to gather together all the people in my life like that (all the people you are good friends with but lose touch with) in one big water amusement park and spend a day splashing around and hearing about their lives.  The water park is just my watergirl, crabby, Cancer side's idea of a good time, but it would be fun to do that anywhere.  Anyways, thanks to J for spending the morning with us and sharing good things! 

 

 2006                  1985

 

        We also ran into a roomate of mine from sophomore year while waiting on a street corner for J to come meet us.  She was pushing a stroller full of twins down the sidewalk with her husband and I said Good Morning and she said, "Mandy?!" and we all hugged and said hello.  We hadn't seen each other in 13 years.  How odd. 

        While we were sitting with my 100 year old grandma and talking about mint Frango's (she is somewhat of a Frango addict, I confess) I thought about all the pictures I had seen of her life over the years, and what a big waterslide I would have to build to throw a party for all of the people whose lives have intertwined with hers.  She told us the funniest story.  She said that her husband- to-be was the superintendent of a silk mill and often got called in to work whenever a a machine was down, even in the middle of the night.  So, on her wedding day, sure enough, her fiance got called down to the mill.  A coworker called her on the telephone and said, "Well, he just got called into the big office and they shut the door, so is there anyone here you'd just as rather marry instead?"  She laughed and laughed like a 16 year old girl while she told us this.  Here she is with me and my brother on her 100th birthday.    And here she is with her dog Ted when she was a little girl:

 

        Well, it's pouring here in Port Orchard right now and many parts of Washington state are flooded, and the Snoqualmie River has jumped her banks and carved a new channel, closing part of Mount Rainier's campgrounds, and maybe the water park idea isn't such a strange one.  After all, its raining hard enough here that I have no doubt that anyone and anything could float by any time now, and I'm so happy to realize how true it is that all of my loves, and friends, and family are with me in my heart, even if they are actually scattered around the globe.

  Things I am thankful for today:  strong women (like my mom who fought breast and bone cancer until the very end); hot water and whirlpools; Gay-Straight Alliances and the teens and adults I know who fight homophobia everyday; homemade cookies that a parent brought to a parent conference today after I forgot to eat my lunch; waking up two hours before my alarm and getting to snuggle with my wife for two more hours; and my dog who howled with me for five minutes today when I got home.