Today I staggered out of sleep and blearily told my husband, “Please take the kids to get haircuts. They’re at 10 AM at Penney’s. They’re free.” Then I collapsed all dramatically. I wasn’t feeling it; up late and couldn’t sleep well, yet again (I stayed up watching “The Tick” with Nels until about three AM). Still, hustling up that $30-$40 savings so my kids might look slightly less like molting foxes, that’s my job.* I’m grateful Ralph was willing and able to keep our appointments.
While having his hair cut Nels was sad, probably because he didn’t want to be up that early either. Ralph tells me later he can hear the stylist talk to Nels to get him to settle, as there were a bazillion kids there getting back-to-school haircuts. And the stylist asks our son about “school”. Nels volunteers he doesn’t go to school, so she assumes he’s homeschooled and is chatting him up about that. Ralph hears her ask Nels, “So what’s your favorite thing about homeschooling?” And a beat later she stops cutting, steps back and lowers her comb and scissors and turns and says to Ralph, “Do you know what he just said?”
And my husband says, “No, I don’t.” (and later he tells me he was thinking, “I literally do not know“, and we both laughed because… Nels can say funny shit.)
“He said, ‘I get to be with my family every day all day and they are always so sweet & happy.'”
Well that is nice to hear. P.S. I am bitchy & fuzzy and confused often. I don’t even get this “always so sweet and happy”, but if that’s my son’s perception. Awesome.
The kids came home and played on the Slip ‘N’ Slide and went for walks and ate lots of food. All day, all play.
In other news: ZINE PRINTING!
My right hand hurts today because I got to hand-address many envelopes. It is amazing how little of my zine-production is automated. Pretty much, none of it. I get to track all the donations and emails and addresses by hand in a spreadsheet, and I send out thank yous to each person. Ralph folds and staples the zines and helps me with some website stuff. And of course there’s all the, you know, WRITING and formatting and photo-tagging et cetera. It is a lot of work even for a little production.
So with that: Thank you to my readers and supporters. I know not everyone will see this post, and I try to thank people in the moment on Twitter, or through email, or through ecards, or whatever. It means a great deal to me to have the kinds of kindhearted support I get, in all sorts of ways.
It is an honor to be a part of the human race and a part of so many people’s lives. Not a day goes by someone doesn’t thank me for helping them. Today I know that I receive help, too, and that I never was isolated, or alone, or self-sufficient (but I pursued these illusions to my own detriment).
So. Thank you.
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*By the way Ralph cut my hair the other day, and the only two people who’ve complimented the new style have been HIM and my Mom! #ruhroh