Day 219 - .... ?: Nina Loses Track

I have no idea what number day it is. I don't think I can keep up with this blog on a daily basis anymore. When I'm working all day, there are fewer adventures to write about, and when I'm working all day, there is less time to write about the small things that make me laugh, cry, howl, grumble, or just give a puzzled, huh. Also, if I want to write anything else, I need to start spending time writing that. I started a children's story this week, and have written a new poem I like. So, for now, I'm going to give myself a break from daily updates. I'll just try to capture the highlights. Highlights from this week: 

I VOTED! I went to Van Buren to cast my vote early. It's not like I was going to change my mind about

the candidates or anything, and I wanted to make SURE I got to vote. I mean, what if I waited until election day and then broke my leg?! So, it's done. My little drop of blue has been added to the pool of slimy red that is the predominant Arkansas political persuasion. I even went nuts and voted for whoever the Libertarian candidate is that is running against Tom Cotton. There wasn't a Democrat to vote for, and normally I would just skip it, but anyone would be better than that venomous snake. 

To celebrate the season, William and I carved a pumpkin and have named him Fred. William won Fred at a school garden fall event that the school organized last weekend for virtual students only. There were only two other families there, and we were all masked and spread out. We played games, Tara the FoodCorps member who organized all of it read us a story about the life cycle of a pumpkin, we made caramel apples... it was loads of fun. A little drop of normalcy in the murky, confusing sea of pandemic life. 

On Sunday, the day after the school garden event, we had an UnBirthday Party for Taiya, William, and their friend Darcy. They came over to the farm and we had a little campfire and roasted hot dogs, marshmallows, made hot cider, and played. There were gifts for all the kids, and Robyn and Darcy brought homemade cupcakes, and we sang Happy UnBirthday. Usually I plan a party for Taiya and her friends at the Old Rock School in Cedarville (the local community building), and it costs a lot and stresses me out because no one RSVP's anymore so I never know how many people to plan for. This year, it had been so long since I planned a get-together, every bit of it was a joy. Taiya and I even sewed Darcy a little quilt for her doll as her gift. William hung out with me most of the party. Robyn and Darcy had gotten him a tub of plastic dinosaurs, so he sat on my lap and we played with them. I named one Stanley and one Fred (a popular name these days) and used my best Brooklyn accent for their voices, which amused me, Jeremy, and Robyn at least. William didn't seem to notice. He and Jeremy went back to the house after about two hours of partying, and Robyn and I went for a walk around the pasture while Taiya and Darcy continued to play. Taiya loved getting to hang out with Darcy, and had a good cry after it was all over. She was pretty grouchy all of Monday, too, missing her friends. It is tough for her, not getting to spend time with girls her own age. 

On another note, my dad had bit of a medical scare this week. He probably doesn't want me to share his personal medical information here, so I'll just say first of all: he's fine now! But he took fainting to a whole new level this week. He's always been a fainter, and I inherited this trait to a certain extent: I, too, tend to get woozy and faint at inconvenient times (when I was getting my tattoo touched up about ten years ago I passed out in the chair and had to be revived with smelling salts; whenever Jeremy causes himself to bleed profusely I go white in the face and feel like I'm going to vomit... I'm not made to be a doctor, that's for sure). But I've never achieved the level of fainting that he did this week. If you want to know more you'll have to ask him. I'm just relieved that even if he is a fainter, at least he's a resilient one. 

My highlights are all over the board, subject-wise. It's hard to segue from fainting to poetry, but that's what I'm about to do. Another of my poems has been published by John Vincent at A Revolutionary Press! It's a poem that poured straight from brokenheartedness at one of our favorite birds not returning last summer: the Chuck-Will's-Widow, a cousin to the more well-known Whip-poor-will. They're both in the nightjar family (a word I just love for some reason: nightjar... makes me think of stars in a jar), are ground-nesting birds, and insectivores. I wrote about them disappearing on this blog last year, and I also wrote a poem about it. John collaborated with an artist, Kristen, and they made a beautiful print to go along with it. If you are a Vermonter, you can find these at The Vermont Bookshop (which is such a thrill for me! My poem! At The Vermont Bookshop! Wow!). If you're a local friend, I can hook you up with a copy. I love having my poems so beautifully rendered. Beautiful paper, beautiful font, beautiful artwork. All by hand. What an honor. (You can see the poem of mine that he published last year here).

And, in another rough and clumsy segue, the news this week has been awful. We have a new supreme court justice who scares the bajeezus out of me, and my faith in our democracy is crumbling. I hope and pray that gay rights and abortion rights are somehow protected going forward. Not to mention whatever other laws they're going to tear apart: the Affordable Care Act, environmental protections, civil rights, voting rights, etc. Also, COVID numbers just keep climbing, and no one seems to be doing anything about it. I just can't pay too much attention to it or I will become mired in despair. I voted, and now I wait. 

Remote learning is going okay. Jeremy has figured out how to navigate all the different ways the teachers have been assigning work. William seems to have gotten over the very worst of the wailing on the floor whenever it's time to do work. Taiya is plugging along. We're reading a book for school called Fenway and Hattie that she loves. It's told from the point of view of a dog, Fenway, and it makes her and William crack up. I enjoy reading it aloud, doing the dog voice with great doggy enthusiasm. 

Alright, well, those are all the highlights I can think of right now. I hope all is well out there with everyone who reads this. May you find solace in simple pleasures as we slide toward shorter days and colder weather. Peace.