Continuation

I showed Loverpants the envelope, the standard 9" in width business envelope. My name was typed in the To: field, but it might as well been addressed to the whole Loverpants crew. There was only one folded piece of paper contained within the envelope and I reminded Loverpants that our future was contained in that one small vessel, on that one sheet of paper, the slice of processed wood. So much in this life depends upon a tree.

Nests and swings and fruit and birds and squirrels. And paper.

But I already knew what this one said, since the committee had already e-mailed me with a copy. The members awaited my affirmative response.

(To be continued...)

Choo Choo

This picture was taken on the morning of a day that changed my life. I knew it would. I mean, how could it not? Look how well my hair was behaving. But, seriously. I felt a great charge on this morning to perform well. Decision makers would be watching me. I felt nervous, sooo nurrrrrrvous, and frankly, I was paranoid the whole day that I would milkbomb myself. But I also had faith. Prior to this morning, the hand of God was already in motion...leading...guiding...placing a burden on my heart.... I cannot wait to tell you all about it.

Big enough for a

I had to travel to the South again. This time I flew solo.

Got ma'amed a lot.

Drove slow.

Beheld a great big sky.

I guest lectured in a couple journalism classes.

I was nervous, but the adrenaline kicked in.

I loved seeing the students taken by surprise.

Loved seeing their eyes widen, their proverbial seatbelts clicking, wondering if it was safe to hop on this ride.

Being far from the babes pretty much gutted me, though.

I looked enviously at other families in the airport.

Nearly asked some if I could borrow their babies for a quick sniff of the neck rolls.

Call it a sour milk contact high.

But I tried to make the most of my little junket.

Squinted my eyes, tried to imagine what our lives would be like...

We'd have a trampoline, I decided.

That would be the first thing we would do with all that land, under that great big cascading sky.

Then, because I wouldn't see my babies for another 24 hours, I practiced living in the South.

I practiced living how we would live, if we had a big old plot of Southern land.

Big enough for a trampoline.