September 27, 2015

Late last night, an army of ants scurried busily in my bathtub, gathering water I think.  I looked at them, and let  them be.  This morning when I awoke, they were gone.  I like that – letting them be.   I also noticed that 7:17 meant I could still sleep a bit, but by 8:30ish I was up.  I knew Ethan had an appointment at 11 and I was eager to get a start on the day.  There was different feeling in the air today – dare I say a feeling of hope?  I looked through the peep’s posts and decided to write one myself to English speaking jobs in Zurich.  I listed my degrees and stated what my desire was.  Within minutes a few responses were forthcoming – one stated what I wanted to hear:  “Switzerland invests more in social care than any other country on earth.  I guarantee you’ll have a decent job within weeks.”  This is good.  Of course, I need to first have my degrees recognized there, but that can happen.  

Ethan was up around 10 and dressed and ready by 10:30.  He was nervous, but still so willing.  At 11 Nora showed up and came in, introducing herself to Ethan.  I am so grateful she reads this and knows the things I’ve written so she knows what to expect.  Within minutes they were out the door, heading off to explore the antique fair, get to know one another and get some ice cream.  

I have no idea how it gets through, but we know it exists.  We have heard it, Annie barks at it, and one night it ate all of Maggie’s Latvian chocolate (seriously – it took off the lid and ate every chocolate.  Bastard mouse.  But still – how do I get rid of him if I don’t know where he is?  They returned around 12:30 and worked in math together easily for another 45 minutes.  I cannot describe the relief on my heart of someone helping my son in something he has always struggled and most important of all – him not fighting it!   The kids and I had a lovely Sunday lunch of beet salad, pork chips and rösti left-overs, then needed to get going – so much to get done before the eclipse!

First to hospice where I wanted to look for books, magazines, etc for collages.  I am hoping to find some Not White People.    Next to Costco where I picked up my contacts.  We were to meet Chris in Folsom at Karen’s Bakery, where we would celebrate Maggie’s birthday desserting (instead of dinner), but lo and behold!  IT was closed!  I texted Chris and he responded with news:  Rob the Vacuum Dude didn’t have the vacuum today.  Did I need to borrow one?  Oh good golly no!  And this was perfect as the kids and I could adventure, so we headed off.  Maggie decided we would have Snooks’ candy for her desserting and Chicago Fire Pizza for her birthday dinner.  We had the BEST  of times, yet had NO IDEA the delight which was about to manifest.  As we headed back to  the car, Ethan started  trying to get down this very prickly-pokey balls hanging on a tree.  OH MY GOSH, they HURT!  But that kid kept at it.  As we rounded the corner, we say many more which had fallen, some of them dried, and inside, was this curious little item which looked remarkably like a chestnut.  No way, but still, he tried it  - and tasted nothing.  So I grabbed one (I’m sure Yacubian would frown on this) and tired it.  Then I looked it up (brilliant second move). It was.  They were. OH MY GOD!  What we had just been discussing with passion at dinner (once we get to Zurich) was HERE.  Unbelievable.  We loaded up in the car, but then Ethan couldn’t find his candy, so we drive back and looked.  It was nowhere to be found.  I thought about looking for that woman with the baby stroller when I noticed a bulge in Ethan’s pants and asked, “Is it in your pocket?”  “Oh.”  with a laugh.  I think he feels a sense of relief form the prison he has encased himself in and his Joy is shining brightly.

We quickly headed to Target to grab a Soda Stream (Ethan and I are going through too much soda water, I should have done this years ago) and headed up.  OF course there were clouds.  I blame myself.  I told Chris yesterday I would make it be cloudy today and someone listened.  By the time we got home there were clouds all along the back where the moon usually appeared.  I thought for some reason that eclipse time was 7:30 – so we started with the soda stream, roasted some chestnuts and got busy with Doctor Who.   It wasn’t til I noticed a post from my old neighbor that I looked outside, and there She  shone  in all her Glory!  Maggie and I climbed onto the roof (where I could have died).  We oo’d and aah’d (my camera battery was dead) so I took the prerequisite iPhone shot, avec flash, and then “So…had enough?”  “Yep!” and we climbed down again.  Doctor Who entertained us and then the weekend drew to a close.  It was a lovely weekend with my children.  Ethan completed some homework but more importantly found an advocate who can help him with math and himself.  I couldn’t be more thankful.

Pictures:  Figuring out the soda machine; Hanging at Chicago Fire; Folsom shines; Oh, my...what have we here?