fruits and nuts

I'm dizzy from spending the last few days in the 1960's, completely absorbed by the magic of Wes Clark's Avocado Memories, a web site that pays homage to the decor and lifestyle of suburban living during that wonderful time. I'm sure it has a draw for children of all ages, but the author and I were born a year apart, and his outlook isn't far from my own. Add to this the fact that he and I are both only children who grew up within 40 miles of each other, and you may get some idea of why his site has been so mesmerizing for me. Go check it out.

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Amy sang in the choir at the school awards assembly this morning. The theme was "friendship". She's spent the last two weeks learning the lyrics to four songs and practicing the choreography (arm movements) that goes with them. She's really been coming into her own this last month or so, growing more confident and comfortable with herself. She's still the happiest kid I've ever met.

I don't talk much here about being her dad, about how remarkable the experience has been for me. That's mostly because doing so with accuracy would mean doing so at length, and you may have noticed that length is not one of the features of my journal entries. But sometime in the not-too-distant future I'll be writing something about what it's like to be her dad, to be the one who stays home as her primary caregiver, and what effect that's had on me during the more than seven years I've been doing it. The role has been eye-opening for me, to say the least, offering a view of myself, of society, and of how the two blend. Overall, the experience has left me feeling happy. And a little bit nuts. And about 642 years old.

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My cold is gone. But I feel as if my old energy is still on back-order. My exercise routine came to a screeching halt leaving me lethargic and just plain off. But tomorrow it's back on the beam for me, yessiree, you betcha, oh yeah. Maybe my sense of humor will come back too.

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I'm working on a long-term writing and photography project, something that won't be completed for a few months. Despite its advanced deadline, I have a lot of preliminary work to do right now and that will account for some of the longer stretches of time between entries here in the next couple of weeks.

Okay. I'm done.

"Quiet Village" -- Martin Denny -- EXOTICA

today's wisdom:

"Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way."

- Leo Tolstoy