I shed surprisingly few tears over it all…but inside, my heart and soul were pierced by a soundless and awful spear of grief. Thinking about my awesome porch swing -- which overlooked the Adams school building and park right across the street – would trigger a fog of stifling sadness. At times, things could appear very bleak -- heck, they’re still a little on the bleakish side right now, to be perfectly honest.
But the roiling waters of the ocean of my mind have since steadied and calmed, and within me is a deep and abiding peacefulness. My bitterness did mercifully ebb, and anger can find no foothold within me. As I gaze upon the aftermath, it becomes plain that my husband and I weathered our most recent storm very much intact; we are in love again like we were when we were teenagers, and as long as that is the case, I'm very happy.
I ascribe my emotional healing to Divine Timing: the plague of personal calamities drew to a close right at the start of summer vacation…most of which we’ve been fortunate enough to spend poolside -- and in case you didn’t know it before, I really love to swim. Mmmm…
And so, what a nice, long, hot and happenin’ summer it’s turned out to be for us. My daughter learned how to swim. I am imbued and invigorated with new life…the spirit within me born again of the water. In many ways, it feels as though I’m on a real-life, bona fide writing sabbatacal at some resort – just without benefit of pay from a like-minded and supportive benefactor.
And I…? Well, I feel like I just got my hair cut real short and liked it; I feel just like I lost 1,000 pounds; truly, I feel just like a dark and exotic Chanel No. 5 woman.
If I added up all of the words I’ve ever written over the course of my life, I doubt their sum total would come anywhere near my prodigious output of the past year. I’ve researched and written so much over this summer especially…work beside which I stand proudly and unflinchingly.
Not much of that work shared any direct links to District 11…and since my District School Mates seem also to have gone fishin’ for the summer, they were for me very much out of sight and out of mind – and what a relief it has been! That’s certainly not to say that they’d slipped my mind -- for indeed, some of them seem almost to have taken up residency right at the tip of my tongue! But my Evil Boyfriend incubus and Evil Girlfriend succubus have not appeared recently in my dreams; they have not taken hold and possessed me as they had before, and seem to have relaxed their iron Vulcan grips on my psyche…at least for the summer.
I was just be-boppin’ around the house in such an uplifted state the other day when I happened to look at the clock and see it was 9:30. “Hey wait -- is today Wednesday,” I wondered – and it was; again I wondered, “Is it already Come to Meetin’ Night?” And it was!
Remembering that Quick Draw McTanner was onboard to man the helm, I figured I probably already missed it; I lackadaisically patted our sofa in the hope that it would burp up the remote in return – it did. I was already promising myself to catch the weekend re-runs as I lackadaisically clicked through the channels…
And then came that garrulous, unmistakable voice: THANK GOD FOR BOB NULL.
It’s been a while since I last expressed that sentiment about him, and boy, does it feel good; I feel so good right now… swimming-pool clean and crystal clear. Catching the last half of the very first Board meeting of the new school year, well before the Fat Lady sang, was an unexpected delight, and just as invigorating for me as an early morning dip in the pool -- safe, soft and familiar some how…reminding me of the many reasons why I am, and always will be, an absolute District Eleven SUPA-NERD-AHOLIC.
In a few hours, I’ll be posting my comments on that meeting – suffice it to say, I recommend that the viewing audience tune in tonight and/or tomorrow night – do whatever ya gotta do to witness the last 15 minutes of it for yourself.
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