Thanks to Bink

During my sophomore year in college I usually carried a steno notebook around with me. This was surely because of the influence of the writing classes I was taking, in which we were encouraged over and over to "write what you know" and the nature of the acting training we were getting in the theater department. I wrote down random thoughts and my friends did too. Sometimes people would draw pictures in it (but not me, usually, as I was - and am - more comfortable with words).


Before the era of the coffeehouse, there was really only one place to go in Tacoma if you were under 21, and that was Denny's. My friends and I spent a lot of time there, sometimes with our books and notes, but usually eating fries and cake and drinking sodas and talking and teasing each other. In that period when I was bringing along my little notebook, Bink and I went up there one night. I was wearing a blue denim skirt with buttons up the front that I really liked, and somehow we wound up talking about it.

The Family

Shel was my father's best friend and he had a speedboat when we kids were small. I had forgotten until he sent me these pictures from 1972. Then I remembered the whole thing, zipping around on San Francisco Bay, the wind too strong on my face.

The Family Additions

No and KT are sending this photo of Zaye as their greetings card this year. A friend of KT's is a photographer and took a set of photos for the family. This is one (though a not very good copy since I scanned it off of the card).


The card says it's from "The K Family - No, KT, and Zaye. " My eye keeps coming to that part of the card. For years the K Family was me, Mom, and No. To see something referring to the family not including me or Mom looks really really strange to me. I remarked on this to No, and he got it, but KT totally didn't.


Now, my sister-in-law is one of the most generous spirits anyone could ever meet. She said, "Of course you're part of the K family! You're Auntie!" No and I laughed and I tried to explain that the K family was me, Mom, and Noah for so many years, that to see someone else listed as the family looks odd. I didn't want to say the word "interlopers" but that's what I was thinking, even at the same time thinking of course they are the K family too. KT still didn't understand - she seemed to think I was saying that I felt excluded because she and Zaye were listed with No.


Finally No told KT that she and Zaye are newcomers and it seems really strange to have newcomers calling themselves "the K family." I said, "Yeah, how can people who weren't around in the 70's be 'The K Family'?" Finally KT understood, and she laughed with us.

Review

Well, my friends, I did what I wanted to in November with the blog: Tell stories from my (or other people's) life. I had aimed to do it every day, but you know, I work in a food bank and life intervened. The choice was to write three or four posts on the weekend, when I actually had time and brain cells to do it, and then post them dated as if I'd written them each day. Not only did I not have the brain cells to write three or four stories, but I ran out of stories. I'm realizing that most of the good, long stories I have left are not ones I wish to post on the internet, embarrassing myself or, more importantly, embarrassing others.


Maybe I've relaxed my standards or just gotten lazy. Maybe I am more realistic about what I can and wish to accomplish in a day. Maybe I am more tuned into what my body needs and wants. Maybe I'm getting over feeling guilt for small things. This year I don't feel badly about not completing National Blog Posting Month, which I have done the last two years. I read Boegle's post on why she didn't finish NaBloPoMo and it resonated: Like her, I've been so engaged in others that I haven't been connected to the blog. And frankly, those of you who know me in real life know that I will always choose connecting to people over pretty much anything else. If I am not, that is a signal to me that something is wrong.


I was going to ditch Princess Always Learning at the end of the year, but Zirpu asked me why I would do that. I can go back to the random stuff I'm experiencing or thinking about, which is how a lot of people use their blogs or LJs. I thought that I would just close up shop since I am out of stories I wish to post, but I think I won't.