scenes from my life

Here's how my evening went:

5:00pm
My department chair stops by my office, and hands me my contract letter for next year. She's smiling--a good sign. I open the letter. I discover why she's smiling. I pick up a bottle of good champagne (Mo�t & Chandon) to accompany the takeout Indian food on my way home.

6:10pm
Gerald and the boys arrive home from the movie Holes, in excellent spirits. I show Gerald the letter. Much rejoicing and champagne consumption.

6:30pm
Gerald recounts the following conversation with Lane, our eight-year-old:
Gerald: What are you working on in your room?
Lane: I can't tell you.
Gerald: Well, if it's a nuclear weapon, I need to know right now.
Lane: No, it's not. It's not a weapon of mass destruction of any kind.

7:00pm
Gerald discovers the vibrating foot bath in the back of a closet, and sets it up for me. After he returns from the kitchen, we have this conversation:
Gerald: Don't most people's kids get thirsty?
Me (puzzled): Yes. Why?
Gerald: Apparently our kids just get "parched."

7:50
We surf the digital cable music channels. End up on the "today's country" station. (So sue me. I spent five years living in Alabama, and there are lasting effects.) Travis Tritt is singing "It's a Great Day to Be Alive." I agree.

So yes, I'm a lucky woman. And feeling extremely grateful tonight for a lot of things. My husband and kids, obviously. My job, where they pay me to do what I love. My grandfather, who lived to be 3 weeks shy of 95, who shared with me and my children his wealth of knowledge and humor, and who died at home in the arms of a woman who loved him dearly. My friends, near and far, old and new, virtual and real-life.