I see a few clouds in the sky.  I have three loads of laundry to do and two weeks of housework.  I’m listening to Jessica and her son getting ready for their day, pleased at the joyful noises of a young man of eleven in the house again, thankful that Jessica has decided to camp in the basement room for a while.  She brings sunshine, does my friend Jessica; and she has brought a certain order to Suite 100 serving as our receptionist and secretary for some of us there as well.  I look back on the year or so that I’ve known her and think about the profound changes in my life during that year.  Some of those changes aggrieve me and there is no higher court in this world which can afford redress.  But some of the changes purify the wasteland of my existence:  My friendship with Jessica; the love which I receive from Ellen Carnie; watching Penny Thieme reconfigure the VALA Community as she continues to evolve and grow;  my renewed dedication to writing. So I’m not complaining; and I’m taking life one day at a time, hoping still, and hoping harder.

Jessica Genzer and Pennie Thieme.

Ellen Carnie and me.