My teenaged son is learning to skateboard. (That is a verb, right?) Now, there are parents out there who would be mortified at this prospect, but to us it just means he’s getting outside… on purpose… voluntarily! As long as he’s reasonably careful, I’m totally okay with this.

My daughter is learning to cope with life in a more positive and responsible fashion. She’s become much more respectful, more helpful, and more protective of her family than ever before. I mean, it’s not like we expect her to be a Perfect Little Angel ™ all of the time, but she’s doing what counts, when it counts. Isn’t that all any parent can ask?

I don’t know how we got lucky enough to end up with such awesome children. I know it’s not anything I did…

So you’re handed an opportunity on a silver platter; it’s the chance of a lifetime. You take it by the reins. You work your butt off, learning a variety of new skills in the arenas of finance, diplomacy and technology. You hear phrases like “saving angel” from those who’ll be responsible for deciding your future in this endeavor.

After many months of this effort, a lot of it unpaid-for, at quite literally the last possible minute… you’re told, “Sorry, we’ve decided to let someone else reap the benefits of this opportunity.”

I cannot begin to describe how intensely furious I am that someone would pull that kind of crap on a good person who’s poured their heart and soul into something for most of this entire year. Words fail me.

As anyone who hasn’t been living under a rock is well aware, there’s been some severe weather down around the Gulf of Mexico. In what could be construed as a sympathetic action, our own weather decided to go into “sturm und drang” mode… just a bit. Okay, so it rained off and on, and there were lightning strikes. It’s as if our climate was attempting to show some solidarity with the climate elsewhere in the country.

And if that’s not an egregious use of anthropomorphism, I don’t know what is. I do know for certain that the heaviest rainfall this evening was saved until the very minute I got off the last bus before home, however. The sky absolutely unloaded for the three or four minutes it took me to get home from the bus stop. Things cleared right up by the time I got inside and up to my room. Go figure.

If one were the highly paranoid sort, one would take that event coupled with the earlier “it’s not raining, I guess I’ll take this box out to be recycled, oh look it started raining just as I got all the way out to the dumpsters” event as a sign that someone up there isn’t happy with me… good thing I’m not that paranoid, huh?

Sitting peacefully in my chair, then suddenly feeling lightheaded and completely disconnected from my body, is not okay.

This message brought to you by the “I Hate Summer” Committee. I’m ready for more 70-something high temperatures now, thankyouverymuch…

I’m home from my trip. Had a good time. Ate good food, fixed a computer, put a smile on someone’s face. Several smiles, actually. Train rides weren’t too annoying. Squalling babies in various places were, though. Now I just have to get enough restful sleep tonight to enjoy tomorrow.

Coherence will come later. Just wanted to let you (my faithful readers) know that I’m home safe and sound and generally happy. Thank you.