I have a knack for befriending, or gaining the sympathetic friendships of, some fabulously brilliant people. Smart people. Talented people. Superstars.
Today, two stand out in particular. Katye and her hub just got jobs far away. I am SO thrilled for them. They need to be recognized as the geniuses that they truly, truly are. I mean this. The two of them are the smartest damn people I know. This won't be a good enough tribute, because I've been sobbing all night and my head aches and my boy is under the weather and it's hot and it's the end of the year, but I will try, for a couple of minutes.
Katye is the woman who can just DO everything. She decides that she'll rewire all of the electric to her kitchen, pull out and install a new toilet, learn to knit, learn the guitar, sew something for me, take kids to the zoo, whatever. No big deal, Katye can do it. I have had some of the most fun of my life with this woman. I have had some of the worst fights of my life with this woman. This woman has saved my sanity. This woman has made me angrier than almost anyone. This woman has laughed at movies with me. This woman has emptied my catheter. This woman has nurtured my son all year, when I really wanted to be the one doing it, and she understood that. This woman has taken my child in the morning, unfed and undressed. This woman has dealt with the biggest part of his day. She's taken him to school. This woman has held my hand while I raged my childhood to her, numerous times. She was there for THE BIG NERVOUS BREAKDOWN. She was there for the cancer. I have called her drunk. I have called her manic. I have called her crying. I have washed her dishes, folded her laundry, taken the kids to her backyard so she could fucking think in the house for a moment. We have sat across tables reading our own seperate books. I can NOT imagine my life here without her. Oh, it will be another life, another change, but it won't be the same without my simultaneous power house of energy and extreme napper, my best friend and hardest foe. I love this woman, and I am SO DAMN happy and proud for her!
And Tim...where do I begin? The man has the kindest heart I know. I've never seen a more beloved teacher, either. Tim and I are summertime buddies while Katye is doing her home improvement thang. He's very easy to hang out with, he's listened to me bitch countless times. I have a lot of fun with my Tim. I cannot thank him enough for all he did with me through the Bloom Carroll interviews last year. He seems to understand where I'm coming from, and always has an objective ear. He's just comfortable to be around. The best thing about Tim, however, is the way he entertains and plays with children. Tim is the consummate kid story reader. I like to think that I am, but not if Tim is around. He has the best voices.
And don't even get me started on the kids. I LOVE these kids!! Matty hasn't spent the night with me yet! Katye, please let him spend the night! Soon!
Mara is Delaney's best, most gentle friend. Delaney will not get over this easily. I always loved knowing that, amidst all of Delaney's friends, there was a Mara who understood and loved her, and who would never hurt her.
I love this family! I love them, and I wish them every happiness and success, and I will miss them. I cheer them on to the next part of the journey.
Okay, now I get moody.
And I'm extra glad you're escaping the bottomless pit that is Lancaster.
The above is a quote from a comment made in Katye's blog. I am full of mixed emotion here.
Sarah left me last year, and now she's on her farm, her chickens are coming, she's at home with the kids. Sure, there are struggles, but all of her dreams are coming true, right before her eyes.
Now, here go the R.s, out of Lancaster to go teach in a hoity toity school and be superstars, family will be right there, and the kids will go to a great school.
Here I am, in Lancaster, no job, despite big pimping of my resume, having hell of a time renovating, needing to move, having not much help. Does one have to leave Lancaster in order for one's dreams to come true?
I don't think I will get a job. I am kooky, people pick up on that, and I have a very hard time remembering how to not be such. This town is very white, conservative, one way, and I am likable, sure, but I am that girl who just doesn't quite say the right thing, doesn't quite fit in, doesn't quite know how to act. I have tattoos. I have very cool hair. I teach hip hop at age 35, for god's sake, and I like that. But I don't fit in to any kind of artist's crowd, and I don't fit in with teachers. All of this transition is taking a very hard toll on me. I wish for stability for myself and my kids. I wish for some lifelong friends to stay in this town, but I think anyone that I would be attracted to in a friendship kind of way would be long gone. This town isn't made for superstars.
I'm here, I don't know what I'm supposed to be doing next. I don't know.