Friday.  Sheets of rain are falling outside my living room window.  Julia is in New Hampshire at sleep-away camp and I am so glad I packed some warm clothes, her rain jacket and a long poncho for her!

I has been lovely being a grown up for the week.  I’ve not really cooked a single meal—lots of breakfasts out and left over freezer stuff popped into the microwave.  I’ve eaten supper at 10 at night when I finished my work, and I’ve written long overdue emails although I’ve just gotten to a few today that I thought I’d write a few days ago.  

I’ve printed out about half the memoir pieces I’ve written and pinned them up on a wall in my study with the hope of finding some order for them.  Right now, the pieces are in rows but I am imagining changing that to be a winding path up the office wall.  Pretty appropriate considering my story—absolutely no straight lines! 

I’ve booked places to stay in Tokyo and the first week in Hanoi.  I need to get serious about making notes of places we can visit and restaurants we can go to. 

The rain, as quickly as it began, has abruptly stopped.  And for a moment there is a breeze.

The little boy continues to thrill us with this feats of learning.  This week it is clapping and finding a tiny step to sit on.  Leaving the room that the rest of us are sitting in and feeding himself yogurt with a spoon.

At camp, Julia’s one-on-one has been sending pictures.  Lots more smiles than I can usually coax from her—she is having an excellent time.  I couldn’t be happier.