If this morning were any better I’d think I’d died and went to heaven– the sun, the wind, the birds, thousands of gulls like noisy confetti on the flats at Lutak when we pedaled by before most humans were stirring– and the eagles dozens of them — one swooped so close to Chip’s head I thought- well that’s another good reason to wear a helmet.
Yesterday I spent the afternoon signing my books for the summer season at the bookstore (how wonderful is that?) and then ran across Main Street in time to catch my daughter Stoli’s first piano recital up at the dance studio where she also teaches Zumba classes. Stoli has half a dozen little beginning piano students now, thanks to her teacher Nancy Nash’s mentorship. I felt like my heart was an expanding balloon as I watched and listened. It’s funny, but I might have been the proudest parent in that room full of young families.
After that I drove up to my other daughter’s house and sat on the lawn in the sun with Sarah and her husband, and their good old dog, while my grandchildren played, and when they asked if I’d like to stay for a cocktail, I thought about the Public Safety Commission meeting that I could attend, as an audience member, for research– I’m not on it — and I thought about the four hours I’d spent that afternoon at my computers emailing information to the borough attorney for latest public records requests — and said I’d love to stay for a drink.
The paper was a little easier to read this week, and the obituary I wrote for Kaci Ahmuty (45, two children 8 & 12. Cancer. A Wonder woman of a river guide and happy goof ball) was good, and didn’t get much of a cut, so that was nice. The best line in it is attributed to Kaci by a dear friend who said in the months she was dying, Kaci repeated over and over : ” It’s all about love, that’s the only think that matters.” The next best line in the paper is from Debi Knight Kennedy’s poem about the current political climate in Haines:
So, Haines, my dear friend, my constant companion
with all this going for you, I feel I need to ask
why the crabby underbelly
is something making you sad
has you coffee grown cold
are your underpants too tight…”
Enjoy First Friday tonight, and the Hospice Rummage Sale, and the first real spring weekend. Take a bike ride or a hike. I’m off in a minute for a long weekend with another daughter, who is running her first marathon in Oregon Sunday!
