wow

Today, I received an email from my old 2nd grade teacher, completely out of the blue. It was probably the nicest email I've ever been sent, including from some of my closest friends. I had completely forgotten that I had run over to see her after graduation this year to say hello, but apparently, it made quite an impression on her. She called me a darling, a sweet, thoughtful individual, so much that I am almost embarrassed because I am no longer any of these things. Time changes you in many ways. She said I was one of those kind of people that had potential, that I could use my talents for a greater good. To be honest, I don't know. But it was nice to know that a kind, aging woman still has faith that I can still be great.

I leave Vermont tomorrow, and then, at 9 a.m. Tuesday, I'll be departing for London.
:)

Oooo, shnazzy...

I was shocked and then amused by senator McCain's choice for a vice president. I admit, it was very, very clever to pick a woman as a running mate. However, I hope he realizes that not only is Sarah Palin very, VERY conservative (therefore isolating many moderates who might otherwise vote for him), she is going to be drawing a lot of criticism that was once Hillary's burden (the whole woman thing). To be honest, I think his choice of a vp is going to hinder his campaign, not help it.

Well, I guess we shall see how this all turns out.

Whew

Okay, update on the little girl:
She is fine. She went home last weekend with her parents and her dad called and said she was perfectly healthy, and thanked us a million times for not letting her drown.
I'm just really, really glad she turned out okay. No mental hospital for me, not yet anyway. Even so, it hasn't stopped the dreams. But I'm working on those, don't worry.

Besides that little update, nothing much exciting has happened around here. You know why? Because it's the quiet before the storm, people. The few days before I pack up and leave this little town (for three months). Yes, it's down to days. I am so excited I could pee myself. But I won't. That's very unhealthy to do and not exactly socially acceptable. I'm setting up a travel blog the night before I leave the hotel. I've decided to keep them separate, because I'm pretty sure most people don't want to read the junk I write up here and also because I like to stay organized with those kind of things.

Anyway, I'm off to bed, because I'm a grandmother and can't stay up past midnight anymore.

Maybe I do believe in God...

Today, a little girl died.
Well, technically she died. Lindsay spotted her under water, unconscious, and pulled her out of the water, limp and lifeless, completely blue. The way her legs flopped on the deck reminded me of a dead fish. She had no pulse, no breathing. Thankfully, a doctor and registered nurse were swimming today, and immediately began to perform CPR. It didn't take too long, and after a few chest thrusts and rescue breaths, she began to vomit and breathe on her own. It was such a relief to see her return to her normal color, and yet, so terrible to see her shuddering, vomiting all over the place, crying. She can't have been over seven. After saving her, the doctor told me, with a haunted look on his face, that he had never had to do CPR on a child before. I guess it was like the EMS guy said;
It's always harder to watch a child die. At least this one came back.

What do you do when you know one of your best friends from high school is falling for a fifteen year old girl? What if there was a five-year difference? What if this girl had devoutly Catholic parents, and a pretty ripped 19-year-old brother?
What would you do?
See my predicament?
Granted, it doesn't bother me as much as I thought it would. I guess I just trust him, and I know he wouldn't do anything to hurt her (at least intentionally). But there's the thing. She's fifteen and fragile, oh so fragile and naive. She's smart, I'll give her that. But nothing hurts more than your first heartbreak, as cheesy as that sounds. It's crushing, and I'd really hate for her to get her heart broken so soon in the game, especially by a 20 year old boy who knows better. I almost wish he were a creeper so I wasn't so torn about this whole situation, but he's not, he's just a lonely guy looking for somebody to love.
Fuck.

Okay, well, now that I have that out of the way, London is coming up and I'm SO EXCITED I might pee myself. I might, also, invest in a tattoo sometime soon (and by soon, I mean in the next year or so), and so, I've been thinking about where I want it and if I want to design it or not. I'm thinking on my upper back, but I also want something on my arm. So yeah, I'm gonna be putting a lot of money into this thing, but hell, they're supposed to last forever, so might as well make it epic. Really, my only real objection is that it might be something cheesy and/or self-righteous, and I don't want either.
I'll be pondering this for a while, don't you worry.
And now, bedtime. I'll write some more later when my mind is clear.