Santa Claus

Beware, spoiler alert:
Reading John Connolly's The Book of Lost Things is like being transported to that special place where I go, "Wow! This writer REALLY gets me!" Cliched in a way, I know, but true none-the-less. This wonderful novel is about a boy and his mother & the boy's relationship with fairy tales (and how they tempt us, fulfill us, and oftentimes disappoint us). What's so great is how David, the protagonist, experiences altered versions of our favorite stories. The candy cottage from Hansel & Gretel melts into a heap of burnt, sad chocolate -- and Hansel gets eaten by a different witch; Red Riding Hood sleeps with a wolf, seducing him instead of the other way around, and gives birth to the first werewolf; Red Riding Hood and the Woodsman lure other young women deep into the forest, and brainwash and train them to hunt the nighttime wolves. This may be called The Book of Lost Things, but it's helping me to remember different facets of myself in fresh ways.

This past weekend was all about recharging my emotional batteries. I did, well, lots of nothing and lots of something at the same time. Finally got around to cleaning out the garage and moving boxes and unpacking all my VHS tapes (Maniac, House of Death, or Mortuary anyone?). Mom and I took a walk in the rain (with our collapsing umbrellas) and I showed her my favorite Portland garage, the one by the Kennedy School with the faeries painted on it. The faeries are flying through the trees, and there's a red-haired Tore-esque elf princess at one tree's trunk, and Pan is playing his pipes under the moon by the river. On our way home, Mom and I came across Santa, his sleigh, and one reindeer missing his antlers. She knocked on our neighbor's door to make sure Santa was for the taking, and--indeed--the kind woman who answered said that, yes, she and her husband loved the display but just didn't have a place for it anymore. Mom carried the reindeer and Santa's torso, and I dragged the sleigh back while gripping our dinner groceries from New Season's in the other hand. We were quite a sight!

Ben and I spent all of yesterday doing lots of nothing-something. We napped, took a walk in the Morrison Cemetery, read, started Once & Again, and looked out the windows at the beautiful spring skies.

All in all, I feel great.