What I've been doing lately

besides blogging in my head, that is:

• I performed surgery on a 29-year old stuffed koala whose job, at night, is to stay awake and watch over Curious Girl while she sleeps. CG cut one of his seams open in the midst of a big ol' fit, and then felt so horrible about that that she spent another half hour being hysterical about the fact that none of her animals would stay up all night with her because they all thought Ted the Koala should do it (but he couldn't, because he had been removed from her room to the Koala Hospital for a night of rest before the surgery)
• I had a conversation with CG in which she--rather worked up--yelled that she wanted to break my arm. (Fine to be very mad at me, I said, but not OK to try to hurt me.) Then she said that she wanted me to go to the hospital so that she and Politica could visit me there. (If I'm in hospital, of course I want visitors, I said.) Then she got hysterical in another vein because what if Politica said she couldn't visit me in the hospital and she had to stay home alone? what if she cried and I wasn't there? Anger, fear of abandonment, love, adorableness--almost seven is really rather amazing.
  
• I've been skiing every Sunday. I love the woods here. I think I will get in one more ski tomorrow.
• I've met a lot of faculty, and listened to lots of stories about teaching and learning
• I've walked through a sugarbush, listening to leaves crunch and mud slurp, smelling spring
• I've gotten our bikes all ready for spring
  
• I have been much missed by CG when I've not been at home, but much ignored by her when I am.
• I'm trying to decide what is special or unique about me, to answer a trivia question on a questionnaire for my college reunion this summer. For some reason, this question is tripping me up.
• I have bought two pairs of mud/rain boots (the first were too warm for warm weather) and listened to CG singing a little song she learned at school about how wonderful mud is. We're not in Old State anymore.
  

Other things to read

I'm still here, although not much here in blogland. It's been a busy semester, and I've been blogging in my head more often than blogging at the keyboard. I'll be back.

In the meantime, head over the Shakesville, which today has a guest post by a birth mother about adoption. It's an eloquently smart commentary on adoption, the pro-life movement, and gender.

I figure if I'm not writing much myself, I can point you to other good reading.

And one more thing: keep your fingers crossed for marriage equality in Vermont, would you? The legislature is holding hearings on a marriage bill this week. Lots of good testimony so far this week.