Year 3: Party!

            Persephone’s party was a complete, raging success!

            Two other girls attended, Lily and Cora, and the three of them had a great time playing together, separately, and in the water! There was much running, jumping, splashing, and squealing, and all girls enjoyed riding the kids’ cars in the yard. The little boy, Ollie, enjoyed eating delicious pizza and a cupcake, getting frosting all over his hands and mouth and staining his skin blue. He also enjoyed running, riding, and squealing outside with the girls, though as a younger kid, he was a bit more detached and on his own.

            All kids were closely watched. As hostess, I fluttered between the girls playing and the boy running around, when outside. Of course, Ollie’s parents followed him closely, watching like hawks, and Lily’s and Cora’s parents watched from the kiddie pool as the girls played. It worked very well and I’m proud of myself for hosting such a great event, especially since my grandparents left before the party ended.

            I’m so incredibly grateful to those who attended. They really helped to make it great. Without the help of my friends, I would not have been able to wrap presents and decorate quickly enough to be fully ready for the party to start on time. I could not be more grateful for my support network, such as it is and such as I am building it.

            Persephone’s presents were many and varied, and we don’t have room in the house for all of them. Her Minnie Mouse table and chairs, which I bought for her, will be stored in the pump house with many of our other belongings, until we find a house for ourselves. Presents included:

·         A kitty-cat purse.

·         Doc McStuffins toys:

o   A kit included Doc’s lab coat and shirt, a stethoscope, and an ID badge.

o   I bought her an “on call” kit that includes a flashlight, miniature purse, and compact.

·         A Barbie food truck, complete with Barbie, cupcakes, cups, and other accessories.

·         Two Disney Princess dolls:

o   Princess Jasmine.

o   Princess Belle.

·         A unicorn towel.

·         Paw Patrol attire:

o   Paw Patrol pajamas!

o   Paw Patrol summer dress!

·         A beautiful, red, long-sleeved Minnie Mouse dress with a sparkly tutu skirt.

·         A sparkly, pink summer dress with pretty, sparkly stars.

·         A drum music kit containing various percussive instruments.

·         Cards from various people:

o   Grandparents!

o   Guests!

o   Family members!

·         About 7 little ponies in the style of “My Little Pony.”

·         A whole LOT of books!!

o   “Disney’s Wonderful World of Knowledge,” years 1978-1987.

o   “Five Little Monkeys.”

o   “The Night Sky” book.

o   “Charlie Brown’s 2^nd Book of Amazing Answers.”

·         Disney Princess bibs: Cinderella and Aurora.

·         Play-Doh.

            Today, my friend Kate showed up with a Lambie (literally, the Lambie toy from Doc McStuffins) for Persephone as a birthday present! She really loved it. I'm so happy to have given her such a great third birthday.

Finding the Ground

Roots. They grip the ground. They keep plants in one place and provide nutrients and everything needed for the plant. In order to have roots, you have to have ground, and moving seriously uproots me, sends me into the air. I feel like I’m tumbling through the air, trying to land and figure things out again. We moved into our house at the end of August, this year. It took me until yesterday, December 16^th, to unpack my box of trophies and trinkets that have always resided in my bedroom. Now they reside in my study. It’s awesome. I have my bowling trophies on the windowsill, I have the engraved plate my mom bought for me on the shelf above my monitor, right next to my awesome, new jester frog. My study is fucking awesome, now, and it took me until now, halfway through December to Christmas. It feels like I’m settling down as I put more boxes in the attic and find homes within my house for more of my belongings.

            Plenty has happened in the months since I last wrote. I realize now that I need to forgive myself for not writing more often. Forgive myself for taking so long to unpack and get everything set up. Frankly, though, I didn’t want to write blog posts from the living room, anymore. I don’t like moving the furniture on the carpet because the carpet is really thick and even the chairs, as light as they are, don’t move very easily if I try sliding them. The apartment floor was much better for it. I’m so glad to have my study set up so I can blog not only with a monitor and a computer chair where I can see everything on my screen clearly, but also so that I have a secluded space in the house that is my own, where I can get away from everyone or select my company. There is only one chair, and it is mine. No one else sits in it. I plan to make my altar next to the window in this room. This is my space. The only things in here that aren’t mine are two of Randy’s books on Tao, because this is basically the book place of the house and they look good on my shelf.

            My trash container is a party cup. Literally a black Solo cup that sits on my desk and holds a few small things and is nice and discreet. I don’t have to change trash bags or cart things in and out of the room. I can take the cup out, toss it, and grab a new cup to bring in for trash. It’s wonderful. I bought new speakers, a new monitor, a new tablet—everything is fucking great. I can’t wait to actually start using the tablet, but I’ve been really absorbed in the Sims 4, lately.

            Two friends are staying in my art room until they get on their feet and can get their own place(s). I have yet to hang my dragon posters because I want to swap the locations of the hutch and what Randy thinks is a carrion cabinet. If it is a carrion cabinet, it’s very simple and has a large opening and single shelf in the large area for maybe a TV and cable box, I would imagine. Either way, I want to switch the walls on which these pieces of furniture currently sit, and put Persephone’s TV in the “carrion cabinet” and the hutch against the wall next to the front door. My battle dragon can hang over the hutch and the cliff dragon can hang over where Persephone should put her riding cars away, next to the fireplace. I plan to hang my other purchased paintings along the walls in the stairwell to the art room.

            Today, I read some articles. One was about the effects of alcohol on babies while breastfeeding. The other was about Mick Jagger having a new baby at the age of 74, with a woman by the age of 30. The breastfeeding and drinking article started out by saying that imbibing in a few drinks during the holidays will not necessarily result in anything negative with the nursing baby. It then went on to say that mothers should be conscious and aware of how much they are drinking, however, as getting drunk while breastfeeding is generally frowned upon for many reasons that have nothing to do with how much alcohol gets into the breast milk. As far as Mick Jagger having another baby… Well, that’s for another blog post, but my point here is that I’ve managed to pull away from the Sims long enough to get my brain working and creating ideas based on my experiences as they relate to what I’m reading. It is also immensely helpful to have the two friends I have staying with me. They provide socialization and while I have gone through more marijuana over the past month than I have in practically the past two years, it has been a pleasure to have them because I have started to find myself again. One friend, I’ve known for the past six years, since the end of high school but prior to the start of the military, pays attention to things far more than I’m used to people paying attention, particularly about personality traits and the like. He has helped me recognize, again, who I am. Who I have been. He’s helped me put some of the pieces together.