Let Me Count The Ways:

There is reason for me to believe that the beautiful-insanity of our lives is getting more beautiful and less insane all the time. Let me count the ways:

1. Vasectomy. Matt got one.
2. Poop. Brendan did this in the "potty" today.
3. Freedom. Eva rolled from one side of the room to the other.
4. The Mole. It is not going to kill me.
5. Money. We got some. President Obama, I'll toast some sakė to you when I get to Japan. Cheers!
6. The sun. It came out. Need I say more?
7. Seeds. I planted some. Basil, cilantro and lettuce, so far.
8. Rum and Coke. It’s my friend.
9. Flamenco dancing. I watched this live the other night. I haven't smiled that wide in a long time.
10. Three words. See number one.

ALSO! Today Matt found out that he passed one of his four comprehensive exams. (The only one he's taken, so far.) But not only did he "pass," he "Passed With Distinction," (not to be confused with "Extinction"), which means that the 2 professors reading it were Wow-ed by his work. Here's what one of them said: "An exceptionally strong exam, well-grounded... You have developed a strong, confident scholarly voice. You make some very interesting arguments; I learned a lot."

Yeah, "I'm puttin' him on blast," to use a phrase from my hood. (Though I think the phrase means "I'm telling on him.") Anyway, I have to say I'm not surprised; I know his potential. Though I am amazed. There are WAY too many days when, instead of doing 6 hours of school work, he helps me manage the kids and other time-reliant bio-hazards. On those days he may squeeze in "2 hours of reading."

I put quotes around that because I always think he couldn't possibly be getting any real work done with one kid screaming, the other one whining and me interrupting him every 5 minutes shedding mental debris - "Did you take out recycling? Did Fergie get butt implants? Are the neighbors avoiding us?" etc... (All of these he answers with "What?" upon looking up from his thick academic material.)

Well. I'm so proud of him! Now I know for sure he's not surfing the net when he descends into the cold, damp basement while I deal with a mess of kids on otherwise sane days.

Oh. And is it bad that when Matt looked at me with sincere eyes and said, "I would not be able to do this well in school if it weren't for you," I laughed with crazy-eyes and said without hesitation, "I know."