The Junk of Life

It's heartening to know PinF has a steady stream of readers/supporters and various friends who have sensed the silence for the past two weeks. Friends from Europe to Key West have been checking in, making me realize this may be PinF's longest break in posting since PinF began. It wasn't until TMac one of PinF's favorite people popped her head into my email box today as she's apt to do when her favorite blogger falls silent. She asked "if things were OK?", knowing full well the tumult that continues to tug at PinF from Philadelphia. She ended her concerned email with a little caveat: "... you haven't posted since December 29...". Wow....had it really been that long? I checked my last post, sure enough TMac tells no lies.

Happy New Year. I've just arrived home after another week in Philadelphia, PinF's 6th trip since May. It's gotten so bad that PinF was asked by a waitress in Media where I'd been? She went on to say she thought I had moved......I told her I did---9 years ago and that I live in Florida, something she found hard to believe. The week in Philly was just as painful and tough as the others, yet there have been small glimmers of hope. Reconnected with many friends and family while doing the hospital routine again for six days. Arrived home suffocating from stress, as the pressure of my father's continuing care, as well as the direction we should now take has begun to take its toll on myself and my brother's. PinF went straight from the airport to the ice rink to see Sophia start her third round of figure skating lessons. Amazing how my worries seemed to disapate as I sat and watched the kids.

Of course arriving back from such pressure and sadness takes a while to readjust to the "here and now"....but having a 7 year-old "Dorothy Hamill" to hang out with helps. Sophia is so all about the whole sport of ice skating, this makes sense because the sport is one of the few that blends the fashion aspect with the athletic. The glitter dresses, the gloves, the whold sport is as much about dressing up as it is participating. This and the fact that Sophia is truly a "girlie girl", she has no interest in soccer, softball, or tennis, she prefers the cool rink with the glitter dress on and her skates. Still my mind was half here, and half there.

There were a few highlights to PinF's visit, (mis)Adventures of Chuck was out and on the scene, he's living on short time as he prepares to leave for some volunteering in Costa Rica. I wish it was me, as I could use a good esccape plan for a month or so, though I know this isn't gonna happen. It will for Chuck, because he's set up for the nomadic, happy traveler type of life. My jealousy is is of course tempered with equal parts admiration. He's doing a good deed, and for this he's a good guy. Helping anyone anywhere, especially volunteering gives such a good feeling that he'll he get much more out of it than he'll ever invest into it. To this ends PinF was happy to make his contribution to (mis)AofC "volunteer fund" and I encourage anyone who knows Chuck or appreciates what he's going to do also contribute. MofC isn't exactly self sustaining right now, so all friends of Chuck ought to consider what they'll save not buying him a beer in the Plum or Sligo's and make a donation in this amount. Good luck MofC!!

My weekend thus far has gone a long way towards relieving some of the worries I have back home. Nothing like a bit of garage sale shopping to help that. Garage sale you say? That's right, PinF has been hounded by Sophia for the past month to take her, being the pack rat she already is with regard to her own things I was a bit reticent to take on OPJ (other people's junk). I'm still trying to figure where this desire sprung from, as Sophia has never been a "second-hand" type of girl, being an only child? So Friday night I got the classifieds and mapped our targets for Saturday, and by 8AM we were off. It felt like the first fall day in Philly, brilliantly sunny, but brisk-- as a cold front had poured on through from the north. Let's see, we picked up that hard to find soundtrack by Janet Jackson to the Nutty Professor movie-- a keeper for sure. Sophia picked up two "bling belts" for a dollar, two candle holders (she judiciously awarded one to her mother and one to me), and then we closed it out with three DVD's from Disney. It was fun. I don't really care for OPJ, but it was more about the yucks we had as we commented under our breath over the odd pickings that people choose to reveal at garage sales.

Funny in a way, because just last month PinF has collected a bagful of clothing that no longer fit Sophie with the intention of dropping it at the farmworkers council; they distribute the clothing directly to the children of migrant farm workers. Sophia being the packrat she is spied the bag and pulled out her size 5 Winnie the Pooh sweatshirt and put it on before confronting me and accusingly asked me "Papi, what is this doing in the bag?"...When I responded we were helping children who needed clothes she was quick to model the clothes proving that she still "wears" them. First rule of Sophia: Throw nothing away, as I have had to make many late night raids on her room to collect what needed to go, both to the trash and to the donation box. Well the sight of that sweatshirt was enough to make me laugh as it fit her about as good as Frankenstein's clothes, she then told me specific memories she had of kindergarten in that piece of clothing. It was an emotional attachment, but I knew what she meant and how she felt. I tried to reason what good it was to donate them, she stood firm.....suffice to say she wore the sweatshirt, this time with the sleeves cut off so she could fit into it. Funny kid.

Sunday was a tad warmer and allowed us a motorcycle ride to the park and then Barnes and Noble for some reading materials. Today being MLK day we have the day off, and we too have a dream. It's called chilling on the beach, and we're headed there now. It is as I look out my patio slider, a beautifully warm sunny day, with no clouds. A couple bowls of Life cereal and we're off. Life cereal....PinF ate life cereal, funny how life is really like a repeat movie when you have a kid, as your child is the "projector" of many of your old memories. So we're off now to make some new ones-- in the sand. Thanks TMac.