where have you been?

indeed indeed, where to begin? where have you been?
the swirl of event and activity over the past several wks
has been notable, a lazy-susan of event and situation wheeling
past me every few minutes, seemingly only providing
a momentary consideration b/f it’s overtaken by the next bit.
but then again
where to begin?

there was the marathon.

there was the purchase of the house.

there was paris. un-sum-uppable and multi-faceted
and everything we thought it would be and more
and which included a brief los angeles leg and a brief london leg
(both legs only served to make paris all the brighter and
portland too for that matter).

there was the return from paris,
wherein we had exactly 6 days to box
up all possessions and get them
trucked over to new house.

there was The Move
which proved unsurprisingly traumatic to the pets
(who are only now getting settled) and
utterly exhausting physically and emotionally
and which included the full cleaning of
the rental house and the studio.

there was the painting of the bathroom in the new house, about
which the less said the better

there was the response from manager about
latest script: not going to be able to sell this one
which is turning into a bit of a refrain
but one reminding me I am glad we moved
from LA and now live here

there was the surgery on Maxwell’s mouth to remove a growth.

there was mm not getting in to a writers’ conference that
she deserves to.

there was birthday and corresponding dinner
for my sister, the big 3-0.

there was, the following day
my official entryway into my mid-30’s.
35 yrs old and what have you done?

there was the bicycle margaret got me for said bday
which I’ve ridden to work the past 2 days. ah, portland.

there was last Saturday, wherein we rode our bikes
partway up mt tabor, getting off and trundling uphill
to find the finish line of the 5K my sister was running
which – due to the massive nature of the park and
our fumbling uncertainty as to locale – we missed her
crossing at the end, but did get to see her nonetheless.
it was awesome and inspiring to see her, the
expression of achievement on her face, edged
with possibility, the limitless nature she contains.

and finally there was the email from out of the blue
from a childhood friend, 25 yrs ago which has
put a spin on my already-spinning head.

and keep in mind, those are all the broadest of strokes,
a thumbnail, a placeholder and
that one of these days, I hope to expand upon them
all. in the meantime,
everything is good
and I return: back to unpacking…