Christopher and I took a trip, with Michael Strickland, up North to visit friends and the White Mountains, this was in 2000, May, I think. Our last day or two there, we visited Stacy Phillips and her husband Josh. They were living in Jamaica Plain in one of those cool multi-story houses where families live on one story. Stacy wanted to show us something in the yard, so we walked though another families "house" to get to the yard. It was a family for whom Stacy babysat. While walking through their kitchen, I remember taking in the scene and thinking, "how messy, I can't believe someone lives like this." There were vegetable peelings piled up near a full dish rack and the common mess in a busy kitchen. The image of that kitchen has stayed with me.

The other day it occurred to me that my kitchen now looked the very same way. The state for which I had judged someone was now my own. The image took on a whole new meaning. The vegetable peelings were a mother's or father's attempt to nourish their children. The mess, a sign of a vibrant family life. I remember a sense of life, not of dusty dirt. The difference between compost and stale perfume.

The remembrance made me realize how quickly I judge a situation or a person. It also made me realize that one's perspective changes over time; it encouraged me not to cling to ideas/judgements that held sway during another time.

***

Ranen is now a little boy. After the third or forth time someone asked me about my "little girl," I decided it was time for a hair cut. The barber was great, considering Ranen is scared of anything silver and aimed at his head (forks and scissors).

Also, Adah had her ballet recital this past weekend. They danced to the song, "some day my prince will come." It introduced me to the world of recitals; I wasn't really ready for it all. The hair having to be a certain way, the custom of giving flowers at the end, the reception afterward. I hope it was fun for her. I'm trying not to think about many more years of this sort of thing. One day at a time...

A big thanks to Rebecca for taking pictures of both the hair cut and the rehearsal.