home

Ah, it does feel great to be home. For awhile, we were seriously considering moving in with some dear friends - well, in a unit they were renting - to provide a strong co-housing-ish community for next year, the first year both Chris and I will be "working" while the kids are in care 4 days/week. But, after much mental wrangling and meditating (and by hearing the amazing Rebecca Riots, which put me in such a heartfelt place), we decided to stay home - one way to simplify our lives. Despite some challenges, we really love our home - and we have three fruit trees that bore fruit for the first time - yahoo.

I also just love that Liam is not an outsider and is a beloved member of his preschool community - and that his painted fingernails are not an anomoly - one boy regularly dons nail polish while another male child wears skirts. Ah, home in Berkeley (ok, we officially live in Oakland, but...)

On a sadder note, my dad is in the hospital and my sister is facing some major life challenges with her second hubbie - all on a family reunion in SC that I am not attending - I feel both guilt and relief that I'm not there with all of the drama and chaos. For so long, I really felt like NC is home - I still miss it dreadfully, but for the first time, California is my home!