Spring Is For Renewal And Angst

[Mixed reviews for the weekend. As Chris tells us, he's been completely overwhelmed with work, but he told me on Thursday that there'd be a lull at the weekend. Since we had plans to go to my parents' for Easter, I planned my time this way: Friday night, alone with books or a movie; Saturday, go for a drive either by myself, with Allen, or maybe with Chris if he was available (I'd rented a car for both days); Saturday night, quality time with Chris that I hoped would blend seamlessly into Sunday, then up to Sonoma sometime that afternoon, and return that night.]

[Friday went off well, and solitude proved to be such a tonic that I decided to go for that drive by myself, too. I've been renting cars from the same Dollar branch for more than eight years, and they always give me a free upgrade. This time, as during last year's birthday week, I got one of those ridiculous PT Cruiser convertibles. Well, the sun was peeking out finally, so I did a nice, rambling drive thru the Oakland and Berkeley hills, hitting roads I'd only ever seen on maps, catching gorgeous views of blindingly green hills, a slate-gray Bay, and a bridge or two. It was great, but by the late afternoon, I realized I hadn't spoken to another human being for almost 24 hours, and this man's young fancy turned to his squeeze...]

[Unfortunately, Chris had a huge load of more work dumped on him (plus taxes, oops), and he needed the weekend to do it. No quality time together, no trip to Sonoma. I'm not proud of the way I reacted, and I certainly managed to take up a few hours of his time later that evening, but it couldn't be described a quality time. Will I ever learn to choose the appropriate time, place and manner to expression dissatisfaction?]

[Anyway, me n' the PT were on the road early yesterday afternoon. It was a very low-key day and evening with the family. We spent most of it playing with my niece, talking about my niece, and admiring the custom postage stamps my mom got off the internet featuring pictures of Guess Who. We are still plainly besotted, and Chris probably dodged a bullet. Nothing's quite so boring as other people's offspring. I did debone the leg of lamb rather expertly, my mom's friend Annabelle brought the hallowed lime Jell-o fruit salad, and not even the dishwasher crapping out in the middle of the event ruined the fun.]

[What with attending Chris and Elisabeth's seder on Wednesday, I was trying to think about Easter's significance to atheist gentiles like my family. We discussed the appropriation by Christians of pagan symbols at dinner (yes, the subject veered from the baby for a minute or two), and agreed that we have gone full-circle, and that Easter is once again simply a celebration of spring. After all the rain we've had this year, I found little difficulty getting behind that concept, especially since my niece was such a happy symbol of it. It certainly makes the consumption of a fresh leg of lamb less creepy now that it's not associated for us with the Lamb of God.]

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