Gnat tonight

January 25, 2015 It is 8:24 and my kids are all watching the Miss America pageant (wait—can’t be Miss America—I just heard them discussing the merits of Ms. Jamaica vs. Ms. Argentina—Ms World? Nope, just heard it: Miss Universe) Anyhow, they should all be going to bed, as should I. (I didn’t realize watching Miss Universe involved quite so much giggling, yelling, and… are they wrestling? Or maybe moving furniture?) This weekend, the Iowa Games was in town and Gracie participated in the swim meet yesterday, then played in the volleyball tournament all day today. In addition to prepping her and cheering her on, I also did ten loads of laundry, took 3 naps (it’s been a really exhausting week) and, sheesh. What else did I do? There was wine involved. Also Mass, an old favorite movie, about 40 trips to the upstairs bathtub to view lego jet skis in action, grocery shopping, and one very important “yo soy especial” project. It was everything, and nothing—a couple of the kind of pleasant whirlwind, overwhelming sort of days that define our lives right now. All weekend, I tried to figure out what to say in today’s entry (yesterday’s was constructed largely of stuff I’ve written in the past 5 months). I got nada inspiration. Oddly, weekends are my worst time for finding time, at least the quiet, alone, reflective kind of time I need to put a few words on paper. Even when I get up early, I still can’t seem to find either the time, or the ideas. But to say I lack inspiration may not be entirely true. I am inspired every day. But my ideas are like gnats. They swarm around me, getting in my eyes and my throat, sometimes glistening gold in the afternoon sun, sometimes choking me. Often, they annoy me. But to say I LACK them is entirely inaccurate. But how does one craft a cloud of GNATS into anything anyone might want to READ? They don’t. At least, I don’t. Gnat tonight.