Not Only Beautiful, So Far Away

Christian is in Nicaragua and La Luz, Loki and I are all missing him in our individual ways. Loki, predictably, mopes and whines and acts disinterested in those that are around. La Luz is mostly bummed that her constant source of entertainment isn't here. I am no good at playing horsey or driving the car and my ability to read books is, apparently, passable at best. I just miss the company. I can't bellyache about needing the extra hands or worrying about the danger of coming and going from the house because mom cooked dinner and pop followed us home. I am well cared for even when left alone. I have nothing to complain about but I am so accustomed to having Christian around that without him everything feels hollow.

So, we muddle through the evening, La Luz reading, practicing on the potty, and driving her car

and me, reading and listening to some music that might make me miss Christian a bit less.

I just finished Mockingbird, the biography of Harper Lee, which I borrowed from Jessie over a year ago. No, I haven't been reading it that long, it just took me a while to finally pick it up. It was excellent. Generally speaking, I am not a non-fiction type of girl. I like fiction, especially and particularly the contemporary stuff. With the exception of quasi-memoirs and John Krakauer, I stick to the fake stuff and I love it. But Mockingbird was a very pleasant surprise. I have always been fascinated by Lee - intrigued by the idea that someone could write such a wonderful book and then nothing more. I have a better understanding of why that happened now and a new appreciation for Lee and her life.

I am now reading Dave Eggers' most recent collection of short stories. It is entertaining but there is the ever looming, 'so what'. I haven't been blown away by any of the stories or characters yet. He has a few notable short shorts in the collection. I love short shorts because I think they are very hard to write. How does one make something so simple become something relevant? I believe he is able to do that in a few instances and that makes the collection worth reading, at least so far. Next up is Eat, Pray, Love and I am really looking forward to it. I have been known to pick books based upon the cover art and this one is particularly attractive to me.