God's in Her Heaven

Today when I went for a mammogram, I ran into Velvet's kindergarten teacher. We recognized each other immediately because a couple of years ago we were in a class on Developmental Variations. She's pursuing her PhD now and looks wonderful. We both got all excited talking about educational reform there in the mammogram waiting lounge. Health Care was, of course, a topic since she had recently been without insurance for a year and my insurance runs out on Friday. The same question applies to both health care and education: Why are we even debating this stuff when the entire system is inherently flawed? It's flawed for for the people it's supposed to be serving, anyway. Clearly somebody somewhere is making a bundle or we wouldn't be stuck in this situation.

She's started a project for her PhD in which I have enthusiastically agreed to participate although all I know is that it has something to do with using comic books to increase literacy levels among children identified as reading deficient. Frequently, children with reading issues are simply being taught in a manner inconsistent with their learning style. Introducing different methods addresses this inconsistency. Sometimes there are neurologically based issues, such as dyslexia, that interfere with decoding, but with a curriculum dedicated to student success on high stakes standardized tests, alternative teaching methods can be neglected (as are a broad range of subjects necessary to develop critical thinking skills, but that's another topic). Problematically high student:teacher ratios also interfere with appropriate instruction. She's got tons of research to do, and I find this sort of activity invigorating.

The exciting thing to me, though, was reconnecting with her in the first place. It's like when Pineapple Head and I ran into each other at the New York premier of a documentary. My new job falls into the category of reconnection, too. Sometimes going backward is the best way to move forward.

This is a trailer for said documentary. Why We Wax by Kimberly M. Wetherell and Amy Axelson. Available to purchase from She Shoots to Conquer. I'm in it.

**Note ** I don't know why so many women reference their vaginas when discussing waxing since nobody waxes her actual vagina. You wax all around the pubic area, but never inside the vagina - there's no hair inside.

Even though last year was a lot like being stuck in molasses, much was accomplished on a personal level. I phased off all my psychotropic medications which was rough going sometimes, but ultimately I have remained stable. Most importantly, Velvet and I have navigated successfully through the teenage years into new territory.

I'm delighted to have had very little to detract from Velvet's last year at home full time. And I'm delighted that some great people I knew in the meantime are coming back into my world now that he's off to college. Things feel ideally placed for me as I embark on the next phase of my life.

Velvet will get home from Texas on Sunday. Some of his buddies came over yesterday evening because one of them owed Velvet money. Velvet wants the cash the minute he gets home from the airport to facilitate some major plan with Cupcake. During the hour and a half they hung out, it occurred to me that there has been so much testosterone in my living room this past year that there was no need to import any other man into this home. These kids are handsome, charming, and discuss philosophy and current events with good humor. None of the aggressive debating to establish dominance that many men seem to think passes for conversation. I was surrounded by strapping young men, and we all agreed the world would be a better place if more people got high.

The best part is that I am the boss of it. Velvet thinks he's the boss, and I can see where he got the idea since I gave it to him - but I'm finally the boss of my living room. There is all kinds of trouble in the world, but as long as I have a home that is comfortable, well provisioned and filled with loving acceptance, that's about as good as it gets.

Reviewing the situation, some months ago I was examining the differences in my life since I was without a boyfriend for the first time since I was Sixteen. Liberality said this is exactly how it would be when a man shows up and wreaks havoc. If her analysis was correct, I hope -- Dang, I'm going to start sounding like one of rotten Disney princesses if this keeps up.