This kid, about 6yrs, started occasionally showing up at the end of our driveway in his Guy Fawkes mask, without speaking, a couple of months ago. Today he brought his gang. A couple are armed with nerf guns. I love them so much. They were in formation, but broke it to murmur amongst themselves when my reaction to them was to smile and wave and walk past them.

Hoping that reading Horton Hears a Who to the youngest bringing me to literal tears means the menopause fairy is finally coming. Fingers crossed!

Anyway, my personal favorite memory of the day was when I reached for the tin of doggie treats grandma sent, and Lacy, who had been quietly waiting near me during all of the gift wrapping, jumped on my lap and put her nose right up on the gift, just waiting for the paper to come off. She didn't need me to read the label, she knew exactly who that one was for, lol.

"You're loosing water." I say to the lady working the 24 hour leak hotline. "It's above my meter, so not coming out of my bill, but it's gushing out." She doesn't care. I understand, kind of. I too grew up thinking of water as a renewable resource, not something we have to consider in the grand scheme of things. But the water company doesn't care? Says to wait two days for the office to reopen and if they are concerned they can call someone out? The water department... doesn't care.

Lol shutting off the water main does not help if the water just starts gushing through the ground from the point where you turned it off. I'm so glad my kids get to see me modeling how to laugh a crisis off while walking to the store in freezing weather with fibro and coming home with water and drinks to laugh it off. SO glad. It's just.. all fucking happy. What a beautiful day. Sigh.

Lol, I tried shutting off the water main today to prevent water just gushing everywere even though we don't get any of that, oh no. Nope, I get to be highly motivated about water conservation and just watch it... gush. Above where the water shuts off. Still can't wash dishes. Maybe I can wash them by scrubbing them with snow and mud?

Here we go. Across the country, at this point in time, gardeners are deciding what the hardiest plants are for pollinators. I know what plants are praised, but knowing the details of how they grow, that's what I need, right? What is it, where you are, that works so well it feels like cheating?

I grow pollinator plants rated for Midwestern, but also I like carnivorous plants who like the wetland environments, and given my native habitat is cracked mud in the summer, it means I am rooting for the plants that are pretty much fucked, and I'm up for a challenge.

Anyway, if you feel bad and crappy, I do too. We all feel bad and crappy. But butterflies make us better? And whatever makes you feel crappy, planting butterfly plants makes you feel better. Promise. I got some kind of degree that gives me the right to tell you that planting things to sprout in spring that feed butterflies? You will feel good. I mean it.

Okay, it's a BA in Psych. Maybe it won't work. Only a BA. Maybe it will. You could make yourself feel better by raising butterflies.