I don't know where to begin. There's been so much, and so much of it carrying me on great heaving wings away from this little seat before this even littler computer.
ANd the longer I wait in between braindumps, the more convoluted it gets.
In words, at least.
In my head it's all one straight road, from the airport with Cristal, back to Niagara, filled up on sleep and too much food, back to Toronto where the hugs and laughter picked up right where we'd left off.
We'd missed a couple of good parties. We caught up on Tuesday night.
Sunday we were wrapped up in hugs at Jessica's, an evening of surreal charades and watching Cristal slowly open up, her first moments in a new place, surrounded by new people. On Tuesday afternoon, when we drove past Julia getting on the Queen streetcar, Cristal called out in glee.
She'd recognized someone in the streets.
Then there was IKEA and my head swimming with stress, returning the piano keyboard for a new one -- the middle G works this time.
There was Kris and Kirsten over for dinner, talk in funny voices and laughter that boomed and reverberated in the walls. They brought us wooden swords and a battleaxe for Christmas, and we entertained them in our glee.
In the stress of Ikea, though, we never made it to the grocery store, and fed Kris and Kirsten droves of chicken wings instead, promising to invite them back over for curry again like I'd promised.
They grinned and shovelled back the greasy chicken, but in my heart I was disappointed, a failure somehow.
Tuesday we ran around and around and there was laughter involved too, then quick naps and a heavy swallow to convince myself to wear the dress after all.
It was well worth it, swathed in fleece with a bare back and still bumpy ink brightly showing, I received more giddy fondles than even a monstre could ask for.
If anyone ever asks me what I want for my birthday, I'll say as many cuddles as I got Tuesday night.
Plus maybe a few from yesterday, as people who are swiftly becoming favourites of mine -- from all the cities I've stolen hearts from, filled the living room with contented sighs.
Every time I wander past those couches now, those sighs rise in my throat and make my back tingle with fuzzy.