Tuesday, December 11, 2012

Christy, Calvin, Anne Lamott and me, sitting on the dock of the bay


Sitting in the morning sun, here at my desk, on the dock of the bay, seemingly watching the tide roll away, wasting tiiiiiiiime,  I clicked on my friend Christy's newest post on her blog Calvin's Story, a repost that I was surprised to see she'd dedicated to me. Christy is one of the beautiful women I've met online who has a child with severe epilepsy, and not only is she a kickass mother and a kindred soul, she's a soaring writer. Thank you, Christy, for this beautiful tribute.

The weird thing is that just last night, I went downtown to my beloved Los Angeles Public Library and listened  to Anne Lamott in conversation with Father Gregory Boyle, and that woman's funny, wise words are still zinging about my head this afternoon as I watch the tide roll away. I'm thinking about paradox, about the ability to hold conflicting ideas and emotions at once, about riding the hated roller coaster with joy and exhilaration, about look like nothing's gonna change and everything still remains the same and then opening a blog post with words that sustain me.

11 comments:

  1. Good and lovely things do freaking happen sometimes, don't they? You deserve a bunch of them.

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  2. oh, I HATE I missed it. hate it hate it. I hope you memorized it so you can tell me word for word what she said!

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    1. I missed you, Lisa, although I think my friend J was ecstatic to take your place!

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  3. Love that song.
    Love you.
    The more things change, the more...well, you know the rest.

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  4. Whoa, I just typed a comment and it disappeared. I didn't even hit publish. Very strange!

    Anyway, suffice to say I am not a fan of Anne Lamott. Maybe I need to try to read her some more. So many people think she's the bees knees.

    Regardless, I'm glad you enjoyed her talk and that she could be part of one of life's little confluences!

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    1. I was messing around with my template, Steve, and probably caused the problem. I can certainly understand how Anne Lamott isn't everyone's cup of tea -- she's pretty specific and sometimes limited in what she talks about, but her book about writing is excellent --

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  5. Sometimes I wonder if those two notes can resolve. I hope something sustains you today. I go back and forth on Anne Lamott, but I do love "Bird by Bird".

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  6. And I forgot to say that I adore your new blog header!

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  7. Thank you so much for sharing your insights from the talk at the library -- that holding of conflicting ideas/emotions is something I find really challenging.

    And I'm going to check out your friend's blog. Hugs xo

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  8. I love this song and this version of this song. Also love your new banner. It is SO Los Angeles. Do you know the Steve Martin movie, L.A. Story? I watch it over and over again for it's loving tease of the L.A. life, and the insertion of Shakespeare doesn't hurt! Wishing you some literal wasting time sitting on the dock of the bay (whistle whistle).

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