Dog Days

It must be the dog days--when the dog star rises in the morning sky (Is it the morning sky or the evening? Oh, please don't make me Google . . . ). The dog days: I've always liked the sound of that. I thought, when I first heard the expression as a girl, that it had to do with how warn out dogs get after a frolic in the steamy heat. But nope, it's about a STAR.

Speaking about stars (and planets, galaxies, Einstein's general theory of relativity, curvature, the nanosphere, Democritus, and the Navajo creation story) . . . I'm still unwinding from my 4-day, 40-hour oddessy into the world of Astrological Science. When I found out, for instance, that we'd traveled to Juniper (well, not exactly "us," but a spaceship with a probe), I had this sudden feeling of where the f*ck have I been the last fifteen years? I mean, how come I didn't know there's a spaceship right now headed for Mercury? Okay, I didn't subscribe to a newspaper or own a TV for most of my adult life, and then when I got both I also became a working parent . . . but still. I related all this and more to my hubby after one of my 11-hour days in my beachfront study, and hubby had good news: I would have forgotten it all by now anyway. Yes! He's right! I would have! Which is why I am having the time of my life learning all about what I've been missing. I now have more books on my shelf (too many for my satchel!) about the Big Bang, Copernicus, the Planets, Galileo, etc., than I even knew about a week ago.

And that's where I am right now: trying to figure out how I will read all of these books, teach my daughter how to ride a bike, and have time to take a swim in the Lake now and then. And do laundry, too, of course. Because I probably won't be getting back to my undisclosed island (except for, if I'm lucky, a couple of days) until next summer, if, if, if, they let me come by. Mercy!

But dang, it was a good week. And now I'm home, back to the usual stuff (dentist appointment, grocery shopping, breaking up fights), but I have to say I'm even happier than usual--a little too happy? Could that be possible? The hygenist said I was glowing, and I immediately panicked: could I be pregnant? How horrifying would that be?! (Don't worry--it's statistically impossible).

You can probably guess by now that this post is going nowhere fast. I don't have any books to recommend, unless you want to learn more about the Heavens. Happy dog days, everyone!