(With a plethora of commas, just to prove I wrote it.)

• My mom got married, and it was a quite the party. Aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces, nephews, babies…it was a great family reunion.

• Ian had a great season in baseball, and his new team welcomed him, and us. He finished driver's Ed., too (but barely, it was not the driving, but getting up at 9 that almost did him in).

• I moved into my condo. Even though I don't have a couch, or pictures on the wall...I love the creek and my space.

• I was neighborly (much more than I was in 6 years at my old house!). There’s Jon with Raki (his dog, who I watch when Jon is at work). There’s Joni, who lost a daughter last year. There’s Pat and Don with Tucker (their dog, who looks like Cooper). Shortly before I moved in, Don's 38-year-old daughter had a stroke. (Apparently, I've graduated to a status that skips over 'small talk.') There's a kid who plays piano every day, and she's getting better. There are some families living here just for the H.S. And there are people who keep to themselves, getting a “hi” is impossible, but I keep trying.

• I read oodles of memoirs: Dearie, Wondering Who You Are, Out Came the Sun. And, I cooked a lot more, now that I've found Sun Basket.

• I went to Hugo House for the first time. Sonya Lea was wonderful, just like her book (see above).

• Speech, speech, speech...in between there were lunches and coffee. My student's name was Nickora, which fits because every speech therapist I've ever had has a name like that (multi-syllabllic, with really tough transitions). But she looked like Clare Danes, so I just referred to her as Clare.

• I learned about a new treatment for aphasia, and the other effects of a stroke. Miracle Drug? No. Promising? Yes. It involves (off-label) Enbrel, a drug Brian worked on for 10 years. I'm considering it...weighing the costs, both fisacally and the more important questions. Like, what if it doesn't work? Like, what if it does? Like, what if it does, but not in the way I expect? 

• The future: I'm going to start school again in Portland, this year we have to BE spiritual directors; I'm going to lead a Centering Prayer group every week at WomanSpirit center (they/we welcome men, too); My sister is going to St. Croix to train for the Iron Man...I’m going along to watch the kids, while she does that (I know, who got the better deal!); and I'm going to learn my real camera again (Mike, I'm so grateful!), which I haven't used for two+ years; and I have volunteered for a couple of (short-term) studies at the Aphasia Lab.

So long summer...next year could you be cooler? Please??