still wild at heart

friday was a long day, but we made it to friday night and i took miles out for some culture in bernal heights. it was cold enough for puffy jackets, and quite dark when we left at 6. christmas trees are in many of our neighbor's windows, inspiring a little greed and anxiety in my offspring. we get to red hill books early for the free screening of still wild at heart, a film made about wild animals living in the urban landscape of sf. i saw a flyer in the bookstore earlier in the week, while killing a little time waiting for miles' parents conference at the coffee store.

chairs are scattered around in front of a big projector and a little group is setting up for some live music. a guy with a mandolin, and two women, guitar and violin. they play what to me is amazing bluegrass. very tradtional and old-timey and fast. i think miles is going to whine but he is kind of tired and goes into a trance with me watching the crazy expressions on the violinist's face. they say they are big fans of the coyote in the movie. soon the place fills up, big kids, the old waitress from st francis, and then i spot my old roomate andy, who is still totally himself, and makes some protective comments loudly when the old woman behind is critical of my moving my seat side to side in front of her (miles kept moving) and when people whined about the projector stopping several times ("if you go see a free movie in a bookstore, you might have to adjust your chair a little bit", "if you don't like it, just buy the dvd and watch it at home"). the movie is pretty amazing, about coyotes traversing the streets of san francisco, and even the golden gate bridge, in their efforts to have genetically healthy babies. quail scooting from the presidio to gg park on their tiny little legs, a deer running across the bridge. it was about how wildlife is slowly coming into urban places and though the movie didn't come out and say it, how we are more accepting and encouraging of these creatures as we are seeing our own place in the world as more fragile now then ever, and can appreciate coyotes instead of just shooting them.

don't feed wild creatures!!!

a bear came right down to the north side of the gg bridge and ended up on mt tam.

right now i am tired out after another marathon birthday party, complete with moonsand, sculpey projects (wasn't long ago i was playing with sculpey with no kids around at all), make a plate, lots of gifts, a heavy duty pinata, backyard bouncer, professional storyteller, and some post-party thai food and cupcakes. there was much kindergarten talk but i tried to avoid it mostly, as the whole subject is making more anxious than ever. most of the kids there were from ella's preschool and many were writing sentences which i found amazing.

looking around our living roomi remember way back to this morning and recall maya waking me at 5, insisting it was time to be up for the day and repeatedly trying to sneak out of bed to turn on the tv, some serious tickle fighting, some real family fighting, trying to talk to cassie through a chaotic 30 minutes (can't my family give me half an hour with my long distance friend i dreamed about returning to sf last night?) replanting the lemon tree out back, hauling all the xmas decorations out (miles' request) and setting up our little walgreens tree, the advent calendar, and the lovely and large walgreens christmas light train. ho ho ho. maya has somehow broken our stereo. this place needs some major cleaning. we are making it through for now, day by day, minute by minute, and tonight my back hurts and it is time to go night night.