if you lived here you'd be home right now

i just talked to one of my good friends far away for 74 minutes, which was nice.

today was sweltering at 9 a.m. i took miles to his first class at pacific wushu where he learned, among many other things, how to do horse stance, salute, and do two kinds of splits. this is a goofy kid who i motherlyly envision participating in a creative drama group, or learning piano, but here he is running and jumping and kicking and punching and waving his legs in the air counting to ten in mandarin. and looking very proud of himself, indeed.

after getting one day closer to the fabled day you get to use a sword in wushu class we packed up and headed through the neighborhood to garfield pool. where the heck did all these hip looking people come from? i surely am not one of them. maya was looking pretty swell in her mermaid bathing suit, alternative ponytails and twinkle toes sketchers. we had unfancy food at casa sanchez and fancy ice cream at humphrey slocum (maya got pink lemonade, i got vietnamese coffee, miles had secret breakfast which had bourbon and cornflakes), then sat overfull and dazed under a big tree in garfield park waiting for the pool to open. i liked that miles knew one of the "poor kids from the projects" at the playground who is his age but runs around with a group of kids and not her mommy and daddy. i liked that they are school mates and played around a little bit and that he does not only know kids in his mandarin immersion world.

the pool was cold and loud and crazy with every hot kid for blocks around, spider man and sponge bob balls flying, shouts and laughter echoing off the old concrete walls. so joyous to cool down, the water, the noise, the taste of chlorine.

the cousins came over later and how cute is it to overhear two little cousin girls painting side by side at the table saying "i'll make mine for you, ok?" and "i'll make mine for you."

when i listen hard i hear a truck come thundering off the highway, maybe some country-ish music, miles sighing in his bunk bed, now some fast shrieky rock and a bus air-brake.

the sounds of morning are so much clearer and sweeter, mostly birds and more birds, a fresh bus going by, maya reading my anne lamott book to herself out loud.

goodnight