Video Rocks: The Week In Thanks

I joked in a previous post about Mom bringing me into a world where you can express love electronically. More seriously though, video technology is a true benefit to us. Next Saturday we'll pull off our first tri-location Skype conversation with Jack in California and Mom in Bloomingdale. At the moment few things excite me as much as the way that video can be used to capture life's favorite moments.

Mini-crisis proved again how talented the band is. Sean's guitar cracked but Tim was able to fix it before Mass began, including de-stringing and re-stringing it. Meanwhile Mike was busily fixing up Doug's audio so that he could hear the vocalists. As a group we seem to be blessed with grace under pressure, and the last few weeks we've been taking fullest advantage of that.

I tried to improvise some humming harmony on Mother's Day during the ladies' duet. It was rejected, which historically has been a bad ticket with me, but I've lived enough life to roll with it this time. I used the opportunity to quietly listen to their beautiful work.

Sometimes the waves and troughs of business match up perfectly. Heartland's math tutoring lab was slow last week, so I was able to use the time to catch up on a ton of errands. Most happily, I was able to write thank-you notes and stuff them with business cards and a token of thanks in the form of a free 30-minute massage.

The body's natural healing powers continue to sustain me. This week it's a complaining ankle, a straining hip from over-compensating that ankle, and a random Cupcake scratch.

If there's a better person on the planet than Dena at picking greeting cards that perfectly fit a personality and situation, I haven't met them. She also often does my laundry, most of the dish washing, and garbage take-out. I'm the retired one and she's getting more done than me. She is amazing!

I get to road trip with the Amazing Dena to Los Angeles for a family event, then meet up with Jack, then roll down the coast in a rented car to utopian San Diego. I am about as jacked up about this trip as one can possibly be.

Cupcake's continue to bloom into a fully grown cat. She's just barely six months old but finding her way in the world. Our walks around the condominium complex have emboldened her to wind her way down to the street, as well as to dart madly around the lot on occasion, giving me the look of a stumbling drunk with a leash. So much fun.