Flittering Thoughts

The Man has left me again. With news of a Canadian reporter being captured and released near Kabul, I am more concerned than ever for his safety. Life goes on here and there. Here's to The Man, his safety and health, over there.

Speaking of which, The Man and I have a new health pact. When he comes home for Christmas, we will each have lost 10 lbs. That's the goal. Lose 10 lbs in 6 weeks. Easy, right?

Not when I ingest 730 calories at 10 PM because I was touched that The Boy was thoughtful enough to bring home a cinnabon for me at that time. Not when I sit eating pistachios late into the night because I can't put my book down, then wonder if I should reward myself with a snack at 2:30 AM because I finished the book.

The book was hard to put down. It's about a Canadian woman who trekked the Camino de Santiago in northern Spain. I feel like I did the 800 km walk with her. Just to make sure I really do it, I sent a friend a simple note: "Camino de Santiago. 800 km backpacking through Medieval towns in Spain. 1 month pilgrimage. Let's go."

Her reply came simply as, "I'm in." Spanish is definitely on my to-do list now.

Another friend won't be in. She's heading to France in two days. I have agreed to prepare meals for her teenage son and check in on him every few days.

I am trying to schedule in some intensive daily French classes. Everyday for two weeks, five hours a day. It's like French Immersion. Wouldn't it be neat if I weigh 10 lbs less and could speak French to The Man when he comes back?

My instructor thinks I have the potential. He said I catch on quicker than others in the class. That's because everything is a review for me I reminded him. Then he gave that French shrug that said, I offered my opinion but it's your life, you do as you please.

I am quite pleased that The Boy now wants to major in English literature in university. He found a list of Time Magazine's top 100 books ever. He's on a quest to read all the books on the list. But we also found out he may not have deferred university because of a procedural glitch. That means he will have to re-apply, with lower marks than last year, because he's just pretending to go to school right now. But that's another story.