Merry-go-round

There's a whirlwind of activity in my house at the moment, with my daughter home and my niece staying the summer with us, my cousins from D.C. in town with the kids from the rez in Montana, and my other cousin from Trinidad arriving for a visit next week. Plus assorted friends and significant others coming and going, and in between all of it I'm trying to stay on top of my work. Life is suddenly very busy and I'm hanging on for the ride. I know that I'll look around in a little while and the kids will all be out with friends, our visitors returned home, and our little apartment will be quiet again, just the man and me. I enjoy that, but I enjoy this merry-go-round, too.

I sat in Times Square with my cousin last night as the kids from her husband's reservation in Montana, six of whom she and her husband host every summer, took in the shopping and the sights in that video billboard and neon lit part of town. My cousin and I sat with all their packages while they wandered in a world far different from anything they'd seen on the rez. Two young women in lacy thongs and heels and nothing else, other than body paint of the American flag approximating clothing, took $40 from one of the teenagers in exchange for posing for a picture with him, with his phone. The kid was confused after he handed over the $40, not quite sure if he had been conned. He had been. He had a good time anyway. When we left there at close to midnight, hoards of humanity were sitting out on the plaza, taking in the costumed characters and the sights. It was nice catching up with my cousin. We always laugh a lot.

My girl has another one of her chef gigs tonight. This time the menu inspiration is an Italian family dinner. She did her shopping and prepping this morning and she's there working now in an industrial kitchen in Midtown. She'll be exhausted when she gets home, but relieved and happy if it goes well, and then we'll catch up on our shows from last week, So You Think You Can Dance and Project Runway. She was out with three of her "lifer" friends last night, all of them now 21 and finally able to do the bar scene. One of the young women slept over. I love when my daughter is home from school, because I get to see these beloved children whom I've known since they were four. As one of the other mothers texted me when she knew our children were getting together, "A night of peace." These kids are so familiar with one another, and love each other so completely that we never worry about anything bad happening when they are together. We know they will look out for one another. They always have.