Anna Banana

I have had a request from a certain friend, who shall remain anonymous except as named explicitly and displayed prominently in the title of this post, to write something on this neglected blog. It’s Facebook’s fault. It’s easier to write some stupid phrase there and upload a photo, where people actually see it, than to compose something here where even I don’t read it.

Here is Emmy on Christmas.

Nearly every night at bedtime, I bundle her up and tuck her in beside me. When she starts to squawk a couple hours later, I reach for my cellphone and call Eleni, a few rooms away, to come get her. Apparently I say strange things at this moment of transition, none of which I recollect, all of which Eleni not only recollects but revels in. She reports that, as she reaches to take the baby from her safe nest in the crook of my arm, I have said the following:

Nobody loves me. Nobody ever loved me.

Guess which of my children said the following, upon hearing of the death of an old friend of mine about whom they have heard for years: Oh my God! JIM died?! Is he OKAY?

Last night I took pix (303, to be exact) of Emmy in the Christmas present her Auntie Lulu gave her. The trouble with my subject matter is that when it’s happy, it’s thrashing all its arms and legs frantically like a beetle on its back (a beetle missing two legs, that is) and the photographic result is usually a swirl of color. When she is still, she tends to look as though she just ate that beetle. Here’s one that worked:

Here are some that didn’t, with captions:

Here are some you can make up your own captions for:

While Emmy remains the primary love of my life, I do have a few other things going on. Found out last week that I got the job I really wanted, teaching English at the University of California at Davis. I loved the directors I met there, and the teaching climate couldn’t be more suited to my nature: creative, flexible, rigorous. The flip side is that I have to move, and on short notice. I’m not sure yet what I’m teaching, and classes start in just over a week. With Molly’s and Genevieve’s help I found an apartment the day before yesterday. I have to figure out when and how to move (oh, and pack), in between wrapping up other work obligations and attending some preliminary teachers’ meetings. I don’t mean to complain, but I’m dreading leaving my Emmy (and Eleni & Jason) and stepping into yet another unknown, alone, particularly since I just finished moving back home from Vermont. I am trying very hard to see these major changes as a series of opportunities, with occasional success.

Gotta run. Genevieve is in town from Seattle (!) and I’m about to pick her up from BART, but need clean teeth first, or they won’t let me pull up to the curb. She’s being a huge inspiration with teaching prep.

Are you happy now, Banana?