Virgens, Virgens Everywhere - Part II

Hello, Again -

This should catch us up with the Virgens, taking us home from PA, on to Tucson, and then back to CO. Like I said, it's been a busy few weeks.

The Virgen above is from April 28th, when we flew back from the east coast. Lititz, where my partner spent her high school years, is such a little postcard of a place and I really do love to visit. When nostalgia and missing hit my partner during these visits to the place where she was made, we talk about what it would be like to live there as we are. Always for me, the conversation boils down to two pieces I don't have answers to - living in humidity again, and being out and progressive in such a conservative place.

We visited a small organic farm on this last day, which was another hot, hot, strangely early for that much hot day. As we stood creek side admiring the grazing goats and alpacas with rivers of sweat meandered down our backbones to pool in our panties (or pants if you aren't a panty-wearing sort...ahem.), I told my partner that the only way I could live once more in hot and humid was if I somehow greatly decreased the mass of my breasts so that I could summer in cute tank tops without the need of a bra. There is no place for bras in humidity, but without them, my massive mammories stick to my ribs and create a most unpleasant situation.

Conservatives and Lesbian Dislikers aside, the humidity makes a strong case against being there for me. It's no good for anyone, really, when I'm saturated like that. I'm not saying "never" but I'd have to address my breasts first. Really.

April 29th - back in CO for two quick days of work and repacking of bags. I was particularly grumpy at work this day, best illustrated by the roaring, writhing dragon. Yes.

April 30th - I don't know. Pretty flowers, nice art, busy with the packing for the next day. Sometimes the reasons aren't profound.

May 1. We celebrated both labor rights and fertile dancing around phallic symbols by flying off to the desert for a long weekend. Our favorite professor from our MSW program was retiring after 39 years, which is what initiated this quick trip south.

To make things fun, we decided that we should also surprise our friend with the visit. We collaborated (some might say "conspired". Either.) with her partner and arranged to come by their house after the retirement celebration this day. She's particularly hard to surprise and we had many mouths holding this secret because we had quietly spread the word about a gathering at their place on Sunday.

I'm happy to report that it worked seamlessly. I know she was surprised because she was speechless, and that's not a state she can fake.

May 2 - we dined with above-mentioned friends and one other (our best moving friend, who came down from Phoenix) at Poca Cosa for lunch, celebrating new houses (the friends we surprised and stayed with are closing on a new house in a week), old friends, and some of the best food money can buy. Oh, it's good.


May 3rd - This was the day of our gathering/cook-out, so we had a "light" lunch of sonoran hot dogs from Guero Canelo and raspados from our favorite place on Congress. For all we fussed and moaned about the weather and climate in Tucson, we both can say clearly how much we've missed the food. It's not fancy, but oh is it fantastic.

May 4th - We flew back up to Denver this day, after what was some of the best four consecutive days I've had in a bit. Staying with our friends was just the joyfest I've needed lately, and connecting with all sorts of wonderful friends while there was a balm to my soul. We didn't see everyone and there is still some missing had, but my well was greatly filled during this trip.

The hangman you see is my partner's intervention for my most sad and new fear of flying. It's not a paralyzing fear, but it does keep me from fully relaxing while in flight, especially when one has turbulence. It's on my list to explore and remove this new discomfort because I used to love to fly and I still very much love to travel.

I don't know what it's rooted in, but will certainly find it, work through it, and redirect all that good energy to something much more fun than vividly imagining fiery crashes from miles up. Certainly helpful is my Partner Extraordinaire who willingly put aside a cruising altitude nap for some happy distractions like hangman and tic-tac-toe played on the seat-back pocket barf bag. She's good to me, she is.


May 5 - an image from an photography exhibit (The Swing, by Rene and Radka at NY Photo Fest) from the in-flight magazine. I do like this image - grungy and whimsical all at once. Just like me.

May 6 - while we were in Tucson, we watched the Kentucky Derby with our Mostess Hostess friends. I love, love, love horses and was amazed at the dainty ankles holding pure muscle mass on these particular horses, who have taken the essentials of equiness, boiled them down, and smoothed them out until Grace on Four Sticks is what you have. Amazing.

Not nearly as profound to me were the humans associated with this event. I did like the pure Cajun joy of the Jockey Who Won, but came to the conclusion that horse racing is Nascar in fancy clothes. It's the same folks, just in their Sunday best and sipping Juleps instead of PBR. Nothing wrong with that - no - it just takes some of the spit and polish off the event. Keeps it real.


May 7th. We came back from Tucson to green explosions from all the wonderful wet we had this spring. All the trees are leafing out and it makes me want to lay on the grass and watch the photosynthesis. What better day could one have?

Here's to that. Here's to plant magic, here's to grace on myriad legs, and here's to healing time with friends.