Joy

Texting with my brother David yesterday, he mentioned that his family will spend the 4th of July camping in their trailer at the same place they went last year. It struck me that last year both of my parents were with him for that little trip and this year they're both gone. I still get sad sometimes when I feel my parents' absence and think about how sucky it is that they both left so quickly, so close together.

Suzanne and I have been talking about it more lately. There was a while when I don't think either of us really wanted to discuss my parents or their deaths any more. It was too sad and we had life to think about and our girls and work and school and all the hardships and tasks that come with mortality. But in the last week or two, she and I have had a couple of long conversations about Dennis and Laurie and how we miss them, how we sometimes feel their presence near (more Dad than Mom), and what a powerful role each of them played in our lives - as a couple and as individuals. When I think about it too much, it makes me a little blue so I try to think about good things, happy stuff that I enjoy.

So here are some things I have really been enjoying lately:

The Next Food Network Star - It's not as high-power as Top Chef but it's still fun to watch. I am surprised by how emotionally involved I become with these people. For anyone else watching, can I get an "amen" to the fact that Penny is the freaking devil?

Foo Fighters - I think I've written before about how, underneath my college English professor exterior, there's an 80's mullet rocker waiting to come out. Well, it's true. Some part of me really enjoys big stupid rock music and Foo Fighters really fit the bill. Actually, I don't think they're music is stupid. I think lead singer/songwriter Dave Grohl is really smart and some of his songs are quite moving - in an arena rock sort of way. "Times Like These," "All My Life," "Back and Forth," "Walk" -- all make me raise my imaginary lighter in appreciation.

The Lonely Polygamist - Novelist Brady Udall came to the Boise State MFA after I'd left but I still feel some ownership there so when he came out with a ginormous novel about a modern-day polygamist family living in Utah that was reportedly very funny, I had to investigate. I got it for Christmas and it sat on the shelf for a long time. I'd read the first page or two and then get distracted. Finally, a month ago, I decided to just get to it and see if it was worth the effort. Turns out, it was. The book is funny - I laughed out loud several times. The character of Rusty, an angry, anxious kid forgotten among the swell of his brothers and sisters, is the best, saddest, funniest thing about the whole book. It's not a perfect novel but I did enjoy it an awful lot.

Ice cream sandwiches - For me, there is no better summertime confection. I get them from the Casey's a mile from our house. It's so hot and humid here that they start to disintegrate as soon as I get them out of the store. So I eat them as fast as I can so they don't melt all over me. At least that's the excuse I'm using. I'm sticking to it.

This American Life - I've subscribed to the weekly podcast because I'm never near a radio when the local NPR affiliate broadcasts this Chicago-based gem. Ira Glass isn't for everyone and I get that -- but the stories and voices that his show presents are just more interesting, funnier, more heartbreaking, more surprising, and more joyful than anything else you're going to hear on the radio. I usually listen to an episode while I'm mowing the lawn and it makes the time fly by.

This whole situation -