I’m on vacation, which is to say I’m skipping around my house fixing broken things and cleaning kitty noseprints from windows. This morning, I set up yogurt, made phone calls and hung laundry outside on the line. Between the warm sun, the pleasant breeze, the company of happy cats and the quiet of our house, which I simply adore being in, I did the Snoopy dance all day. Don’t get me wrong. I am fortunate beyond belief to have a job where my bad behavior is a bigass bonanza and my smart mouth is a surprising asset, and I work for people who’d laugh if I turned up dressed for scuba diving, but nothing beats doing the backstroke around my own house. Come to think of it, house cleaning would be more fun with flowery swim caps and sparklers – for the cats.

Since we are shedding a housemate, Pete and I emptied our closets and dresser drawers of everything weighing us down. Tomorrow morning, a truck will come take away bags of clothes that don’t fit and toys the housemate’s kids outgrew eons ago. The volume of stuff we are giving away is both impressive and discouraging, since until this morning, we lived with all this. I won’t be sorry to see it go.

One of my oldest friends recently disappeared into her addictions after years of sailing that horizon. Days ago, she crossed the line by wishing her sisters dead on Facebook, so I called her out. She said she’ll never speak to me again. Tonight, I saw her on the street. She’s become violent so I wondered if she’d attack me, but she walked on by. On this first day of summer, perhaps we are ready for more than one fresh start.