dark and stormy

my grandfather is dying - at a rate faster than he'd gotten us 'accustomed' to, and I am looking at plane tickets to see this great man one more time
my heart is aching for a friend who is losing her struggles with deep depression
my body is no more tired than usual from little girls who sleep ill, but that doesn't mean not tired
and my soul is stirred more than usual by beautiful music

the mundane and the heart-wrenching exceptional mingle. The personal and the faraway too - did you know about the women of Guinea?

And tonight instead of fighting this intermingling, instead of rationalizing and setting aside the priority troubles, I let the flow of emotions wash through me.

TV or not TV

For all my barely concealed smugness when I state that we have no TV (still! some of you know this has been going on for well over 10 years) - I wonder if I could say the same if it weren't for the extremely convenient and awesomely timed conveniences of
- TV networks posting shows for free online (in the US at least)
- ditto for big events like the olympics
- access to news online
- Hulu *
- Netflix, including European shows, and unlimited online instant viewing
Not to mention that I crash pretty early every night from sleep deprivation and two kids who wake up too early in the morning. And that I'll take a great book over TV any time.
So it's a little like preferring a fruit tart to a German chocolate torte - not sure I deserve much of the credit.

*: Also Lala, Pandora... how amazing is this world we have access to??