Desert Magnolia

Last weekend our baby girl graduated from college. She walked. She crossed the stage, gripped the hand of the President of the University, smiled, grabbed her diploma, and stepped down. Then she walked back to her seat, past us, where her very proud Daddy shot numerous pictures of her smiling face. During the 2.5 hour ceremony images from her childhood streamed through my thoughts like a precious chronology of her life to date. Her absolutely disarming smile. Her baby coos, and belly laughs. Her first steps, then words..so many words as they tumbled from her tiny mouth. Her love for her brother, and his care for her. He protected her fiercely from harm, but always did his best to conceal his efforts lest she actually know how much he loved her. Her soccer, her passion, her thoughts on ever more complex life issues. Her love for touch, for hugs, for head tickles and snuggling. Her passion for competition. Her academic development. Her deep compassion and natural nurturing instincts...

When it gets around to precipitating in the high desert, it can go a little overboard. We don't often get the gentle, soaking rains that last for hours and replenish the earth with fresh, clean, nourishing water. Instead we get the gully washers that prompt streams to overflow, streets to become rivers, and plants to hang on for dear life on any sloping ground-the ensuing runoff will threaten even the heartiest of root systems following one of these deluges. Yesterday afternoon marked one such event, and from what I can tell our roses were pummeled by hail, the ground is very wet, and GG's decision to wait one more week to plant the seedlings was a solid one. In the southern part of the state big flooding happened. The morning news showed main street in a small town completely flooded..and vehicles sitting up to their axles in water. Nothing gentle about these climes, yes? It's all or nothing, most days.

Another term has begun, bringing with it the normal chaos. There are more/different books to order, supplies to obtain, glitches to address/resolve, and the need to organize like crazy to ensure all goes smoothly and nothing drops. Nothing. Challenges this term include wrangling my most intense class load yet - 18 hrs. - and managing to consult enough to put food on the table. Expected high points include flying to RI next week to attend my girl's college graduation and generally enjoy a weekend AWAY from this one horse town in which I find myself for increasingly long stretches of time due to school and limited finances. A girl who's in grad school and working as much as possible but earning a bare minimum doesn't just fly away for week long getaways anymore. I think that luxury will remain elusive until such point, after graduation, as I've managed to pass my boards, get a license to practice, and have built a practice to the point of making a living. I don...