March 16th, 2025
There's a minor miniskirt-midriff battle going on before church that morning... she's not exactly fifteen, but she's also not exactly nine... and when she likes a “look”, she likes a look... “But the other girls are wearing them!”... ultimately the battle is very mild and Patience scoots herself into something I'm pretty sure I've seen some little Korean grandmothers wear in my old K-dramas, yet somehow still stylish... she is also amply distracted from thoughts of wardrobe when she sees photos from her cousin's wedding reception in Oklahoma that weekend, texted to my phone... “Oooooooh! Can I see? Can I see?”
Meanwhile Yali – eager to impress more than just his parents – has even showered before breakfast on his own recommendation for the first time... ever? including deodorant with no reminder at all...
Roll up to the back door of church in a hard chill with the thunder of Saint-Saëns's “organ symphony” blasting over the radio... Yali is making an enormous effort to exhibit gentlemanly behavior throughout the morning and holds the door for both mama and sister...
Inside Patience tests the pews for squeakiness before we choose... some of them have been getting worse lately...
Later while waiting for Bible study to begin... sit with Oxbear, one of the seminarians, and one of the nonagenarians to discuss and compare the ferocity of St. Louis storms...
And home to begin addressing the remains of the week... while ordering rubber dish gloves off Amazon, note that Puck has filled my shopping cart with a million dollars worth of house kits and industrial drills and scissor lifts as a joke...
Meanwhile Yali has got his “midnight cherry red” RC Tesla spinning donuts all over the living room floor... he is also asking if he can give some ice cream to the dog...
And Patience gets a one-day break as the Florissant St. Patrick's Day parade and festival was canceled due to unfortunate extensive storm damage (on a night where up to 19 tornadoes touched down in the state)...
Later in the afternoon Oxbear is deep into work-writing...
Patience is test-styling her dance wigs before joining cousin R online for gaming adventures...
Yali is dressing up the old Halloween skeleton in shipwrecked-on-a-desert-island clothes shreds and whacking off the skull in intense combat... then reattaching the skull and battling again...
Puck returns from J's to hang out with his yellow cat before another four hours in Produce...
Mama is working on all the things mamas must do to keep the house working...
And the sun is also fully out against a cold powdery blue sky... the 30s today will transform into 70s tomorrow...
A short drive south through northern Ozarks in the early evening... a little tornado damage... rose-gold fire in the west... stop for Aldi candles (Patience chooses geranium moss, peppercorn patchouli, and rock salt rose for me)...
Home for the later evening as Elmer and Francis both confirm “dustings” of snow at their residences that day... tornados to snow in 48 hours or less...