From Neighborhood to Movies to Clothes Chest to UT, Uvalde, and the Ukraine

Six o'clock in a darkish evening, the door bell rings, and Fiorella hears the panicked voice of the next door neighbor asking after her daughter, who, it seems, forgot to tell her mother she was coming over to our house to play. All's well that ends well in this story, thank goodness.

Your girl has a hard time finding good television movies to put her asleep at night so when she does locate one, she watches that show for a couple of months until she understands its every nuance.  Doc Martin, Unfinished Sky, and Soap Dish have been her favorites, but now she's seeking a new venue, like maybe Three Men and a Baby, if it's still available. As she remembers from years ago, it was hilarious.

Did Fio tell you that she discovered a cache of old jewelry far back in the clothes chest in her bedroom? Mostly dog pins and little silver necklaces like we all wore when we went to church on Sunday back in the day, but who knows what Fiorella will find next? Sonia Dog's collar? Her own teething ring?

To help Fiorella deal with Uvalde and her reawakened memories of the UT shooting of her nephew so many years ago, Son L has arranged for your girl to have weekly counseling, which she appreciates. It's hard to talk about things like this... and hard not to.

Fio is thinking about taking down the yellow paper sunflowers that she cut out and scotch-taped to her front window when Russia first invaded Ukraine. The flowers are looking a little ragged, and it looks like our side has won anyway.