Urchin22’s Weblog

Tonight, I spoke with J., my therapist. He talked me down from abandoning my boyfriend, again. He coaxed me into considering the cultural aspects of some of our challenges, how Persian men may have a different sense of integrity. Personal integrity rather than integrity to society’s rules for example.

Tonight was Susanne’s birthday party. She is 37. Her husband, P., threw her a lovely, intimate party. We had the baba ganoush I made, roasted peppers stuffed with goat cheese, cheese and pate, grilled salmon with pesto sauce, rice, pasta, and salad. And good wine. Didn’t catch the label, but all wine at P’s house is good.

We discussed the Internet. How it’s changing news, what blogging is all about, how news is now sorted and parsed and personalized, and what it means that we don’t all necessarily share the same sources anymore. How specialized it’s all become.

The kids (we had at least eleven) were all watching a movie inside while the grownups sat outside. We actually had real, blessed conversation, a rare treat. So much so that P. was tempted to leave the kids out of the candles/birthday cake. But as a group we decided the kids would miss that, and we invited them, and we were all grateful we did. The kids’ voices rang out above all the others to sing for Susanne. They were lovely and sweet, leading the way with the cake, their voices thin and pure. They all gathered around Susanne’s legs, and she leaned over and hugged as many of them as she could before she blew out her candles. It was a lovely image. Priceless, really. How could we have considered even for a moment omitting the children?

I played boules with the guys afterwards. Most of the other moms had left, but since my children are still in Venezuela, I was a free bird. And, I’m decent at boules! So, that was fun. P was proud to have me on his team. It’s hard to get P’s approval, so that felt good. It’s a wonderful game. I have always loved it. I played boules along the Canal du Midi with Christoph, what, twenty years ago, on the boat trip we took with his friends. I liked it then too.

The boules court was lit beautifully from the sides. Baby bamboo plants leaned into it. We discussed P’s upcoming 40th birthday party. He is expecting 60 guests. He is younger than I by a few months. The party is in a couple of weeks.