mmmm. Last night was fun—spent most of it over at the wondergeeks' consoling a group of geeks who had had a Very Bad Day[tm]. I'm saddened to report that Kat's day was made worse today by the death of her grandfather down in New Orleans.

Kiddo, I know you read this. It hurts me to see you go through this. I went through the same thing in '96, down to very nearly the exact same circumstances, and it took a long time to heal. The first six months were hellish; the loss of my grandfather was an empty void in my soul that I felt from the moment I opened my eyes in the morning (on really bad days, even before then) and didn't go away until I went to sleep that night. The next six months weren't as bad; by that time I was learning how to live with grief.

Just remember that you loved him. Remember why. They don't have to be big reasons; little ones work better and will have more meaning to you. When I think of my grandfather now, I can remember the worn-soft feel of ancient blue denim overalls and the way that he drawled through "Hello?" when answering the phone. That means more to me than dates, names, facts. When we think of people we care about, we don't think about facts and numbers—we remember sensory impressions and random bits of trivia.

But for now, grieve. The big picture will come to you when you're ready.

My next question is a rhetorical one: how have I managed, once again, to become the den mother for another group of friends? Jeff commented on that last night after Jess called, asking me to come over for moral support—that suddenly I'm the adult, stable one of the crew.

Pardon me while I look back on my life and find that incredibly amusing. Would everyone who has a dumb Amy story please raise your hand and keep your mouth shut? (Yeah, I thought there were a lot of you. Now be quiet.)

According to Kat/Jess/Heather, I'm a wondergeek now. eeeeeep! I guess I need to meet Karina, just to make the circle complete.

I'm waiting on the weather to cool down a bit—I'm starting to get knitting urges again. Odd how the coming of fall (and cooler weather, and my birthday) always stirs knitting urges in me. I guess it's my version of preparing for winter. I've got a huge slew of yarn stashed back for the moment these urges hit me, but I don't know what I'm going to do with the yarn.

Well, everyone's clearing out a few minutes early today, so I think I will too. I need to run by the White Trash Wal-Mart and pick up the pictures from the party. I'm curious to see what misdeeds were done by my camera. I'm sure scans will be made available shortly. I'll make a post when they are.

From my corner of the world to yours, good night.