Infested

"I had always worked with the temperamental conviction that at bottom there are no insoluble problems, and experience justified me in so far as I have often seen patients simply outgrow a problem that had destroyed others. This 'outgrowing,' as I formerly called it, proved on further investigation to be a new level of consciousness. Some higher or wider interest appeared on the patient's horizon." - Carl Jung

My friend Shiraz and I go for a quick coffee after work today. I love being downtown, people watching, chatting with my brilliant BFF. On the way home, I get a call - my daughter, Duckie, has a lice infestation. Don't you know that last night is the night my darling girl decides to crawl into my bed? Blech.

So, I've been washing hair, combing out nits, washing again, bleaching sheets, itching all over. It's so disgusting.

But it dawned on me that every time life starts to get a little nutty, something happens that pulls me back - and makes me clean my house. It's as if the solution for me is always: clean your outside world and it will clean your inside world. I probably sound pretty OCD right now. I can be a bit at times, but really it's an almost symbolic purge, a ritual.

Random updates:

* I deferred admission to the program for six months. I'm not sure anything will be different in 6 months, but at least it's a reprieve. Buy some time to work out a game plan. Clear the cobwebs. Look for alternate solutions. Part of me hates that this leaves that tiny little window of opportunity open - I should probably just close that door and move on - but I'm not ready to admit defeat. Moreover, I've never been very good at letting go - probably to my detriment.

*I have been running again! Yay. Triathlon training will start soon for the 2009 season. That will be a healthy distraction. Even sent an email to my ultra-competitive, ultra-fit girlfriend. I like the way she pushes me.

*Dallas is "coincidentally" going to be in Austin on Tuesday. He flies in in the afternoon and has to leave that night. I agreed to have dinner with him. Maybe he'll be a little different without a posse to impress.

*Excited to go downtown for the freakshow Friday night, after trick-or-treating with the kids, and after the party at Po's.

Back to the bleach.