A very good Friday

I am sitting on the couch in my half-unpacked living room, finally finished with work for the day. The cool March sunlight falls through the windows and makes warm patterns on the wood floor beside me. Schubert plays in the air and a light breeze wafts from the kitchen, where a window is open to dispel the smell of this morning's bacon.

The boys are outside, as they should be. Jimmy has the day off work, and the boy has been off all week for Spring Break. They went out earlier to buy supplies and get their Easter haircuts - they both look so handsome. They brought me back Reese's peanut butter cups and a Diet Coke, because they love me. Now they've gone to the park about a block away with fishing poles, where they will attempt to catch the poor hapless fish that survive in that pond and they will speak as men do. Or something.

Tonight we had planned to go to the Science Center for the Star Trek exhibit, since "Tribbles" author David Gerrold will be there. Money is tight and we can't go; our SLSC membership expired last week, so we'd have to pay full price, and we can't afford the membership yet either. Boy was decidedly upset about that, and I am determined to get him there at some point before it goes away.

But we have finally uncovered the kitchen table and had a meal there like civilized humans. We plan to do the same to the dining room tomorrow, in preparation for the Easter feast. Slowly but surely, we are making this house o' boxes a home. Hey look, we made a clean spot.

I was feeling quite melancholy the last couple of days, mostly because of money. It has cost so much more than I anticipated to upgrade from apartment to house, and I've made a new career out of trips to Wal-mart. I'm warring with Ameren, which has decided our move across town means they can tack an extra $200 onto what we actually owe for our first electric bill; and I haven't yet figured out how we're going to trade in our living room set for the new one that actually fits.

But I now have my desk - thank you donors! - and the bookcases will follow. The Tower will open for business soon, and the Kitchen is reopened, much to the menfolk's delight. They declare that they miss my cooking and we're all heartily sick of McDonald's and Little Caesar's Pizza.

I am reminded of something my mother used to say when I was a girl. She'd say, as much to herself as to me, that when your only problems are financial, you're doing pretty well. She was speaking in a different time and place, of course; many of us have financial problems that keep us up well into the night, trying to keep home and hearth together in unstable economic times and often clinging to our jobs with trembling fingers.

But then I read my own paper, my own stories, and I remember that we have it pretty good. I may not know how I'm going to pacify Ameren's mad grab for cash or how I'm going to replace the living room furniture, but I do know that my man loves me, my boy is healthy, and we're all going to be together tonight, tomorrow and the next day. There is no violence or drugs or awfulness in our lives, no bitter anguish or cold walls of silence. We are blessed.

There are a few moments in life when you rest, reflect and realize you are exactly where you are supposed to be, a moment of peace and contentment. I've had a few moments like that. I think today is one of them. I will not worry about money today. I will instead go bake some cookies for the menfolk, and see if I can knock out a box or two before they get back with wormy-smelling hands and big grins about the giant catfish that got away in a lake much too small for credulity.

A blessed holiday to those celebrating Easter or Passover this weekend, and a happy weekend off work for the others. May you find yourself in the place you are supposed to be.