Ah, My Madeleina....

Ah, my Madeleina: It is about 6:34 PM on Wednesday afternoon. Madeleina and I just had a talk about people covering up. She brought it up by asking why she was 15 pounds overweight. I explained that that happened when her mom and I broke up and she was stuck listening to lots of screaming and acrimony and decided, though she didn't realize it, to put a layer of protection between herself and her heart.
She asked why I was also 15-20 pounds overweight. I explained that while in New York I had friends, people I played handball with, people I played softball with, people I threw a football with, and that I also rode my bike 10 miles per day through New York traffic. But here in Texas, I have only one friend who is an adult, and he and I only see one another every two or three months. And I can't ride my bike--too many dogs--can't play handball, can't throw a football, and there are no handball walls. So I get bored to death and drink a little at night. Not stupidly, but enough to numb the night and let me sleep. And that's my extra weight.
She laughed at that explanation.
AND then it started to get windy and she suddenly took out her best kite and now she's running all over the yard, chased by the goats, by Boots, by the cat and by the chickens that she decided should be let loose, and the lightning is pouring down. There is no getting her inside, and as there is no key at the end of her kite string, I wont' try any further. But she is the real deal And she makes me laugh and calls me on it when I'm short. She's a real New Yorker is what I'm saying, could have been a mob moll if she stayed there and would have been a good one.
"Dad: If you lose another 10 pounds, even the 60 year old women at walmart will be looking at you!
Thanks, baby. Now go get into a cold shower and stay there for a year or two.
No, she's out in the rain and thunder.
On another note, my book, Ayahuasca in My Blood--25 Years of Medicine Dreaming was just made book of the month for the shamanportal.org website. It's a research place for all things shamanic. And no, It is not the same as winning an AAN national award for writing or two, and not the same as being the Texas Print Journalist of the Year, but it is still a nice thing. It means somebody who doesn't know me thought the book was good, informative, or even fantastic.
So thanks, God. White Light. Being-ness. Is-ness. Thanks for giving me Madeleina, my health, my crazy family, my goats and Boots.
Hope your rainstorm is as good as mine, everybody.