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 I finally overcame my overpowering sense of inertia today (notice I did not say this morning) and took a walk. That part of it above, is Lloyd Creek Road which is really a pretty road and not heavily traveled. I was heading towards home when a truck stopped beside me and it was a guy I met a very long time ago. He and his husband used to go to the restaurant Kool Beanz every Friday night, as did Glen and I and we struck up a friendship. Turned out that they lived in Lloyd too, or close enough. Not so far from where we live. This guy, the one I talked to today, has a very successful landscaping business and I see his trucks all over Tallahassee and around here. But I hadn't seen him or his husband in quite awhile and I'd just been thinking about them recently so it was nice to see him. 
We caught up, him parked in the road, me beside the truck, and not one car came by. It was good to see him and before he pulled away I said, "Hey. I need some help with my yard. I'm getting old and all I find myself doing is pulling out invasives."
"I'll come by," he said. 
I hope he does. Glen and I always called them "The Boys" and they're a sweet couple. 

I really don't have much to talk about today. I've felt okay. Slow but okay. I weeded some and that's been about it besides the walk. I took some books down to the little free library. I was happy to note that some of the books I'd taken last time were gone. Jessie and I had talked about going to lunch but she's started a new side-gig sort of thing, assisting at home births with the midwife who delivered both Levon and Maggie. I have spoken of this woman and I will always speak of her highly. She was an L&D nurse for many years at the hospital but as so many nurses do, she became frustrated with the way birth is handled in that setting. So, despite having three beautiful daughters and a very handsome husband, she went back to school and became a licensed midwife. She trained under the midwife who delivered Gibson and August who was also a fabulous midwife. So this morning Jessie was on call and got a call from Tanasia that she had a mom in early labor but before we could even start talking about lunch, the baby was coming and so lunch was canceled. 
I am so excited for Jessie to be doing this. When I had her, I had been working as a birth assistant myself for a few years at the local Birth Center. I remember so well that feeling of knowing that a mama is in labor and trying to tie up loose ends with kids and husband, not knowing when you'll be needed or when you'll be home. It's a physically challenging job and an emotionally challenging job and sometimes it's the best thing in the world and sometimes it can be really hard. But it is, in many ways, the best thing in the world to help women give birth- to bring new life into this world. And now my daughter will know this feeling too and I especially love that she'll be doing it in the sweet intimacy and comfort of a family's own home. Back in the way, way back days, I, too, assisted midwives at home births, and three of my children and most of my grandchildren were born at home. 

I could go on about all of this for pages and days but I won't. I need to make supper. And besides that, I've talked about all of these things many times before. I am a fierce advocate for midwives and for women who want to have their babies at home in safety and in comfort and we who have had the good fortune to be able to do that are the lucky ones.

Today's camellias. 

Love...Ms. Moon