In the life that is Meganar, I had a fabulous time with all the family in town. My cousin, Alan, and his girlfriend Laurie were a ton of fun. We managed to fit in many hours at the Market, the Troll, Fremont, Gasworks, disc golf, a delicious seafood pasta dinner made from ingredients we bought at the Market, Golden Gardens, Ballard, Woodinville wineries, and tasty food at Ray's and Elliot's. Yum! Mols, Trav, and I had a great time at friend Jen's on the 4th. During their stay we fit in taking Trav up the Space Needle and time at Seattle Center. Mols and I went out one night to Belltown for drinks and apps (loved the Black Bottle!), and then off to see the Long Winters at the Showbox. It was a great show. They played all my favorite songs this time, and J.R. was entertaining as always in all his toothless glory, which my sis and I found distracting (get a tooth, dude!). On Sunday we spent time with Molly's friend Meg T. and my dad, went to Golden Gardens, and then off they went back to Portland.

I have to say--again and again--how much I love Travis's two year old self. We had a blast playing in Jen's pool and running around the lawn on the 4th. I like seeing his imagination develop and encouraging it through all of our fun little made up games. I love being immersed in a kid's world for a while. Even though it's extremely difficult to cope with how early Zozo gets up in the morning, he's so sweet with his wide happy eyes and cheerful energy first thing. I can't think of anything much better than being woken up by such cuteness climbing up on my bed, telling me that he loves me and is going to give me a kiss on the cheek. And then he does. Right now I'm cool Auntie Bacon R. to him. He gets really excited about coming to visit and spending time with me. I just want to soak that up, because down the line I figure some of my coolness will fade to him, and he will go through a "girls have cooties" phase, and it's entirely possible that he will turn into a wild, skateboarding hooligan who I will have nothing in common with. But for now, we're buds. I have grand plans to turn him into a rock star and political activist.

My pretty new purple laptop arrived. I love it! When I say I love it, I mean the laptop seems functional enough and fine, but the design is awesome. I can even have the desktop match the color/design of the computer. I'm into it! Now it's on to the camera and MP3 player. Me and my electronics.

Tutoring is still going well. I enjoy my time at the center so much and look forward to continuing on with the program into the school year. The kids are great, and I just find being in that learning environment so fulfilling. Yesterday I noticed that my "Grace is..." sign has been replaced with something else, though. I was sad.

The online dating was put on hold for a week or so due to all the busyness. During that time, I realized I've hit a bit of a lull with the process. After a couple more disheartening exchanges with peeps (One guy sends me email on a Thursday night: "Sounds like a really good deal with Israel. Let's meet. Early Saturday afternoon is good for me. Bye." Uh...again, how about no? You didn't answer any of my questions, and you don't bother asking me what works for meeting? I just don't have time for that level of self-involved inconsideration), I started feeling bleah and ignored the site all together for a while. I think it's called Denial. But, recently I decided to buck up, went in and cleaned house, and am now starting fresh. Onward!

I don't want to be all TMI talking about my therapy, but it's a significant part of my life right now, so it feels funny not to mention it at all. Primarily, I think it's due to the fact that I feel like I'm going through a huge period of growth and self...honesty, I guess is the right word. In general, I think I'm pretty self-aware, but right now I'm facing my truths in a more complete and open way. I'm taking a look at issues I've struggled with from a different perspective. It's difficult at moments, but it feels good to define a greater sense of self and access my inner strength. This feels incredibly important to me in a way that's difficult to articulate. I know it's playing a big role in how I'm moving forward, and I'm so grateful for the opportunities this experience is giving me. Like, perhaps more so now than ever, I feel like I'm on the right track. Talking with one of my lovely friends the other day, she told me that I seem the strongest and happiest she has seen me, and those simple and kind words totally filled my heart with happiness. It's wonderful to feel really seen and heard.

So, while I won't give you a play by play of all my topics (you can breathe a sigh of relief), I will say that this summer is feeling like a pivotal one for me. My counselor is awesome, and she has a knack for asking the right questions and making perfect suggestions in the moment. I like checking in with someone about how much my actions match my inner truth, and how to make choices that are in alignment with who I am. She is pro-clarity, and I'm starting to get very clear on what I want. She suggested a writing exercise that I have attempted and struggled with in the past. My mind just wandered, and I wouldn't get much down on the page. But, I gave it a shot again and was finally able to do it, pretty easily. That felt like a huge accomplishment! What I wrote very much feels like a true reflection of my desires coming into alignment with my very being.

The French is still crap, though. I've made zero progress. Maybe I'll take my stuff with me to work on in Israel during down times. Speaking of which, Israel is coming up soon. I'm getting super excited, and a little nervous, but I know it's going to be great. I can't wait to share that with you!