One of the things I love best about my friend, Eliza Lou, is that she is one of those people who Gives Good Card. Seriously. The woman is known for it. She has the sweetest, most sincere, sentimental heart. I think such attention to things is something that happens to you when you're born in the south because here in the Midwest we're sorely lacking. Or at least I am.

Eliza can be counted on for the best surprises in the mail. Yesterday I received a card from her and on it read this:

"For a long time it had seemed to me that life was about to begin-real life. But there was always some obstacle in the way, something to be gotten through first, some unfinished business, time still to be served, or a debt to be paid. Then life would begin. At last it dawned on me that these obstacles were my life. This perspective has helped me to see that there is no way to happiness. Happiness is the way. So, treasure every moment that you have and remember that time waits for no one."

Thanks, Eliza. It was a wonderful surprise.

In other news, at 7 a.m. today Glin brought me a dead bird. I saw it on the ground and knew that once she laid eyes on it there would be no hope. We were on our way to fetch Starbucks around the corner and before I could locate something with which to shoo it away, she snatched not only the dead bird but also her best friend Frank's bouncy ball and began to prance around the yard, proud as she could be, with the back-end of this frickin' bird hanging out of her mouth.

I gave her a choice: her Sunday morning grande, no-whip skim white chocolate mocha Frappuccino or the bird. I found this to be a no-brainer but for Glin, she opted for the bird.

"Mother," she said, as she now has taken to calling me "Mother" as addressing me as "The Mama," she explains, is for babies. She's going through a phase. I expect her to start curling her bangs and asking for Aqua Net any day now. "Mother, I need the protein. I'll just have a sip of your cinnamon dolce latte later if you don't mind."

And I didn't. However, I quickly disposed of the bird once I distracted her with a breath-freshening biscuit. She may be snotty, but she's so easy.

Posted by Erin at 07:30 PM | filed under: Blog move