Last week left me in need of diversions. Thankfully the weekend has been a pleasantly diverting one…

• Friday night I hooked up with my peeps at the Walker, to catch the Diane Arbus exhibit before it closes (today).
• Afterwards I met up with Maria, who was in town for a family wedding. She hosted a gaming party at her brother’s place. It was good, geeky fun. I didn’t get the chance to play Heroscape, but I did bear witness to the spectacle of it.
• Not long after I fell asleep the husband was paged. Twice. I couldn’t get back to sleep so I watched the first two Battlestar Galactica webisodes. Such a tease. And a good way to build up the buzz for the upcoming third season.
• Saturday morning I went back to retrieve Maria, and whisk her away to Anodyne. There we met up with the usual suspects. I was tired while the little man was on the hyper/loud end of the spectrum, but he didn’t want to leave…even after three hours of coffee shop sitting. There are toys there, and a chess set that allows him to play his version of the game. It isn’t terribly strategic or quiet (he shouts “I will destroy you!” while slamming his opponents pieces off the board).
• It was good to get home and chill. The boys played some video games while I watched Brick. I’d wanted to see it when it was in theaters, but didn’t get the chance. I’d nearly forgotten about it, but thanks to Milk and Cake it wound up in my netflix queue. And I’m glad it did. I might re-watch it with the subtitles on before sending it back. The dialogue was just so intriguing.
• The lad and I ran up to the neighborhood playground last night. He was unusually hyper all of yesterday (I nearly suspect he got into the espresso at Anodyne) so it was good that he burned off some of that excess energy, especially since it’s crappy outside today. But soon we’re off to the gym where we can both expend some energy.
• Somewhere along the way I’ve gotten hooked on The Fratellis. They bring out my inner fangirl more than any other band in recent memory. I do hope they stop in Minneapolis when they tour stateside.
• I did miss last night’s Zombie Pub Crawl, but I fully expect to see more photographic evidence being uploaded to the internets soon.

Today’s diversions promise to be less exciting. On the menu - working out, running errands, cleaning the house…and refraining from flickr-ing (so that I can actually follow through with my chores). But I’m feeling fairly content, so it’s all good.

At the beginning of the week I didn’t anticipate having any funerals to attend, then suddenly I had two to choose from. Two women, both far too young, each lost their battles with ongoing illnesses. First I found out about Steph. I hadn’t seen her in years. And I’d known her older brother better than I’d known her. But I was shocked and saddened to hear she’d passed away - from ovarian cancer at the age of 30. Less than twelve hours after hearing that news I found out that my aunt had also passed away. On the same day as Steph. Sue was 49. Unfortunately I didn’t know her well. But in her I’d always sensed a great kindness, and a great sadness. I attended her funeral this morning with my father. It was unbearably sad. I know, most funerals are, but I’ve been to too many and this one, well, there are no words. I think it’s always harder to see parents outliving their children…

Speaking of which, next month there will be a private memorial service for Felix. The hospital has arranged for a number of families, who experienced similar tragedies, to acknowledge our losses together. My first reaction was a resounding hell no! But after thinking about it I realized…this is something I need. To acknowledge the lost future of my son, Felix.

Thankfully the weekend promises better and brighter shiny happy things. I can’t wait to see Maria. She’s in town from Berkeley. Tomorrow night we will play games and goof off and laugh and all will be glad.

Still coming to terms with the idea that I can’t do it all. I have neither the time nor the motivation (but I would like to refrain from being so constantly disappointed in myself). In the last week I’ve missed: The Clientele show, family day at the Walker, Cat Power at The Varsity, the chance to take the little man to the State Fair, the end of the Delightful exhibit at the Rosalux Gallery, the Minneapolis PPK Vegnic (vegan picnic), a deadline to submit to Mental Contagion, my Wednesday night workout, and more.

Even so, the past week has been an eventful one:

• Tuesday afternoon. The little man played outside with the neighborhood kids for over two hours. This may seem trivial, but it was the first time this had happened in ages. Often neurotypical kids aren’t particularly kind to or patient with kids who are other (especially if their parents aren’t teaching them tolerance) and the little man’s autism separated him from the pack long ago. His interactions had made him wary to even go out in our own backyard, but on this day things went well. Though my heart was in my throat the whole time I did my best not to hover and he enjoyed himself.
• Tuesday night. We received a phone call from some random courier company. The husband’s missing luggage had turned up, but no details were given. It was delivered after midnight. The contents were intact but everything was mysteriously…damp. And odd-smelling. Miraculously the laptop still works, but there were also two hard drives in the bag. One works, one does not. Thankfully they contained the same data.
• Wednesday. At work we had an out-of-the-norm four hour staff meeting scheduled. Turns out it was just a ruse. We were really in store for a surprise field trip, to the State Fair. It was loads of fun.
• Wednesday evening. I served the husband’s family an all-vegan all-Lebanese meal of grape leaves, tabouleh, lavosh, hummus and Lebanese green bean stew. They enjoyed it (or at least they claimed they did).
• Thursday was a blur.
• Friday morning. The little man and I had an early start at the Children’s Hospital for his EEG. He was hesitant but cooperative. We should be getting results back by the end of the week.
• A designer friend at work made these kickass Star Wars-themed invitations for the little man’s upcoming birthday party. The boy is seriously stoked.
• We went up north for the weekend, to my in-laws’ place. It was lovely, even if we were without internet access.
• We returned last night, so as to celebrate my sister-in-law’s 30th birthday today. Happy Birthday Sarah!

Bonus: On Sunday, September 10th Mizna is putting on a benefit show at the Cedar Cultural Center, with proceeds going to the Mercy Corps to aid the people of Lebanon. I’ll be there.
Plus: While up North I finally got around to watching Fearless Freaks, the documentary about the Flaming Lips. That only served to strengthen my Wayne Coyne crush, especially after watching him mow his lawn while wearing froggie-style rain boots.
And: How can we make America better? Minnesota-style…