Author: BunkoJess

Up early to drive into Tennessee. Made it to Nashville to hug up David before noon. Walked off our car legs in the park and put together LEGOS in the little blue apartment. This is the week of NAMM. I am just not into the convention this year. I would rather soak up all the things to do here and not work.

Work. Ugh.

Ultra focused on paying the bills and keeping the kid alive. Managed to make some mindless flowers at the end of the day. None I actually liked. Here is one.

Plans to work all afternoon didn’t happen. I hoped to sleep in but around 5:45 I was up with the first light. I kissed Char on the head and went to garden for a few hours. It was glorious and my world was the quiet I craved. I could hear the things cars and boats and people chattering cover up: water flowing, wind chimes, hands digging and birds talking.

Char slept in and I received news that Deb Carpenter passed. Another sad day for the Millersport community and our little daycare. I couldn’t shake the feeling of sadness for everyone. Especially her daughter Dena who also works there. Folks that feel like family and people Charlie loves. They have helped him thrive. Deb was battling cancer. Since she has not been able to work it has been a different daycare. It is still wonderful and a place I feel happy to drop off my most precious little guy but her old school care and knowledge meant so much to how everything worked there. A change. Old guard gone.

The last conversation I had with Deb was about how she was sad she couldn’t go to the beach this summer with her family. Too ill. And all the things I put off this summer rushed over me. Including the fact that although I planned to go to the beach I didn’t make it. Today and our health is what really have. We contemplate this when people die or we get sick but we rarely live like it is true. And it is true.

I fumbled around on a guitar and wished I practiced more but decided to write part of a song regardless.

Today

Got up early
The sun was peeking
Dog just a howling and a pacing
You just kept sleeping

Birds could nest in my hair
These feet tired and bare
Stepped in the garden
Still…the neighbors were sleeping

A chink of light on my nose
Dewey grass in between these toes
Down on one knee
Heard myself finally breathing

Moving the dirt, pulling weeds
The dog rolls under that old tree
No tomorrow…no to dos
A better state of dreaming

Chorus
Gotta slow this pace down
Get to know this fertile ground
Bloom up from these roots
Let’s forget about tomorrow….Today

I sent a pretty horrible video of myself singing it to David as he was just getting into Nashville from the bus and then wished I would have kept it to myself. Then Char and I tried to spend the rest of the day biking and loving each other. We rode down to see some old friends that were in town for an event at the brewery. Char was hot and grumpy from the ride but it made my heavy heart a little lighter just getting to see them.

No photos of art because my art time was all wrapped up in framing and sending some submissions to a few shows. Hopefully I will get one accepted into one of the shows in Nashville. I am feeling excited about just putting myself out there.

Work morning ended and we moved on to things we love…painting rocks and being by the lake in the sunshine.

Worked some more on my “Welcome to Zanesville” banner. It is moving slowly!

Char wanted to paint but I didn’t. We spent a little time at the house before going back to the shop to stay the night and work. Focusing on my work more than anything these next few days. The NAMM guitar show is going on next week so I have hopes of going and spending some time at our place in Nashville. Gotta get my work in a good place. I drew silly things he told me to draw and he painted them all my favorite colors.

Charlie thinks putting on primer is boring. He lasted through one rock while I did about 15 and then he played with robots and cars and picked at his dinner. We put on the sprinkler in hopes our grass by the lake would grow. I wanted to make some art on the rocks and ukes but the mundane task of getting them ready to paint emptied me out.

Had our second art meeting at The Harbor Community Center. It was a little smaller but really productive and I felt a sense of community. Looking forward to doing more at the center in the coming months.

Swung over to the Island House to catch Terry Efaw play after it was over. I made some fast little watercolor owls, drank White Claws and visited with friends. Tomorrow is going to be all guitar parts and work as soon as David leaves for the bus in the morning.

I only had a few minutes for art so I painted a tiny logo of the North Shore Coffee Co before we went to a Buckeye Lake Chamber of Commerce meeting at their place. Char was relatively good and it was a good time with friends. My old friend Marcus from high school stopped by in his cop car and let him check it all out. He was so thrilled. It was a long day for Char with daycare, a new haircut and mom’s boring meeting but he survived.