Nexus

The 5 people who live in my house are not a typical family. (Like there is such a thing.) One of “our own” words is “nexus”. Nope, not the hair stuff. The “crossroads” thing.

There are times when the physical, emotional, social, spiritual and mental lives all hit 90-degree turns simultaneously. For example, the week we moved up here from Florida, we got a surprise refund on the electric bill that exactly paid for the moving truck, my mom (who lived around the corner) got a call from a sister in Pennsylvania who needed her (no sad good-byes to dwell on), and a couple of drugs dealers were found shot in front of our apartment. No, Rootie, it wasn’t me. No, that wasn’t “normal” for our neighborhood. Pretty obvious that it was time to move, no?

Sometimes we see the nexus coming but a week or two, sometimes by a day or two. Today one snuck up on us. A nexus is never truly dangerous to our family, it’s just a rollercoaster ride where we can almost see the guardian angels around us.

Mr.Wonderful had to stop a fistfight between a couple of football players today. He’s never had to step between two fighters before, ever.

The van’s engine light went on a mile from our house as I was heading to the last day of classes at the co-op. Since my sister has burned out an engine by ignoring that light, I turned around and made phone calls instead of continuing.

Worst cramps in 3 or 4 months today. Since I’ve had kids, they never last more than a day anymore, thank God.

We have a food pickup tomorrow. I happened to be home to get the phone call from one of the pickup ladies. She can’t lift boxes, but has a running vehicle. If I had gone to class, I would’ve missed the chance to coordinate my ability to lift and non-running vehicle with her situation.

I also got a phone call (for the first time in 6 months) from the couple who were my closest friends the 14 years I lived in Florida. It was an hour I would normally be in class.

We got a message from the school in Augusta. They want to talk with me tonight about teaching math. (Where’s PR to break in and save me?)

Just sit back and enjoy the ride. Hands off the controls, please. Auto-pilot is MUCH safer.