Strange days indeed

OK, you have to admit it's been a really weird few days, right?

In the first place, I'm absolutely still reeling from Saturday morning's events in Arizona. Gabrielle Giffords, the other victims and their families have been in my thoughts almost constantly. I've been trying to wrap my head around the random act of insane violence so that I could write something even remotely coherent, but I've been unsuccessful. I just...don't...get it. I don't think I ever will.

So instead of trying to write about it, I'll just point you to three amazing pieces I've read:

A story about the intern who saved the Congresswoman's life

An opinion piece about the political rhetoric that possibly added to this tragedy

And David Brooks' call for reason and rationality

Please don't expect me to talk about the little girl killed that day. I just can't do it.

Anyway, in the midst of all this craziness and sadness, we had an anomaly down here in the South. An "ice storm" (translation: patchy, icy roads, and icicles hanging from Zoe's play set in our yard) closed district schools, and Zoe's daycare, today, and Charles and I took the day off. I don't trust the combination of southern drivers and ice, so I literally did not leave the house today, which is totally out of my norm. Typically, a day like today would drive me stir-crazy.

Instead, today was...fun. We had a great time together, all three of us. There was a movie, popcorn, lentil stew (YUMMY!), and a lot of dancing. It was such a treat, this surprise, lovely, snug day in our house, that I didn't even mind the horrifically gross weather outside.

So there you have it. My brain is muddled, I'm still (possibly irrationally) sad about the shootings in Arizona, but we had a lovely day. It's odd, sometimes...being me. Don't you think?