Sunspots

It's no accident that part of the address to this site is, "ginassunspots". At first I tried for bright spots but it was already taken. Sunspots immediately came to my head and I knew it was perfect; better than bright spots. Sunspots are actually dark spots on the sun that are associated with strong magnetic fields. (I've always loved science.) Serendipitous, I thought, after I had typed in "ginassunspots" and saw that the name was available. The relative size of the sun's sunspots compared to the ubiquitous, bright light of the sun itself is incomparable. So it's a play on words. Since my goal was to uplift and focus on the daily blessings of single-parenting, a position that is certainly well associated with dark and difficult aspects, I thought it would be the perfect way to say, but look at all of that light? Look at all of those sunny spots. When we focus on the peaceful and loving and giving aspects of our lives, it helps us to stay that way and to attract that into our lives every single day--just like the strong magnetic fields of the sunspots.

So. Tonight, after Nate's swimming meet, I was driving home down Main Street and saw Barb's Pasties. It was a place I'd never been to, but years ago I had a patient from the U.P. tell me that Barb's is the best for authentic Yooper Pasties. Back then I worked and frequented that side of town but I never took the opportunity to try Barb's Pasties. Now, with my automobile woes of the past year I've tended to stay closer to home and had not been in that city for quite some time.

Again, if I were not acting as the lone parent, this probably would not have happened the way it did tonight. First of all, the dance class I'd signed Grace up to do on Saturdays was cancelled. The only other dance classes available were on Tuesdays at 5:30pm or Thursdays at 6pm. Nate's swim meets are also on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 6pm. I love watching Nate swim, and my nephew, too. Grace tolerates it. The dance class was a Christmas gift and something she's been asking to do for sooo long. She must tolerate having her dad live 7 states away AND riding along in the car during the weeks that it's my turn to drive the boys to and from swimming practice and meets. (She begs me to just let her stay home-she's six, so that'll never happen.) It's literally an hour and a half out of her (our) day just for the car part alone and that's just on practice days. On meet days it's a longer time spent in the car--plus the meet itself. To tell Grace that her ballet class was cancelled and that she'd have to wait months from now to join a different one? (I checked) Absolutely not.

So she recently started a half-hour ballet class that starts at 5:30 on Tuesdays. And it's not like I can watch Grace in her dance class; the doors are closed and parents sit and wait in the hall. So I read or write. Since I don't have my husband readily available to share the logistics of it, I was driving my own car, "The Jeep" (not really my own, it's technically my mom's), instead of having Cheri drive us like usual to the away meets. So when I saw Barb's I decided to pull right in to finally try those pasties.

Well, they have subs and pizza and dessert items, too. I got pasties for Nate and me, but Grace wanted something different. She decided on a sub. The bill came to $14.20. I went to grab my credit card and realized I'd forgotten to ask if they accepted them. It was a small, family-run place, I just had a sudden feeling that they only accepted cash and I was right. Well, no, not completely right: they take personal checks, too. But no credit or debit. I had exactly $8 in my purse. I had just emptied the bigger bills I'd won this weekend at Joel's mom's house in some friendly games of 4-5-6 and Screw Your Neighbor. (We played a total of 7 rounds: four games of 4-5-6 at $3/round and three games of the Neighborly one at $1 each. Nate or I won all 7 pots!) But isn't it strange that I just emptied the bills out of my purse today...?

Do you know what that nice lady said to me? (It wasn't Barb, but she was so very nice.) She told me I could just come back and pay them later! $6.20! Pay another day. She wrote my first name, just "Gina" on a tiny piece of paper with the words "owes $6.20". I was so shocked and grateful, I said, tomorrow. She said, Whenever you can get here.

Now ain't that a nice spot of sunshine?