Headache, I�ve a headeache (to the tune of Dancing Cheek to Cheek

I just got home from writing group, and frankly I�m all written out. The group has shrunk to five middle-aged and older women, and I really feel as though we have become an exclusive club without the presence of men. They add a certain je ne sais quoi to the writing, and since we all tend to feed off each other, I miss that �otherness�. Ah well.

It was yet again a beautiful day. Little Princess and I donned our walking shoes�(an interesting story there: they are identical styles, hers one size larger than mine, and she decked hers out with beads and fluorescent laces so that we could tell them apart) and headed to the university so that she could drop off her marks (she taught two beginners violin for the college this year). We met Vlad on her way into the building as we were leaving (she runs the music programme at the CEGEP) and Little Princess remarked later on the contrast between us. As we stood there commenting on what a beautiful day it was, Vlad was dressed in long pants, long sleeves and a black sweater while I was decked out in a skimpy tank top, shorts and sneakers with ankle socks.

Then we continued our walk into town where I paid my year�s membership for the local museum, and we lunched at the Java, enjoying it�s new smoke-free atmosphere. While we were there, Little Princess admitted that she seems to have a much better relationship with her mother than her friends do with theirs. For instance, there is nothing that she can�t discuss with me. That�s cool. It�s so different from my own relationship with my mother, and she was pretty cool actually. But there were subjects that I intuitively sensed were taboo, and I never broached them with her. Whereas, my kids don�t hide anything from me at all. Buddy Boy had left his wallet on the bathroom counter, the contents spilling out, one of which was a condom (in its package, of course), and we joked with him how we would never have let our parents know that we even owned such a thing. Times have sure changed.

The smoking ban apparently isn�t supposed to take effect in Quebec until January 1, 2006, but it seems that the Ville de Sherbrooke has moved ahead. I�m not complaining, believe me! I still have the residue of a headache that I took two extra-strength acetaminophen for during writing group, so I think I�ll wrap this up and head for bed. Maybe I�ll be more inspired to wrote something inspirational tomorrow.

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