I have some updates to recent posts, just in case you're curious.

- Last month I wrote about an old friend I tried connecting with on Facebook (<a href="http://www.halfwaytonormal.com/?p=45">Facebook and the drama of new-old friends</a>). She responded with silence. I'm happy to report that she has since sent me a note. It's not like we've reestablished our friendship or worked through any of the "what happeneds," but she did say "I hope you, too, are happy and well," and that's a big improvement over silence.

- In <a href="http://www.halfwaytonormal.com/?p=48">Moving on might be easier than writing about it</a>, I asked for your thoughts about an essay proposal I was submitting to an anthology called <em>Ask Me About My Divorce: Women Open Up About Moving On</em>. I collected some helpful feedback, some on the blog, and some via email and conversation. In the end, I submitted the second concept, dealing with the parallel themes of being "trapped" in a marriage and a church, and then "freed" from those confines. Here's a bit from my proposal (I'm still waiting to hear from the editor):

<em>...the freeing process did not simply involve cutting ties and walking away from the institutions that confined me. The freeing process, as it turned out, involved embracing those institutions again, in different forms and new ways. I eventually found a church where brokenness was something to be valued because it helps create a path to wholeness. And it was at that church, of all places, that I met my second husband, embracing the concept of marriage again—even though I had been quite certain I never would. In the process, I was finally able to embrace my true self.</em>

- I hesitate to even mention the <a href="http://www.halfwaytonormal.com/?p=49">squirrels</a>, but one reader recently asked for an update. We still have not harvested a single big tomato, but I'm going for a Zen response to the squirrels' antics in my yard and garden. My girls, on the other hand, have picked up my earlier anti-Zen approach: The other evening, after we ate dinner on the patio, they began throwing black walnuts (which are EVERYWHERE) at the squirrels. It was kinda funny, kinda not (don't worry, their aim isn't good). The abundance of black walnuts reminded me that I was blogging about squirrels last summer, too (<a href="http://www.halfwaytonormal.com/?p=25">The sky is falling</a>). How sad is that?

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- Finally, I want to affirm, again and again, the healing power of sharing a meal. Last night, two good friends—we think of them as our local substitute parents—refreshed us with a delicious summer meal and lots of good conversation about life. By the time we walked home, we felt like we were emerging from the best kind of counseling session, with food and drink as an added bonus. We were light in our spirits and pleasantly heavy in our bellies. Tomorrow night we're hosting a meal at our home, looking forward to sharing that kind of restorative experience with R and B (<a href="http://www.halfwaytonormal.com/?p=51">particularly in light of our recent resolution</a>), and a handful of other friends. Here's to throwing food at life's problems, as often as possible.

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