13 years ago I moved into this house with my daughter very quickly bonded with the gal across the street. She was Scorpio with a with 3 kids and we just hit it off.

Our houses were in the middle of the block and right away we became the center of the universe for all kids on the block. They would congregate between the houses as this other mother and I chatted in the street, played games with kids and fed everyone Popsicles and cake and kool-aid and bananas and apples and ice cream.

This is an integrated neighborhood so it was especially enjoyable for me. I’d moved here hoping for exactly this experience, I was having it and my level of satisfaction was off the page. We were eating collard greens with Tabasco with them. They were eating pasta with garlic and oil. We had a whole flock of of kids having the times I knew they would never forget but 5 years later things had gone horribly wrong.

I can’t say exactly when it turned but I can tell you that my family went down and the devastation was complete. This house and my entire family was swallowed up into the blackest void you can possibly imagine and it stayed that way… and stayed that way… and stayed that way… and stayed that way as Pluto transited my Moon.

No one came over for at least 4 years and I got used to it. I had no choice but to get used to it but about 2 years ago, Quirky Aquarian started coming around to see, Vid.

If you’ve been reading here awhile you know how hard he had to work to get this friend. He really paid in spades but he did get this friend, my son and Quirk are like brothers now but he comes from ’round the corner and it has not changed the make-up or the mood of the block where I live. I am telling you we have not recovered but tonight I took Vid to karate and it happened again.

I go in there and sit down and the kids flock to me. It started with one little boy but now it is more. The kids chat with me before the class… one little boy damned near climbed in my lap to show me his science kit tonight.

“Which experiment would you make first?” he asked. “Should I make a radio… or this gyroscope…” or whatever the thing was. I told him what I would do and why which got another kid to join in the conversation and then another. I had to tell these kids to go line up for class, they were mesmerized and it made me think of this.

I realized my energy is coming back. I am reconstituting, I guess you could say. I always was a Pied Piper type for kids and dogs but it has not been that way for a number of years. I stepped outside during class and called the soldier to thank him for the love and support he has shown me over these last years.

“I don’t think I’d have come through this near as well without you.”

“Ah, well, P, we help each other,” he said. “And now we’re getting married and we’ll help each other for the rest of our lives.”