The · Woman's · Work

In a word:

Hookworms.

I kid you not.

Ah, well.  Everyone is being treated but gosh almighty it’s hard to sleep when I think about those little S shaped worms everywhere, and I don’t even know if I actually have them or not.  I’m treating myself on the supposition that, as a mother of children who need to be cleaned after using the toilet I might well have them but I am also acting on the premise that in my personal case IGNORANCE is BLISS. Like, I don't want to know. Still, I haven’t slept. 

This is my life in North Africa:

Cockroaches.

Maggots.

Lizards.

Flies.

And now Hookworms.

Dear God, what next?

Life has been a bit too interesting on the home front because of conflict with extended family members, but what is one to do?  It seems that the problems are blowing over, somewhat, but gee whiz it makes life tough.  Oh, for the days when I lived alone with my kids. 

Ah well.

I’m ah welling a lot now, aren’t I?

See, that’s really why I haven’t written here.  Too hard.  Too traumatic.  Too icky to talk about. 

And then there’s homeschooling which, mercifully is going very well at least with the middle two.  How I’m going to manage tomorrow with very little sleep is another matter, but perhaps it won’t be that bad.  Sometimes I surprise myself that way.

Al-Asr is going well, also.  I’m gilding the lily now, as it were.  The body is completely stitched and I’m doing the embellishment stitching with sewing thread now and am nearly to the point of beadwork.  Then again there is the old axiom that everything takes longer than one thinks it will, and no doubt that will be the case here.  Still, it’s coming along.

I’m thinking of introducing the images of a cockroach and a volcano in future pieces, but I don’t know.  Too, like, weird? Maybe I ought to be needlepointing little hookworms instead.