We'll take time out to smile a little before we let it go

Dear Megan,

Good gravy, it has been a long week. I learned an important lesson: When the week starts out in jury duty, you may as well pack it in.

We went down to Atlanta last weekend, after Ella kicked ass all over the soccer field (and against my archenemy [in my head], to boot). It is so fun to watch her! She just seems to really love to play soccer. It is such a treat to watch her enjoy something and succeed at it.

We went to Atlanta because Claire was the star in her high school's performance of "Radium Girls." (It's an uplifting tale about the women who worked in a watch factory and died of radium poisoning.) We got to see the Funbar and everything. Claire received rave reviews on her performance--I am so proud of her! I had to miss the show, unfortunately, because Luke was in no mood to sit still; I chased him around the high school for two and a half hours. Good times.

There was a moment there before the start of the show when I actually showed some restraint and bit my tongue rather than speaking ill of someone's outfit (a shock, I know)--and it was a good thing, too, as that someone turned out to be Kevin's ex-wife. She walked in wearing tight jean capri pants and stilletto heels (I mean, come on!). I felt like a bit of a frump in my velvet-ish dress that extended to my ankles (not to mention the fact that I forgot my regular shoes and had to wear my New Balances). But seriously, the stillettos were a bit much.

Sunday, we drove around a lot. It was just like old times. We eventually settled upon visiting the Fernbank Science Center, to which we had free admission thanks to our membership at the Nashville's Adventure Science Center (formerly Cumberland Science Museum). Since Fernbank offers reciprocal admission for members of the ASC, we were thinking Fernbank would be equally as awesome as the ASC. We were wrong. It was a total bore! Seriously, the most exciting part of the museum (other than the admittedly pretty cool bee exhibit) was the display of compost piles. Adventure Science Center pretty much gets screwed on the reciprocal admission stuff. It ain't right.

After we got out of that bore-fest, we decided to go to the NEW World of Coca-Cola, but got sidetracked once we found the Atlanta Children's Museum. (Still not as cool as Adventure Science. . . .) It's probably for the best, too. I'd hate to have seen the NEW World of Coca-Cola and have the reality not live up to how I picture it in my mind: as an all-Coke themed version of Epcot Center's Spaceship Earth (the big golf ball). Stuff like robots talking about how Coke fuels the future.



All in all, it was a fun trip.

Monday was my day to report for jury duty. Holy moley. I actually got called in the first group, but I was one of the last people called. Basically, I just sat in the courtroom all day long watching them ask about thirty people questions to determine whether they would be good jurors. It was interesting, I'll give them that. But it was SO LONG. We did get a free lunch, though, so that was awesome.

The case was a tough one, and I am glad that I wasn't seated on it. It had to do with child abuse and by the sound of it the case was going to go on for a while. The best part of it was that the judge looked like Dr. Drew

photo via about.com

the defense attorney looked like Brett

Brett is the one on the left.

and the bailiff looked like Toby Keith

photo via gactv.com

So, basically, I spent the day imagining how things would go if those people were actually involved in the proceedings. Like, when the defense attorney asked this one ornery old dude if he agreed that it is the State's responsibility to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt and the old dude responded, "Basically," I imagined that Brett would gone sort of apoplectic in that charming manner of his. And then he would have appealed to the judge, and Dr. Drew would have been all Dr. Drew. (I don't really know how that is anymore. Loveline seems like so long ago!) Finally, Dr. Drew would have gotten fed up with the old guy's orneriness and would have had Toby Keith intervene, at which point Toby Keith would have threatened the old guy with the "boot in your ass" (it is the American way, after all).

It was also fun to play "Yeah, that guy's outta here." Like when that same ornery old dude told the defense attorney, "I'm not here to answer your questions," that was a pretty easy one. Yeah, that guy was so outta there.

I had to return to work on Tuesday. I have to give work this: as bad as it is, it's still not as bad as listening to the details of a child abuse case. So, I've got that going for me.

Anywhos, you're in Honduras now. I hope you're having fun!

love, molly

previous post title source: "White Rabbit," Jefferson Airplane