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June 16, 2003

Heartstrings

How is it possible to have such deep, intense feelings for a sweet little munchkin after spending only a week with him?

I know that I have spent time with Quinn before, but it wasn't until this--his first week with us in Los Angeles--that I went from being "Dad's girlfriend" to being "My Bonnie."

See, Quinn, in his non-traditional family back home, has "My Mom" and "My Amber." And he's always had, in LA, "My Dad." Well, during dinner with his West Coast extended family, he made sure to list "My Bonnie," when explaining who his parents are.

Wow.

My heart melted a million times over.

And now, as I remind myself I don't have to tiptoe around at this hour to keep from waking the angel and as I am constantly surprised to not hear him asking me questions or telling me stories throughout the day, I am simply amazed at the pain in my heart over his absence.

How is that possible?

What a precious boy! What a delight that we were able to spend this past week together! I'm going to miss him every day for the next 51 weeks we spend without him here. That's just too long. Wow. I can't even articulate properly how I feel right now. Sad. Yes, that.

Posted by bonnie at 9:20 PM

June 15, 2003

The Paternal Instinct

Today is Father's Day. I have two dads; or so they tell me. One is the one who fathered me, then went away. The other is the one who was my mother's best friend for the last 15 years of her life.

Keith's dad was long gone before I met Keith, so Father's Day tends to be a one-sided gig over here. I contact the senior Gillespie and the man I call Papa Bear, and we hope that Keith's son is prompted to make contact with him.

Today, that was a "piece of cake," as Quinn loves to say. Quinn, Keith's four-and-a-half-year-old son, was here with us for a week. First time he's been permitted to come see us, and the kick-off to what we hope will be an annual event. I think Keith has the right to have Quinn here for a month each year, in the divorce agreement, but our goal here was to get that first trip under our proverbial belts and create a ritual that Quinn will look forward to and Keith will live for.

There is nothing as sad as hearing the voice of a man you love on the phone after having handed off his son, knowing he won't see him again for a year.

And also on this day...

My dear friends Nate and Ali have welcomed their precious son, 8lb. 7oz. 22" Michael Ryan into the world. What a blissful Father's Day gift! Congratulations, new family!

So, how did I do? Was I a good Fake Mom for the week? I was certainly a better Fake Mom than my Stepmonster was to me, when I would visit my Dad. I didn't disrobe and jump, drunk, into the local swimming pool, bragging about how well-hung my ancient new husband was. No... I simply followed the five-page instruction manual provided by Quinn's mom (yes... really) as well as I could and marveled at the fact that Keith is Quinn... simply a few years older. Suddenly, I'm more forgiving of Keith's childishness. It seems the Johnson boys are brilliant by the age of four... and then they're sort of done.

But, either way, I'm lucky to know both of those sweet boys.

Photos, if you're into that, are available here. Password: mighty. Enjoy!

Posted by bonnie at 3:15 PM

June 6, 2003

A Silly Little...

Keith and I had lunch at Hamburger Hamlet after seeing The Italian Job at Mann's Chinese Theatre the other day. Keith used his corporate credit card to pay for the meal. The waitress came back with the signature slip and the card and said, "Thank you, Mr. Feet."

Yes. The card says (under Keith's name) Cricket Feet, Inc.

Good lord.

Posted by bonnie at 11:18 AM

June 2, 2003

Happy Girl

Keith just made fried rice-a-flower (Atkins-approved, using cauliflower instead of rice) and I have a happy happy belly.

Today was day one of downtime. Makes me very happy to have time to get some things done and also to relax just a little bit. I worked on the second book, organized the rest of the paperwork I had floating around from the show, threw out a lot of things I had no reason to hang onto, and started making some good plans for Quinn's visit next week. I'm sooo excited!!

Ah... okay, happy belly and a nice day to catch up on a lot of stuff... and time to ramp up for finishing the book this week (ack!)... please feel free to place wagers on that happening, but I really do feel good about the run of time I have to put into it these next few days.

Doing Atkins at 100% and feeling great. I learned, after seeing someone at the office go on and defiantly off Atkins in the five weeks I was working with her, that it really just has to be the right match for you, if it's going to work. So, I don't need to tell anyone to do it in order for it to work for me... which it does. Just ask the 27 pounds no longer on my bod. Woo hoo!

Posted by bonnie at 4:17 PM