Dreaming of a True Love's Kiss

Life is real, very real. When you set sail with romantic notions, it rarely fails to disappoint you. It involves potholes, torn-up suitcases, complicated cell phone packages, laundry detergents that stain, rusty knives that break skin when chopping scallions, repetitive and monotonous tasks of everyday life such as bathing, tidying up, doing dishes, washing hands over and over and over again.

Yet in the midst of it all, dreams do really come true.

Mom left this afternoon. The kid and I walked to the nearest crosswalk after getting her into a cab for the trip to the airport, took a cab to Barbaros Blvd. and had iced coffee and orange juice with chocolate cake at Starbucks. After four days of exposure, she said her first full Turkish sentence: "Bizim evin orada Starbucks bar." There's a Starbucks by our house. Go figure. When asked about spending her days with me she said, "I think it's marbleous!!!" She got up from her seat, came around the table and gave me the tightest hug, the wettest kiss. I thought that was pretty marbleous.