Slowly getting back to normal

Whew, finally I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. All that's left of the cold is a gnarly sounding cough. I wonder how horrifying it might sound at led practice tomorrow? We'll see how I'm feeling. I have to travel on Sunday for a work-related meeting. Leave Phoenix at 7 AM to go to Anaheim, take the meeting, then return to Phoenix at 7 PM. Not the most fun day off.

Tomorrow night is My Gift's senior prom. She's totally psyched. She actually just called me from Juicy Yoga Studio where she works. She skipped school today to take an all day workshop with a visiting yoga instructor. Another all day session tomorrow, but she's only staying for half. Then she'll be off to get nails and hair and makeup done.

She called to say they had a 90 minute break, but that during that time, another class was scheduled. Since she is the receptionist, she has to stay during the break. And of course she forgot to think about food in advance. I brought her a soyburger. She was so happy. She said the teacher had talked alot about the Hindu goddesses. My Gift was particularly impressed by Kali. Go, My Gift!

I can't tell you how delighted I am by her interest in yoga. I was thinking about it this morning: My Gift has always gone her own way. She loves the monks at the zendo, but resists coming to formal practice. She tried rock climbing to satisfy my wishes, but didn't like it. She certainly is aware of my yoga obsession, but she waited to find her own time and her own studio and her own practice. My Gift is like a little cat: she watches everything carefully, but she always makes her own decisions. Hmmm, rather like when I was her age. Her decisions, though, have always been better than mine were.

Meanwhile, The Cop got his new schedule today. It's back to night shift. Yuck!! The cool thing recently is that his sergeant has a deep interest in religion. He has been asking The Cop all sorts of questions about zen. I sent him to work with a book of Bodhidharma's writing, one of Seung Sahn's books, and a really interesting article about a koan that deals with killing. That's what his sergeant asked about initially, how a cop could be a Buddhist, if it meant he might have to kill someone. One of the Buddhist precepts is a vow not to kill. I did the long explanation of how these seemingly contradictory possibilities might coexist, and I did the short explanation, and of course any explanation pretty much misses the whole dang point.

And the next day, as I was out looking at the roses, I suddenly remembered that the whole not killing thing is included in the Ten Commandments. I wonder if the sergeant forgot about that? Or maybe he thinks Buddhists have stricter rules, somehow?

Uh oh, pizza's here, and this Buddhist has to go watch "The Ultimate Fighter." Later!