second_wind tender_square erin got her second wind at 1:30 in the morning. annaliese was not impressed. “i was ready for bed, trying to fall asleep when erin was like, ‘can i ask you a question?’” annaliese took a break from packing her suitcase and stood up to tell the story. “i was rolling my eyes in the dark being like, ‘sure.’” erin and i laughed at annaliese’s visual of this. “do you know what her question was? ‘do you consider yourself a “cat person” or a “person who has cats”?’” i cackled and slapped my hand repeatedly against the dining room table. only erin would think that’s a pressing question for one o’clock in the morning. “oh, and then she continued on with it, wanting to know how i felt about men who fell into those categories and whether or not i would date them, which of course started this whole long discussion.” i was laughing so hard, tears fell from my eyes. erin added, “and even after i let you get to sleep there was something else i wanted to ask you, and i was going to record it as a voice memo on my phone so i wouldn’t forget it this morning.” annaliese and i looked at each other and laughed because again, only erin would do this. “but you know my house, it’s all open,” erin waved her arms around, “and i figured if you heard me trying to record the memo, you’d get mad, so i let it be.” what was the other question erin wanted to ask? turns out it wasn’t a question at all, it was a situational joke she created that she’d wished could have happened in the moment. during the solstice party, i lent annaliese my woodstock chime to help focus the group’s attention on the rituals and activities we were moving through. at one point, katy got annoyed by the sound of annaliese striking the mallet against the instrument, saying something to the effect of “i’m going to take that thing away.” erin, in looking back at the situation, thought annaliese should have said, “i’m sorry you feel that way, katy. i’m just trying to set the *tone*.” 211220 ... unhinged just leave the house you know you'll feel better if you do 211220 what's it to you? who go blather from