Rainbow power

(Morgan, I stole this picture from your Facebook.)

Yesterday afternoon I kept Parker, the adorable 4-year-old daughter of our friends Morgan and Brian. Except for Kaleigh and Trevor, all of our friends' kids are younger than that, so I'd sort of forgotten what a great age it is.

Parker kept me laughing all afternoon. She claims to have invisible eyes in the back of her head, which she uses to spy on people (as well as hundreds of invisible teeth all over her body that eat germs and keep her from getting sick, usually, unless the germs are inside her body where the teeth can't reach). Despite the invisible eyes, she doesn't want to be a spy when she grows up; she wants to be a rock star and a mama. On the way to the park she asked permission to poke two holes in the Kleenex box so the tissues could breathe. We spent about two hours playing princess at the park. Actually, she was a princess and I was just a "plain old girl," but she took me under her wing.

She taught me how to use "rainbow power" (on boys -- they don't like rainbows) and "Superman power" (on girls -- they don't like Superman). She made me practice the powers and then told me actually I'd just attacked a good guy, but she could revive him, but in the future I should be more discerning. On the way home she asked me to roll down all the windows and open the sunroof, explaining, "I love the breeze! It lets me get all my wiggles out," and doing a crazy dance.

Today we aren't doing much. We caught up on sleep last night and are still working our way through a huge pot of coffee. Tonight we're going to a party at Wendi and Cory's to celebrate Cory's recent promotion. I know nothing about military etiquette and traditions but Wendi swears we don't have to since we aren't military and we should show up with only a card.

I'm trying to think what else is going on ... Melissa and Thomas have run into a snag with their lender. They got $5,000 off the purchase price of their new home in exchange for finishing the renovation of the master bathroom after closing. It is totally functional -- tub, shower, toilet, sink -- but there isn't a permanent floor. The appraiser noted it on his report and now underwriting is requiring the floor to be finished before closing. It will get done but it's a big inconvenience for them since we only have one more weekend before closing (and we need to close on time or they'll lose their rate lock). Lenders are being not just strict but stupid lately, and if you don't believe me, ask Carrie and Jacob.

Tomorrow afternoon Lee Smith, one of my all-time favorite authors, is being inducted into the N.C. Literary Hall of Fame, which is here in Southern Pines! Don't ask me how I didn't know that until yesterday. Past inductees include other of my favorites such as Fred Chappell, Doris Betts, Reynolds Price and Elizabeth Spencer, and you better believe I'll be keeping an eye on this in the future. Kaye Gibbons, for one, has got to be on the short list. Anyway, if anyone who reads this loves Lee Smith/Southern writers as much as I do, you're welcome to join me tomorrow!