My Lisa. Mine. Okay, I guess she's not just mine. But my Lisa Joo is the one who should have been either my baby sister or my daughter. As it is, she's my special friend. More special even than Imaginary Billy, cuz she's real. She shares my fondness for scrinching, which means shrinking to the correct size to fit inside a walnut shell. And she has the amazing ability to overlook, accept, maybe even embrace the fact that I may not be up to interacting with anyone for months at a time. I've learned from unpleasant experience that it's hard to keep friends with people when you refuse to speak to them. The great capacity she has for love and acceptance is one of the things that sets her apart from the herd.

Lisa, as a welcome home post, here is a report of one of Ma's most recent misdeeds.

I have been sick and trying to work. Finally, one evening, in utter exhaustion, I sat down in front of the tv to relax. I heaved a sigh of contentment and turned to a show I was eager to see. Ma started calling from her bedroom for me to come tuck her in. "I can't, Ma. I just can't", I groaned. "I can't get off the couch".

A moment later the phone started to ring. I ignored it. "Can you get that?" called Ma. She was shouting from inside the bathroom now. I tried to ignore that, too, but she continued, "It might be an important call for me. Could you take a message?"

I eased myself up from my comfortable position and hobbled to the phone. My greeting was met with a series of noises. A sort of grunt, followed by a sort of cough, then a choking sound like someone was trying to speak, but was laughing too hard to get anything out. After a few seconds, I realized those exact same sounds were coming from inside the bathroom.

Finally the voice on the phone/in the bathroom said, "I guess you CAN get off the couch, after all!"

Suffice it to say, Ma has lost her cell phone privileges for the time being.

Great-granddaughter of Edward to be sure.