Hi! It’s me! Lily!!!

I was going to go on a date with Jack tonight, but he had to work!  Apparently we’re seeing an influx of people who want to see the eclipse, and the stores are a madhouse right now!  It looks like it might be cloudy, but there are still a lot of people who want to see it get dark for a few minutes, even if they can’t directly see the sun.

Next time, I guess.

So not too much interesting happened today.  The weather was very nice temperature wise but cloudy, so we spent some of the day outdoors.  We all took a walk and took Marie with us, and when we got to the dog park she had all sorts of fun with the other dogs.  It’s always fun to see how they all interact.  Most dogs there just want to play and be friends.

Maybe they’d feel differently if we were on their turf, but the dog park is neutral territory – everyone gets to have fun.  Well, except when there’s a Karen around, but that hasn’t happened in a while.

Actually, Karens have been leaving me alone lately.  I wonder why.

We had our post-mortem for the concert last week, the girls and I.  And Sabby too, actually.  The consensus was it went pretty well but we’re not really a band.  Problem is, I’m not sure, in our current configuration, that we’ll ever actually be one.  I’m heading off to Japan.  The rest of the girls will be around for a bit longer, but they’ll have to find a drummer.  And, let’s be honest, we’re doing this for Crystal.  It’s not like we hate it – it was kind of fun dressing up like a rocker chick and whaling on the drums for a few songs – but everyone but Crystal and maybe Beth are just doing it because we love Crystal.  There’s no shared passion or goal there… and I think it shows.  I haven’t said this to the rest of the group yet… maybe they read this but I don’t think they do.

And it’s not like we can just pull one out of thin air, either.  This is temporary.  Definitely for me, and maybe for the others too.  Crystal needs to find some people who want to be in a band with her, because they want to be in a band, not because they love her.  She’ll never be able to reach her (surprisingly considerable) full potential if she’s with people who are holding her back, for whatever reason.

Like I said, I haven’t said it in quite that way.  But they feel it too.  That sense of cohesion isn’t there.  We’ve got sister vibes, not band vibes, and it’s really showing.

Still, I really love Diana and Beth because they learned stuff just to support Crystal.  Diana’s not the hugest fan of bass guitar, but she’s practicing diligently and isn’t too bad, actually.  Beth, well, she does like singing, but I’m not sure she’d put as much into it as she is if it weren’t for Crystal.  and me, well…  I have stuff to do, and practicing the drums doesn’t fit into any of my plans.  At all.

Oh well.

Crystal will outshine all of us (in her chosen field, she’s not going to outshine me on the piano).  Far outshine us.  She needs to find people who are on her level.  That’s… really… not us.

Though Beth loves Crystal.  She might give it her all anyway.

Anyway…  I guess enough of that.

I remember, what was it, two years ago or so, when Crystal tried to, well…  off herself.  She’s come so far since then.  I mean she still has her moments and she’s not exactly the most bright and cheerful person… okay, well, she’s actually a bit of a downer sometimes.  But she loves all of us, and she finds ways to tell us that all the time.  She tries hard not to bring us down, but she also doesn’t hide her pain anymore.  We accept her for that.  That’s what sisters are for, right?

She’s sworn off men for a while, though.  The last one… well..  that soured her bad.  But she says it’s not permanent, she just wants to get her head on straight first.

okay…  bed time. 

Love you all!!! ❤️