When the phone rings, nine times out of ten it's J's father. And if he can't reach me on the land line, he calls on the mobile and interrogates me about why I didn't answer the land line. Are you at home? Why didn't you answer the land line? Is your land line engaged? Are you online?

It's so tiresome. Yesterday J went to dinner with him and then they went to J's half-brother's school play. First I was to have J ready at "six plus", and I was instructed to dress him in "a shirt with no strips, in a flat color." This turned out to mean "not a striped shirt, but instead a shirt in a solid color." He made this request for reasons that are still unclear to me, but having something to do with his ex-wife's parents remarking one time that J still looks like a little kid. Since he IS a little kid, I don't see the problem. And I'm not sure how the stripes factor in, but . . . okay. I've learned that it just doesn't pay to ask these questions.

Then he called back to say he would pick J up at 4:45 and they would go to dinner. Then he called back again to say no, no dinner, have him ready at "six plus." Then at 3:45 he called one more time to say he would be picking J up in five minutes.

Coordinating the drop-off required three phone calls. One call to say they would be arriving at the back of my building "in eight minutes," one call to say they were two minutes away and I should meet them at the back of my building, and one final call to say I should go to the front of the building instead.

He called again after dropping J off, and again this morning, to check on J. I am glad that he's such a loving father to J, but he is driving me nuts. I'd like to see someone else's name on my caller ID for a change. Is that so wrong?

Today's horoscope: You need to be creative today in a way that is different for you than usual. You are quite ready to apply your disciplined and concentrated mind to whatever the task is at hand, but something odd happens. You fall into that mental space where everything goes slow motion and turns a rosy-gold, just like at the end of an athletic movie where someone has pushed the envelope and wins the gold medal. Throw down your crutches, Virgo. It's your time to go for the gold.

And, for the week ahead: We think we understand everything. We imagine that we know exactly what's going on. We develop carefully thought-through strategies. We create clear pictures in our mind's eye. Then suddenly, everything spins on a sixpence. All is turned upside down. The book of reality is rewritten in a new language. The flower of understanding is a wilted bloom. The seed of some fresh hope must be given a chance. Things keep turning and changing around you now. Don't fear any of it. Just allow yourself to be led where you so clearly need to go next.

The seed of some fresh hope must be given a chance. I like that. And it rings true. Why would I keep plugging away like this if I didn't have some fresh hope somewhere inside me?

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