Tuesday, August 20, 2002, 11:42 p.m.

The hydrangeas are fading. As am I. The difference between the hydrangeas and me is that they are fading gracefully and I am not.

There's hardly anything worth mentioning in the local news recently. Most of what is there is depressing or horrifying.

In other news, there are 891 domain names with the word "sweater" in them and 4,395 domain names with the word "dancer" in them. However, sweaterdancer.com is available.

Lately, I've been feeling fragile. I don't like that feeling. It's a luxury I can't afford.

Why do I continue to daily go to a job I deplore?

School starts in a little over a week. My youngest daughter is going to be a senior in high school. I've waited for this moment for a long time.

I'm looking forward to cool nights.

I miss him more than I can bear.