And so the adventure has begun. As far as we know, he has gotten as far as the same time zone as his ultimate destination. We got to Facetime with him twice on Sunday, which was actually quite fun! The first time was at 6:20 in the morning - we were up getting ready for a trip to Pittsburgh for our family reunion. His wife was staying overnight, and she flew up the stairs to let us know he'd called her at 3:45 AM. Then like magic, he messaged her and said "Let's Facetime on my parents' MAC." And we had about 10 minutes of time to look at his forehead (not sure why his iPad Mini was positioned thusly but it was) - and occasionally we got to see his eyes, and handsome smile.
The family reunion was nice but chilly in the shade. So we soaked up the sun in chairs we placed in a circle around the remainder of a hollowed out tree trunk. It was nearly level with the ground. Saw lots of cousins and siblings and nephews and nieces and generally just enjoyed the day. On Monday (Memorial Day) we had rain in the morning until about 2:00 in the afternoon. So hubby and I went to Verizon and upped our contract for two years and treated ourselves to iPhones, the 4S version because that's spiffy enough for us old geezers. It's surprisingly easy to use and it's been fun getting acquainted with it. I told Siri to call me "Madam Fabulous" from now on and she readily agreed to do that. Siri is so accommodating...
So we put up a new arbor in the perennial garden in the back. We purchased a wisteria plant to have next to it. I have visions of the plant draping the arbor in heavy blossoms in the years to come. I hope it looks the way I've been imagining it for at least 12 years now. We planted some at our second and third homes, and each time we moved away and I never got to see if the wisteria bloomed. I think I read somewhere that it takes about 3 years before you see actual flowers. Fingers crossed.
I'm making a new quilt. I just haven't been inspired to make something new just for me in several years. Quilts these days are baby ones to give away or wedding ones, etc. This one is black, white, grey and an electric shade of lime green. I love it so far. AND we are getting hardwood floors installed in our living room and down the steps to my sewing room. Lots of very positive and lovely events to look forward to in the coming weeks!
Tuesday, May 28, 2013
Monday, May 20, 2013
Relief
I think I've mentioned before that I work at a college. In the summertime, they solicit members of the staff to host incoming international students, who need hosts for a day or two, then the hosts become the students' "go-to" parents on campus when they need help with any number of things. So four years ago my husband and I agreed to do this. And they were so short of families that year, they asked us to take two students. So we did. Two girls, neither of which shared many characteristics except for their gender and their attendance at this school. One of them is an artist, and she's the one we interacted with the most.
This past weekend was commencement and when we saw her at breakfast in the morning (on campus, in the International Students house) she informed us that she wasn't done packing yet - she still had "about an hour's worth" of packing to do. This didn't bode well for the way I thought the day would go. We came home once the second girls' name was announced, changed into work clothes and got some housework and yard work done. Two hours later my husband went back to get the artist, and she was nowhere to be found. To say he was furious would probably be understating his demeanor.
It all worked out eventually, because we had dinner reservations a good distance from here. And several other folks were going with us. This girl had my husband's truck PACKED. It seemed she was going to be storing things at our house instead of going back home to Europe and never seeing her again. I loved the girl and treated her like my own, but on Saturday I really thought I was going to throttle her! She left a pile of bags/packages to be delivered and/or picked up by students returning in the fall. Two boxes need to be delivered about 90 minutes north of here to be shipped to her at a reduced rate. A friend is going to do that for me - and student left $100 bill to pay for the shipping. But we have to re-pack the sloppily packed boxes because she made quite a mess of them. Two of her paintings are in our basement and I guess she thought we'd cough up $1,000 to buy them. But after storing mountains of her belongings in our house for the past three summers, picking her up and taking her back to the airport numerous times (she did a semester abroad of course), hosting her for meals several times, and paying for dinner this past Saturday to the tune of nearly $300, I think we don't have the budget to buy her paintings. She offered us the paintings - but she didn't say "You can have them." She said "Would you like to own one or two?" and that inferred she expected payment. Nope. If she can't find anyone else to sell them to from across the ocean, they'll be in our burn pile by the end of September!
So it's with a great sense of relief that I said good-bye to her yesterday. I thought I'd get teary-eyed and be sad but if anything, I would have preferred to stay home and have my husband drop her off. I never thought I'd feel so glad to have her gone. The only tears I can work up over a departure these days is the impending one of my son. I will feel a different kind of relief when we know he is gone and at his new post overseas. As my sister said "It has to begin so it can end." She knows - her husband deployed in December. So it is with much anticipation that I await the beginning of my son's nine months away from America. He is ready. He is anxious to prove what a great job he can do. And I'll do my level best to keep any tears from showing up when we Skype or Facetime while he's gone. But the tears about him come with little to no provocation these days. A song on the radio did it to me last week. I had a jazz station on, and Larry Carlton's "Smiles and Smiles to Go" came on. My son was delighted to hear it come on the radio in the car when he was about 5 or 6. He said "Mum! I know this song! It's called 'Sunshine and Sunshine and Sunshine'!!" That's the title of that song to me now - and it's what I hope he'll have an abundant supply of while he's gone.
This past weekend was commencement and when we saw her at breakfast in the morning (on campus, in the International Students house) she informed us that she wasn't done packing yet - she still had "about an hour's worth" of packing to do. This didn't bode well for the way I thought the day would go. We came home once the second girls' name was announced, changed into work clothes and got some housework and yard work done. Two hours later my husband went back to get the artist, and she was nowhere to be found. To say he was furious would probably be understating his demeanor.
It all worked out eventually, because we had dinner reservations a good distance from here. And several other folks were going with us. This girl had my husband's truck PACKED. It seemed she was going to be storing things at our house instead of going back home to Europe and never seeing her again. I loved the girl and treated her like my own, but on Saturday I really thought I was going to throttle her! She left a pile of bags/packages to be delivered and/or picked up by students returning in the fall. Two boxes need to be delivered about 90 minutes north of here to be shipped to her at a reduced rate. A friend is going to do that for me - and student left $100 bill to pay for the shipping. But we have to re-pack the sloppily packed boxes because she made quite a mess of them. Two of her paintings are in our basement and I guess she thought we'd cough up $1,000 to buy them. But after storing mountains of her belongings in our house for the past three summers, picking her up and taking her back to the airport numerous times (she did a semester abroad of course), hosting her for meals several times, and paying for dinner this past Saturday to the tune of nearly $300, I think we don't have the budget to buy her paintings. She offered us the paintings - but she didn't say "You can have them." She said "Would you like to own one or two?" and that inferred she expected payment. Nope. If she can't find anyone else to sell them to from across the ocean, they'll be in our burn pile by the end of September!
So it's with a great sense of relief that I said good-bye to her yesterday. I thought I'd get teary-eyed and be sad but if anything, I would have preferred to stay home and have my husband drop her off. I never thought I'd feel so glad to have her gone. The only tears I can work up over a departure these days is the impending one of my son. I will feel a different kind of relief when we know he is gone and at his new post overseas. As my sister said "It has to begin so it can end." She knows - her husband deployed in December. So it is with much anticipation that I await the beginning of my son's nine months away from America. He is ready. He is anxious to prove what a great job he can do. And I'll do my level best to keep any tears from showing up when we Skype or Facetime while he's gone. But the tears about him come with little to no provocation these days. A song on the radio did it to me last week. I had a jazz station on, and Larry Carlton's "Smiles and Smiles to Go" came on. My son was delighted to hear it come on the radio in the car when he was about 5 or 6. He said "Mum! I know this song! It's called 'Sunshine and Sunshine and Sunshine'!!" That's the title of that song to me now - and it's what I hope he'll have an abundant supply of while he's gone.
Thursday, May 2, 2013
Sunshine
I ate at my desk today and then when it was my lunch hour, around 1:15, I sat on a bench and read a library book for 45 minutes. The weather has been glorious the last few days and I'm soaking up the sun when I can! I've cut the grass twice in the last 3 weeks and that always puts me in a good mood. Yes, I'm weird that way. We have three acres, and being on the tractor in the sun and the breezes and the swallows swooping over me occasionally just makes me happy.
Time on the tractor gives me a chance to think and not speak for awhile. A couple of days ago while zooming around on the tractor, I got to thinking about my son, and feeling bad that we hadn't spoken to him in about a week. And soon we might only talk to him once a month. And who knows how hurried those conversations will be? Then I had an epiphany of sorts. Maybe he WANTS to call us more but it makes him feel bad when he does. Like maybe it reinforces the idea that we won't have many more chances to talk soon and he's trying not to get emotional about it. He's not overly emotional, but he definitely is a feeling and semi-sappy person, much like his parents. And I also wondered if he ever feels scared. Scared of what he's facing in the months ahead. I could never bring myself to ask him if he is. Truly, I don't want to know the answer. My gut tells me he is, maybe just a little. But he's a soldier and an officer and he has to not show any fear.
Sometimes I worry myself so much about this whole upcoming deployment that I think I'm going to be paralyzed with fear, and unable to much to keep busy and push bad thoughts away from the forefront of my brain. That would make my son very upset if he thought I was unable to be productive. I'm busy almost all the time. Knitting, cooking, walking the dogs, quilting, reading, anything to make sure that I'm being productive. I hate idle hands. So to keep those thoughts at bay, and to honor my son's sacrifices in being away from his wife and all manner of comforts, including laughing and goofing around with his dad and me, I WILL be busy! I will not wallow! I am going to make him proud, just like he makes ME proud every.single.minute.
Time on the tractor gives me a chance to think and not speak for awhile. A couple of days ago while zooming around on the tractor, I got to thinking about my son, and feeling bad that we hadn't spoken to him in about a week. And soon we might only talk to him once a month. And who knows how hurried those conversations will be? Then I had an epiphany of sorts. Maybe he WANTS to call us more but it makes him feel bad when he does. Like maybe it reinforces the idea that we won't have many more chances to talk soon and he's trying not to get emotional about it. He's not overly emotional, but he definitely is a feeling and semi-sappy person, much like his parents. And I also wondered if he ever feels scared. Scared of what he's facing in the months ahead. I could never bring myself to ask him if he is. Truly, I don't want to know the answer. My gut tells me he is, maybe just a little. But he's a soldier and an officer and he has to not show any fear.
Sometimes I worry myself so much about this whole upcoming deployment that I think I'm going to be paralyzed with fear, and unable to much to keep busy and push bad thoughts away from the forefront of my brain. That would make my son very upset if he thought I was unable to be productive. I'm busy almost all the time. Knitting, cooking, walking the dogs, quilting, reading, anything to make sure that I'm being productive. I hate idle hands. So to keep those thoughts at bay, and to honor my son's sacrifices in being away from his wife and all manner of comforts, including laughing and goofing around with his dad and me, I WILL be busy! I will not wallow! I am going to make him proud, just like he makes ME proud every.single.minute.
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