Breathe.....

The last few days have been such a whirlwind of things to do. Along with all of Pippin's packing and preparations we had the fun of a few days worth of celebrations. Thursday was Thanksgiving. After jumping up early in the morning to make a double batch of dinner rolls, we headed up to my mom's house for fun with 24 members of the family. There was so much food and we enjoyed every ounce of it. Oh my, even thinking about it now makes my tummy hurt.

How is this for before and after?

Here is hubby and I enjoying our share of turkey and stuffing.

The next evening we spent across town with some 35 members of Hubby's family that were in town for the holiday. Nephews and nieces, aunties and uncles, young and old.....it was so good to see everyone and share updates, encouragements, and love.

(sadly I do not have a picture of that evening.)

Saturday evening was spent at a friend's house for the Oregon Civil War Game. It was a hoot to watch the gang yell it out for each tackle and tease one another. Maybe you can see a small bit of the rivalry in the photo below. One of the Beaver fans nabbed the Ducks little stuffed mascot and hung him in a noose around the projector platform. As the winning score proved, it wa a futile attempt at proclaiming victory.

Sunday was church service, family visiting, and then THE PACKING.

It took us a few hours to sort items, roll clothes, and write out directions for the different vitamins and such I wanted her to take along. One 30 lb. suitcase and 2 carry-on bags later she was ready to go.

We had been buzzing for so long with check lists, fundraisers, shopping, and meetings. It felt strange to have it all done and not think of anything else that needed attention. As I tucked Pippin into bed last night we both were thinking that same unspoken thought......"This is the last time for two weeks".

Are you wondering why a 17 year old is getting tucked into bed? It is okay. Really I don't baby my girls. At least I don't THINK I baby them. Pippin has just always reveled in that quiet snuggle time. No matter what the day has been like, even if we have been at whits end with one another......she will jump under the covers and give me that sparkly eyed look while peeking out from her blankets and looking just like she did as a giggly toddler.

As the clocks stopped keeping their time and the earth froze in rotation, we snuggled and didn't say a word as we both thought of the new world door that was opening before her in just a few hours.

Watching her go through the security gate and walking down the airport breezeway for as long as I could this morning, I felt proud. She had a big smile on her face as she took care of her teammates and stepped forward. Yes I had tears rolling down my cheeks and moments when I wanted to yell "Wait! One more hug!" But I know she is entering into an amazing destiny and purpose right now that I can only begin to wrap my brain around.

I know she will be fine. I know she is safe. I am sure the time will go by quickly.

As I write this, she is flying somewhere close to Amsterdam right now and still has another 8 hours of flying to go. It is such an adventure. Oh the stories we will hear when she comes back.

This And That...

My head was on my pillow, all ready to settle in for the night. I had been fighting off a cold and refused to admit that it might be winning it's temporary lodging status. I looked forward to the 1/4 dose of a sleeping pill I swallowed to take effect. That dose usually proved to be just the right amount, not enough to make me zombee status but enough to take the edge off my muscles and thoughts.

Heavy sigh....my coughing was proving more victorious. So I lay there thinking, and as thoughts do, mine were all over the place. I thought of writing and time travel, wonderful french gardens and how cool it would be to find a bag of money, unspoken resolutions and the blessings of moving on. I even had my new french music cd running through my head. Since they don't have the lyrics written out, I absently wondered if I was singing the words correctly by ear. Wouldn't it be funny if instead of singing, "I would like some green sun in my winter garden." I was really saying something absurd like, "My cow wears red boots in the night air."?

Eventually my thoughts fell back to blessings and how they turn up in places where they are least expected, like running into an old friend on the corner. Like this for example...

Yesterday, we finally checked our snail-mailbox and I found a thank you card and gift card to my favorite bookstore from our dentist and his secretary. When we were last in for our check ups a few weeks ago, they were learning a new (to them) program on their computer and it was causing much headache. I happened to know the basics of it and offered my help. I didn't think I was doing anything majorly important, merely a friend helping a friend. And frankly, it was the same morning I had found out about my step-mom dying, so it was a nice mental distraction for me to leave my thought circle of emergency flight plans and re-arranging Christmas tradtitions.

I don't know....I didn't expect anything and it shocked me.
Maybe that is what makes it so special.
It was a nice thing to fall asleep to.

Life Goes On....

Christmas was wonderful! It was so good to be with family. My flight back from San Antonio came in just in time for me to drive up to my mom's for dinner. What a different atmosphere I sat in than what I had left behind just a few hours earlier. Ladies swapped recipes at the table, cousins sat around the karaoke machine, and children played with the four dogs that vied for attention. I simply sat in the corner and soaked it all in.

My husband surprised me with the navigator device that I had been hoping for. I was thinking I could get it after Christmas, but he surprised me with it all wrapped up in a bow. Wonderful! That will make my volunteer times so much easier.

Side note...I had a wonderful conversation with an elderly gentleman on the last part of my flight home. He too was flying from San Anantonio. He said that he was relocating to our part of the world so that he could live with his daughter and her family. Being on a fixed income was difficult and he wanted to use this time to make wonderful memories with his grandchildren. With excitement in his voice, he asked me question after question about the area...sight seeing to economy, mass transportation to housing development and fly fishing. He viewed the whole idea as a wonderful adventure. His thrill and excitement was infectious to me.

For a small moment I found myself wondering.....what will my father do when things settle down? ...............
Nah, the climate change alone would be too hard for his arthritic knees.

Well, we are off on a new excursion now. We will be spending New Years at the beach with friends. It is a new way of celebrating for me. I have always been around that family table...swapping those recipes with aunts and cousins.

And the Winning Question Is.....

you know those emails.....you'd be lying if you said you have never received one.
It asks for details on those little or not so little known things about you....so the person who did the sending can "learn" you better.

Well, I just received one from a dear friend from high school. Some of the questions are silly and some are rather interesting. I wonder though, who sits down and actually creates these emails that span the globe several times over again? Are they unable to get away from their computer? Are they surrounded by mounds of Hot Pocket boxes and that weekly delivery is their only source of living breathing contact?
Some of the questions are so odd. the original list was 46 questions long. Here are just a handful of them with my answers.



5. DO YOU HAVE KIDS AND HOW MANY?
oh boy, anyone who knows me knows that is a loaded question. It is so funny when I get asked that and must spend more than one sentence explaining my answer. I usually get, "What?! You don't look old enough to have a 27 year old! You must hold your age well." That of course is a compliment but I always end up feeling like I cheated or something after I am finished explaining.

7. DO YOU USE SARCASM A LOT?
NOOOOOO...giggle giggle

8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS?
Okay this is one of THOSE questions...does it matter and who cares? (I guess #7 is still having it's affect on me)

14. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE?
personallity

22. IF YOU WHERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE?
(This is set up to be one of those introspective phsychology questions) I just ventured over to the Crayola Database to view their colors. Wow there is actually a history on color crayons. It brought back memories. How many times my Mom and Dad would tease me about their special color being Chartreus. I always thought it was a made up name ...like when my Dad would say something was Lavender-Yellow. There are some really interesting names there..... Tickle Me Pink, Razzmatazz, Inch Worm...I find myself wanting to choose a color simply by it's name instead of what it actually represents.

23. FAVORITE SMELLS?
spring and summer mornings

29. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS?
Ha Ha! NO! I love answering THAT question. It was so cool to go into DMV a couple of years ago and have them take OFF the vision correction stipulation on my license.

35. HUGS OR KISSES?
hugs definately

39. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING NOW?
Interestingly enough, I just finished reading a junior high level book titled The Giver. Even though my goal was to screen review it for teaching purposes, I found it to be a great book for presenting the quandary of Utopia and Dystopia. It is a thought provoking book that opens the reader's mind without the needless item content that some other books of the same catagory have.

42. FAVORITE SOUND?
nature and my wind chimes

44. WHAT IS THE FARTHEST YOU HAVE BEEN FROM HOME?
Goody....being an MK makes this question fun......Japan or Madrid, Spain