The week ahead

 

Colin and Lisa

I’ve been looking forward to this week for some time. Jordan and Christian are going early early tomorrow to San Miguel to celebrate a friend’s birthday—they will be there all week. Colin, my oldest, has come to mom-sit. Actually, he’ll also Jacob-sit, Cricket-sit (the dog), and plant-sit. But I think he’s mostly here because the family doesn’t think I can survive a week on my own, and I’m grateful. While I want to be indignant and shout that I am perfectly capable, I know there’s a lot I can’t do on my own these days, from taking care of the Burton dog to watering the yard plants—my walker just isn’t that adaptable and I can’t get up the steps to the house without help. We will take Sophie to the vet, and me to the podiatrist, and Colin will make sure that I wake up each morning and that Jacob goes to bed each evening. He’s up to it, because he has two teens at home and a mother-in-law who lives alone, just across the pasture.

Colin has of course been here many times since I moved to the cottage, but the time he came when I was first here, seven years ago, was the last time he came specifically to mom-sit. Here’s what he wrote in December 2017:

“It’s been almost three days since I drove up the narrow driveway and parked in front of what had, up until now, been pleasantly known as “The Cottage.” As I watched the automatic gate shut in my rear-view mirror, I was unaware, but later amused, by the prison sentence that it foreshadowed.

“I should tell you about my cellmate. She is a 78-year-old uber-left leaning mystery author with a broken right ankle and destroyed left hip who scoots around backwards like a cross between a pinball and a dog with an itchy bottom – sometimes wearing an Obama shirt/nightie.

“Confined to close quarters, we have been within twenty feet of each other for sixty-eight hours now……and counting. Our arrangement is that of caregiver and ward, but it is actually much more than that. You see, over four decades ago the roles were reversed.  She is my mother.”

This will be a much happier day. Tonight, when I showed him the above passage, he said, “I’ve been looking for that.” And then, bless him, he said the difference between me then and today was night and day. It’s hard for me to realize how out of touch with reality I was then and how scared my children were.

Now, Colin and I will enjoy each other’s company, each of us working during the day at our desks but getting together for supper and visiting and solving the problems of both the world and our family. We have already had one deep discussion on religion and Christian nationalism—the kind of discussion I enjoy. It was prompted in part by the fact that there was a baptism in my church this morning—and both the parents of this darling boy were women. It was the first time I’d seen that in my church, but I was glad, and I wish this couple all happiness with their baby. When Dr Peterman held the baby in his arms and walked down the center aisle of the church, there were many smiles and not one frown.

Of course I have been menu planning in advance for Colin’s visit, but already that’s gone awry. We had carnitas tonight—so good—with possibly enough leftovers for supper tomorrow if Jacob wants Chipotle or something else. So we’ll see how it all works out. I had lamb on the menu twice because both Colin and I like it, and I know his Lisa doesn’t like to cook it. Jamie may come over one night, in which case we’ll probably go out to dinner or they’ll bring in barbecue. And I thought one night it would be fun to “walk the market” with Colin and pick out supper—a vegetable we both wanted and probably fresh fish because I don’t get enough of it. You can see I have more dinners planned than nights Colin will be here.

And no surprise I have a chore list for Colin, from fixing my toilet which sometimes willy-nilly decides not to flush to checking on why our electric gate sometimes bounces back open after you close it. Colin and Jamie are my computer gurus, and Colin has promised to look at several glitches in my computer while he’s here. It’s not as though he will be twiddling his thumbs—I don’t understand it exactly, but this week is a big financial reporting deadline for the company from which he recently resigned but for which he still does consulting. I can’t figure out either of my son’s professional lives, but I know that Colin will be on the phone a lot this week. Which is okay. I have plenty to do.

So that’s my week ahead, a nice break from routine. And I am excited for Jordan and Christian to go to San Miguel—my own bucket list is rather short, but that’s one of the places on it. They are excited to go, among other places, to the most famous rooftop bar in the world. Quince. I’m looking forward to a vicarious visit through them.

Hope you all have a good week.