Jacob left for two
weeks at Sky Ranch today. This will be his fourth year at the camp, and he
loves it. I’m happy for him, but of course will miss him. The neat thing: he
gave me not one but two goodbye hugs—and they were tight hugs, not what I had
been calling his passive hugs where he kind of leaned into me and let me hug
him. He came out to say goodbye, hugged me, and I said the usual things about
having fun and being careful. Then he hung around the driveway, waiting for his
parents to be ready to leave. When they appeared, he came back in and announced
another hug. Both times, he also had lingering farewells with Sophie who didn’t
understand but welcomed his love. I told him to just imagine how ecstatic she’ll
be to see him after two weeks, and he grinned.
He’s been
practicing his cursive again a bit, and announced last night that he really
wanted to write a letter in cursive from camp. I’m assuming, and hoping, that
letter will be addressed to me.
Friends Teddy and
Sue, knowing I would be alone tonight, invited me for supper. Teddy came to
pick me up and help feed the dogs—his part of the job was to go in the house and
bring the dogs out. Easier said than done. Those two balked at coming into the
cottage; when we finally got them both inside, we closed the door so they
couldn’t wander out. Then they just looked at their food. In frustration, Teddy
and I poured small glasses of wine and sipped while we cajoled. After what
seemed forever, both dogs ate out of the same bowl and ignored the other one.
Sophie, who scarfed down her food immediately, kept looking like, “What’s the
holdup here? I want my treat.” Getting the Cavaliers back into the house and
their crate was another painful project. I finally gave Teddy small milk bones
to lure them.
Lovely evening
with good conversation. We talked about everything from friends and family to politics,
people they recently met, my work, religion, you name it, and we lingered a
long time at the dinner table—the best kind of dinner party. I don’t get steak
very often, so steak that Teddy grilled to perfection (quite rare) was a treat.I brought maybe a third
of my steak home—lunch for tomorrow.
I am so grateful
for the continuing friendship of these two. Sue lived next door to me when her
two children were quite young—the oldest is now a senior at the University of
Arkansas and the youngest, a high school senior. She was then newly single.
Since then she has built herself a strong career as a writer and marketing
professional to major international law firms. Sue is Canadian, and her parents
are in Ottawa—a long way away—so she named me her Fort Worth mom, a title that
honors me. Teddy came on the scene maybe six years ago or so, and is perhaps
the best thing she’s found in forever. I adore him.
A bonus: we took
my walker, but only in case I had to go to the loo, one place Teddy wouldn’t
walk me. I walked from my house to the car, up a medium long sidewalk at their
house, from kitchen to dining table, and, at evening’s end, back to the car.
Teddy’s strong arm made me confident, and he told me to hold my wrist firm. He’s
a chiropractor and said he could feel the bones in my wrist popping. He
predicted trouble in that right wrist if I didn’t start holding it straight, so
I did. That made me put more weight on my legs, which was good. I was full,
happy, and proud of my walking when I got home.
A good day—with lots
of work done despite the big events.
