Monday, December 21, 2009

go with the flow

Some days are just sort of odd. Today was one of them. I started when I, still asleep, answered the phone and my dad told me we aren't going to my sister's because of the weather. I don't think I said anything to him, and just hung up. When I got up and hour later, I was completely confused as to if that was a dream or not, so I called home. No, not a dream and yes, we're not going to Iowa for Christmas and my sister and her family are staying put as well.

I felt disappointed for most of the day. This is the second year in a row that we're all not together. The roads are already full of ice where they live. So now we're all rethinking menus and doing last minute shopping to re-prepare for the holiday. On the upside, I did enjoy spending time at my place for the holiday last year. I think I might have some extra time to read and hang some pictures that have been leaning against my walls for two or so years. Yep, this Christmas might just be the time to do these things!

Also adding to my "off" day was staying home for most of morning waiting for a building inspector to come by to "inspect" my new patio door. His inspection involved looking mostly at the clipboard he was carrying, and not at the door. Odd.

Tonight I got a call from the mom of a guy I went to high school with. We (the mom and I) have remained friends, strangely enough. Technically I'm friend skipping over my mom because she met Ginger when Dave and I were preschoolers. Then we all re-met when Dave and I entered 9th grade. He and his brother went to St. Joe's and I went to public school. I had a huge crush on him all throughout high school, which Ginger and my mom (and probably Dave) knew. He's married now and lives in Milwaukee. He friended me on facebook over a year ago, which I didn't know because his facebook name is Bucky Badger, and his photo was nondescript. I ignored his friend request, until he sent me a message explaining that he is Bucky. I accepted. A bit strange. . . and we haven't communicated since.

Here's the best part of that story: Ginger tells me at least once a year that she wishes I was her daughter-in-law, yet says I'm too good for David and that I probably wouldn't enjoy being married to him. It sounds like she's not supportive of him when I say it like this, but that's not the case. She loves him to pieces and wishes the best for him, but realizes he's (in her words) "not the best communicator." I just laugh when she says this to me because there was a time in my life, oh so long ago, when I would have died a thousand deaths in sheer delight to hear her say she wishes I was her daughter-in-law. Now she's a loving sorta mom-like/sorta friend-like presence in my life. I guess we've double friend skipped over David and my mom to wind up still talking to each other after all these years.

So, truly, the lesson of the day is to go with the flow.

2 comments:

  1. What if the flow stops? What if the flow is stagnant?
    What if there is no flow
    to go with?
    Or if the flow is actually an eddy
    that keeps circling.
    An eddy – that is a natural feature - someone that people can get caught up in…maybe they have big egos, maybe they are movie stars, maybe
    the flow is blocked, no apparent movement - a dam
    pressure building,
    or the water being drained – pools, golf courses, fields in a desert.
    What if the flow is being put to
    purposes
    that drain it of life?

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  2. That's a bit too deep for me today, Tammy :) I'm still thinking about the irony of knowing someone I would enjoy having as a mother-in-law (and vice versa) and that person not being the mother of guy I'd marry. Just a piece of the puzzle, here and there, I guess. Hopefully someday all the pieces will fit together.

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