Stuff on Saturday

It’s been a pretty significant week in several ways. Big changes happening and still to come. Time to process it all with a random Saturday post.

•Had several long phone conversations with The Husband from wherever he happens to be on the road on any given day. He’s getting along just fine and is truly energized by the new experiences and the challenges of his new career. He’s also extremely happy to have his first two days off in four weeks, this weekend. His trainer driver is having a weekend at home and The Husband gets a nice hotel room paid for by the trucking company. Time to relax and regroup – always good. On the home front, I miss the guy and still can’t quite grasp what this new life is going to be like. It’s quiet and peaceful, but a little lonely. At this point there are more questions than answers.

•It was the first week without The Boy in the house, which magnifies the peace and quiet factor quite a bit. He’s had a few ups and a few downs over the course of the week, but he’s been in touch and keeping me informed. It actually was a little easier to separate this time – I recognize this boy-less life from last year, and I’ve learned that it’s not forever. He’ll be home for a visit and lighting up the place before too long.

•The adjustment to all this emptiness was significantly eased by the news about my Little Free Library. A few details: the foundation is building and decorating it for me (slight bummer about the pre-decoration, but I figure I can re-decorate if it doesn’t suit me); it could take as long as 12 weeks for it to arrive (which would put us in November, with cold weather and holidays -not exactly ideal…may wait until spring for the unveiling); and once it comes I’ll need to arrange to have it planted in the yard, register it, send photos to the foundation, advertise the LFL in the community, and keep it stocked and monitored; I’m already imagining some lovely landscaping around it, with a few hearty perennials and a stepping stone path… It’s a big responsibility and a long-term project. Exactly what I needed.

•Middle Sister is seeing major improvement in her stomach issues. She’s on a medication that helps remove the bile from her stomach (a negative by-product of gall bladder removal that affects about 1 in 10 patients). Between the medication and the continued recovery from the surgery, she’s finally back to her old cheerful, energetic self – minus 30 pounds. She looks great, feels great, and is once again a joy to live with. Thank goodness.

•In the midst of all these goings-on I keep forgetting that I’ll be heading east to visit Oldest in a few weeks. We’re planning to have a day in a beach-front town for our big outing, but the bulk of our time together will just be normal, every day life greatly enhanced by enjoying each other’s company. And GAMES! Oldest enjoys card games and word games as much as I do, and we’ll get in lots of Nertz and Bananagrams to keep us going until she’s home for the holidays.

The week in review. On the whole it’s been a good one, with the forecast looking fairly rosy, too. Next up – the weekly visit to the farmer’s market for some fresh, healthy produce. Life is good. And this mom goes on.

Advertisement