Long Weekend

This Labor Day weekend, weather permitting, I intend to enjoy this creek.

Boats at Cow Point

I also intend to enjoy this deck.

This grill will see some action on Sunday.

Some friends are coming over for a cookout.

It's been a tough week, and I've only just now come to a point where I'm not weepy at least once or twice a day due to Son's departure for college.

Below is a picture of him on that dreadful day the day he left.

We do miss him, but we're adjusting.  He's doing well and is very happy.

I am really looking forward to a few days off from everything.

Everything.

I hope your weekend is restful and enjoyable.

Have a great one.

Reflections

Here are some more photos I took on a recent kayak ride down the cove near my house.

The calm waters and the setting sun joined forces to create some beautiful reflections on the creek.

This week has felt more like a month; the days have been exceedingly long.  Today is no different.  Although it's my day off, I will get up at 5:30 a.m., drive Daughter to Gloucester for her cross country scrimmage, procure books for her AP classes next year, cut grass, clean the house, and last but not least be herded into the high school for Bring Your Checkbook and Ink Pen So We Can Empty Your Accounts Day, also known as Open House, also known as There's a Fee For Everything Including Breathing Day.

I'm really looking forward to the upcoming long weekend, even though when it's over we're flung headfirst into September and the start of the school year.

And summer starts to leave us. I feel like I was only just getting used to her being around.  I'm not ready for her to leave.

For now, I'll just go back to staring at these reflections, which help erase all some of the stress.

Just Us

This picture of Daughter was taken last summer during a spell where Son was off at This or That Camp for an extended period of time.  We were practicing doing different things to take our mind off the fact that we missed him.

This week we find ourselves doing sort of the same thing, looking to each other to figure out our New Normal now that Son is happily and safely off at college.

He really couldn't be happier. And we are all thrilled for him.

We, on the other hand, had a very rough day on Saturday.  It's a very long story that involves a tearful goodbye with my parents first thing; a mixed bag of emotions on the ride to Charlottesville (he was exuberant, I was a nervous wreck, Daughter didn't know what to do); a hasty drop off and departure (because there really was no need to linger); and one of the worst drives in the history of all my years of driving.

Daughter started crying as soon as she said her goodbyes, and we both were wiping tears and sobbing all the way from Charlottesville to Richmond, where we met my sister for dinner.

Also, when we got to Richmond, I became physically ill.  Yep.  Ill.  The stress of the day, the lengthy build-up of emotions, an overload of caffeine that morning (that included three cups of coffee and 1.5 energy drinks), plus the hour of driving and crying all swirled together to cause me to get sick.

After a nap and some food later that evening I was fine.

But when we arrived home officially, the tears flowed again.

Son's doing great.  Daughter is already taking over his bathroom and some of his space upstairs.

Eventually we'll adjust to this new norm.  At least I know Daughter will.

For me, it's going to take a little longer.

Dropping him off was one of the hardest things I've had to do thus far. And, in two short years, it will be Daughter's turn.

If I am still blogging in two years, I predict my last blog post will be Drop Off Day for Daughter.  That will be the day they finally haul me off in the padded wagon. For good.

I hope everyone else's weekend was better than mine.

I need another vacation. And possibly some prescription medication.

Or something.

Taking Flight

The Statue of Liberty in the background is as good a start as any to
a blog post dedicated to my son's departure for college.

Dear Son, The road to liberation has not been necessarily easy;
there have been a few bumps along the way.
But, for the most part, it's been a  wild, wonderful, glorious ride.

As you graduate to this next phase in life, remember you have a sister who adores you.

(Sister, while happy for you, will have an adjustment of her own this year.)

You have worked so hard to get here, the steps leading to what should
be some of the best times of your life.

I'm proud of you for so many things.

I cannot even begin to list them all.

Your grandmother (aka Nanny) was there when you took your first breath.

Your aunts couldn't love you more.

Grandaddy, after whom you were named, always says, "He's something else, that Sam."

Your family adores you, plain and simple. We're here for you no matter what.

And your mother, well, she thinks you're the sun, the moon and the stars.
Please try not to forget her.
Thank you.

Don't forget home, either.  There's no place like it--although right now all you need to know is it will always be here waiting for you if you ever need a safe haven, a soft pillow,
and unconditional love.

Congratulations on reaching this major milestone, you are entering one of the best stages of life.  

I can't say it  enough: I'm so proud of you and love you with all my heart.  

Always.

Millers Cove

Sunday evening, in complete denial that this is the last week before my son departs for college, I went for a kayak ride in our cove to soothe my soul and quiet my mind.

This particular arm (is it called an arm?  regardless, that's what I'm calling it) of the cove is right near Clifton, which has a very rich history that includes shipbuilding, a women's finishing school and all sorts of possibilities for movie plots. The property on which my parents and I now live was once part of Clifton.

Although I was searching for herons or other creatures along the shoreline, I happened upon a piece of wood.

This piece of wood, part of a fallen tree, looked like a cross between 

a dinosaur
an alligator 

and a heron.

A heron gazing skyward, kicking one stump of an abbreviated leg upwards in some sort of high five to the heavens.

If I've not mentioned it lately, I'm very easily amused.  This is how I spent my entire life childhood.  Gazing at nature and making up stories, no matter how irrational.

Thank you for tolerating indulging my imagination.



Signed,

In Complete Denial That My Son Is Leaving Home

The Tree

Once upon a time, a daughter tried to pretend it was an ordinary Saturday.  Instead, after jogging six miles in the Beaverlett area of Mathews, she pulled into her drive to see some major goings-on at her parents' house next door.

A dead tree that for many years towered over her parents' house now looked like an oversized fish skeleton, depending on the angle. (Look at the one below. Fish skeleton, I tell you.)

The Lady of the House was thrilled to see the tree go down.  

It took a village to get this tree down.  

CB Father, B, W, and Mother, debriefing after the tree was safely down.

Because nobody likes to be named around here, we'll just say thank you to B, Jr., and W. for their assistance in getting a huge, completely dead tree down from my parents' front yard.

Safely.

Now if my 70-something father can cut the monstrosity safely into usable pieces, all will be good.

Natural Phenomena

To be clear, this is not a shot of the so-called super moon we experienced earlier this week.  

Although this was a recent moon; and I did think it was super.

(I love how the tree appears to be clasping the glowing orb.)

For whatever reason, I'm extremely sensitive to the full moon.  The night before Son was born 19 years ago, I remember pacing fretfully, and gazing longingly out my bedroom window at a very full moon. Son's birthday coincided once again with this week's super full moon.

Or full super moon.

Or moon.  Full of super.

Anyway.

The super moon earlier this week definitely had an impact on me--as in very difficult to get a decent night's sleep and crazier than usual things happening, particularly at work.

Tuesday night we had a torrential downpour and a severe thunderstorm that knocked out my wifi (leaving me unable to do my blog post.  I ate junk food and watched bad TV instead.).

Afterwards, the storm left behind a beautiful rainbow that lingered on the creek longer than usual.

Son and Daughter are out of town this weekend, so I am home alone faced with nothing but yard work and housework, none of which sound appealing.  In case I've not mentioned it recently, this will be the last weekend before Son goes away to college. He officially leaves Daughter and I in our mess of a nest.

Serenity now.

Have a wonderful weekend.