Although Thursday was my last day on the job for awhile, today feels like my first real day of vacation. I was late getting out of the office on Thursday and we ran errands that evening. Up early on Friday morning to spend HOURS straightening up and cleaning the house in preparation for my mother's visit (I'd hardly been home on the weekends for weeks). Jeffrey left that morning for two days of gigs in Hermosa Beach in a rented cute yellow PT Cruiser. My mother was here from Friday afternoon until yesterday afternoon, and although we kept our schedule light, it was glorious to wake this morning not feeling like I had to jump up to entertain. I hit the thrift store yesterday in search of vacation reading and found they had trade paper books on sale for 50 cents. I finished this novel yesterday and late last night, I started this one.
My mother turned 73 in early June, but her birthday gift was a delayed surprise. On Saturday afternoon I took her to high tea at The Camellia Tea Room in Benicia, a small town where she'd lived for a couple of years in the early 70's and had hardly been back since. I lived with her (and my then-stepfather) briefly when I first moved to the Bay Area. Many native Californians don't know that in 1853 Benicia was briefly our state capital before it was moved to Sacramento the following year. She LOVED the tea room, the high tea and the surprise of being taken back to Benicia. We chose the lavender-rose tea and it was wonderful. So wonderful that we bought some to bring home. There was a large bridal shower group having a very good time in the center of the room. It really is a lovely setting and I can see how it would be a popular venue for showers. After tea, I drove us through the hills on the east side of town in search of the apartments where she (and briefly I) had lived. With the help of a mail carrier, we eventually located them, only to discover that they look exactly as they did when we lived there...and no worse for wear! That apartment had a couple of balconies and a wonderful view of the Carquinez Strait (which borders the town) and the Carquinez Bridge.
Jeffrey arrived home mid-morning yesterday (having left right after his gig Saturday night and stopping only for an hour's sleep in a rest area). He brought me a great shirt from a shop in Hermosa Beach--a sheer turquoise leopard print with a high collar and cool buttons. One big advantage to a long-time relationship: the gifts get better...because after all those years together, they finally figure out what you like! ;) We had a lazy rest of our Sunday.
I slept in this morning and read for awhile in bed. He's already been home for lunch. Golf course maintenance workers have early schedules...on the job by 4:30...lunch at 10:30...home by 1:00. So it's nice--I get to have him in the afternoons. Not sure what we're doing for the 4th--may just stay home (J may work half a day) or might join my brother's family at their place for a BBQ. Mom flies out Friday afternoon...we pick up our rental car Friday night...and we're embarking on our nine-day vacation on Saturday morning. In the meantime, I plan to unwind and just let myself BE. I feel like my life has been filled with so much busy-ness the past couple of months that my internal life has fallen by the wayside. One thing's for sure though--I truly value the 'life' I have here. I value the relationships I've established through the connections I've made through blogging. I miss all of you when I fall behind in reading about your lives. I'm going to spend some time this month getting caught up. I just need to do it in bits and drabs so it doesn't feel like obligation when I open my Bloglines. So please bear with me--I will be by eventually...as I transition from feeling like I'm constantly doing to allowing myself to stay more in a state of just being.















Recent Comments