Tag: birthdays

Family Funk

Dreary Early Sun Over KCMO Skyline Wed 08 Jun 2011
Dreary Early Sun Over KCMO Skyline Wed 08 Jun 2011

I can’t seem to shake this funk I’m in.  All motivation for any activity has evaporated from me.  I could blame it on the heat, but that would be a lie, since I’ve felt wonky from back in May when the lows at night were still in the 40s.  I have many hobby and home projects I could be planning and prepping, but the minute I get home, I just wilt.

Terry tries to make me smile in many gracious and loving ways, and it helps me get through the evening.  He makes fresh sun tea for me and greets me at the door with a tall glass of it.  He grills and smokes the most amazing cuts of meat.  He creates delectable appetizers, salads and side dishes, all ready and waiting for me the minute I get home.  And even though he’s chronically ill, he manages to keep the house in tip-top shape, despite Apollo’s ability to shed three or four times his weight in fur.

I complained about cloudy skies, yet when the clouds disappear and the sun bakes the Midwest to a toasty 100 degrees in early June, I can’t be bothered to drag up the telescope and attempt to see the supernova in M51 (near Ursa Major).  I can’t justify staying up late (and by late I mean past 9:30 p.m.), waiting for the sky to darken, since I must be up by 5:00 a.m.

Rachelle (mid-May 2011)
Rachelle (mid-May 2011)

I forgot to buy a birthday card for my daughter, who turns twenty-two this Sunday.  Not that she’d be home to receive said card.  She’s traveling, again, to Boston next week.  In fact, she’s on a plane Sunday (her birthday).  It’s been five or six years since Rachelle has actually been home (or even in the same state as me) to celebrate her birthday.  She tends to travel routinely on her birthday.  Last year, she turned twenty-one while studying abroad in Germany.

I opted to stay home this weekend and not travel like the rest of my father’s family to Ohio for my youngest cousin’s wedding.  My dad is on the road now, heading east, while his brother is on the road, heading west from Virginia.  The impromptu Andrea family reunion will converge upon Ohio this evening and continue throughout the weekend.

Next week, my mom is scheduled for surgery, for which I’m taking a day off to transport her to and from the hospital.  At least she has finally found a blood pressure medicine that has few side effects.  The following day is my aunt’s birthday, another one I routinely forget but this year I will get a birthday card and I will send it to her.  I even put it on my calendar with double reminders to text me on my cell phone.

Dad and I (circa 1980s)
Dad and I (circa 1980s)

And a week from this Sunday, is Father’s Day.  I’ve reminded the ‘adult’ children to get their cards and gifts in the mail soon.  I just hope my dad makes it back from Ohio in time to celebrate, not that we need an excuse to take him out to dinner.

My son and his wife are prepping for their interviews.  More on that after the fact, as I don’t want to jinx anything.

I used the word (or contraction of two words to be precise) ‘can’t’ many times in this post, something I usually avoid vehemently.  I strongly believe that ‘can’t’ never did anything.  Perhaps if I purge ‘can’t’ from my system, I’ll also free myself from this funkiness.

One can hope.

Sunset, Sunrise, New Moon, Old Stars

With the return to normal time (sans daylight savings time), the commute home last night included a typical Midwestern autumn sunset.   Clear blue orange sky streaked with white vapor trails of the jets filled with people from the coasts who hop over the Heart of America and rarely pause to visit.   I kept my eye out for the waxing moon’s sliver, since the new moon occurred around midnight Saturday.  After the sun set I finally spied it, much higher in the sky than I anticipated.

Terry had dinner nearly ready when I returned from my errand to WalMart where I invested more money in Hallmark than I do the rest of the year combined.  Terry had prepared pan friend pork chops with some glazed carrots that were yummy.   I ate my sourdough as an appetizer, although three slices may have been a bit much.  We retired to the great room to watch the new episode of House, after which Terry entered his food coma and I read myself to a similar somnolent state.

When I woke up this morning, I realized I had forgotten to contact my father, who was on the road to Virginia.    My uncle had remembered to call his brother last night and confirmed he’d finally stopped forging east in Coventry, Virginia, only about three hours shy of their home.  I call him this morning during my commute to work and we chatted for a few minutes as he once again headed east into the sunrise over the mountains in Virginia.  I used the same sunrise to continue reading until the van arrived at work.

Another aspect of the change in time, I don’t see as many stars when I leave the house in the morning.  By 6:15, the eastern sky is already a pale yellow, and I can barely see Sirius or the stars in Orion’s Belt.  Some stratus clouds were also interfering with stargazing this morning.