“Here is the world. Beautiful and terrible things will happen. Don’t be afraid.”
The day is beautiful with a cool breeze and no blasted humidity. The pages of the papers waved in the breeze and needed something to hold down them as I sat on the deck to read. I noticed, when I was outside, that the spawns have stripped two feeders of their seeds so I have to pick up some more today. Yesterday I picked up the animals’ food and treats, that would for Miss Gracie and the Misses Fern and Maddie, which means one item on my before I go list is crossed off.
Being engrossed in a book lets time pass without my noticing so I bought a new book yesterday. Maybe a couple of days will go by without my counting the hours. This last week of waiting is killing me. I think I have everything that isn’t clothing all set to go and ready to be packed except for the last minute recharging of my iPad. When I tested the e-mail on it yesterday, it wouldn’t send so I had to reconfigure. It then sent just fine. I doubt I’ll have much chance to use the e-mail as wi-fi is pretty uncommon, but I wanted to be set just in case. You’ll have to check here every three days or so as I do hope to post.
The first time I was ever away from my parents for more than a night or two was when I went to college. Being eighteen and as brash as most eighteen year olds are, leaving was no big deal, but I was secretly reassured as my parents were always just a phone call and a few hours away. I don’t remember when I went home for my first weekend, but I don’t think it was all that soon. What I remember most about that weekend is when I walked into the living room the house seemed strangely different, almost as if I were the guest. Maybe that was the first sign we all have that we are starting to pull away into adulthood, into our own lives. I know as I got older I came home from college less and less, except, of course, for summers.
I figure the pulling away was natural, and we all did it maybe without even realizing why. Later, when I was really far away on my own, I did just fine. It was all that practice during college.
Explore posts in the same categories: MusingsTags: Bird feeder, college, IPad, weekends home
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keepthecoffeecoming.blog 
August 22, 2011 at 12:55 pm
Not related to your post, but check out the music group “Typhoon” out of Portland, OR. We first saw them on Letterman playing “The Honest Truth.” Around 12 members in the band playing guitars, drums, violins, cello (I think), trumpets, piano, and God knows what else. They played at the Newport Folk Festival and Bonnarroo this summer. Here they are at Newport (“The Honest Truth” starts around 1:30): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uIf-ydZ5HhI
August 22, 2011 at 9:16 pm
Bill,
Even that wasn’t the best copy, I liked their sound and have both them on my hunt down list. I’m always interested in new music. It is too easy to stay stuck in the past I enjoy so much.
Thanks!
August 22, 2011 at 1:14 pm
The day started out really bad, rainy and windy but the ending of it is much nicer. Sun and just a slight breeze.
I never got that feeling because it was my mother that moved away from home and I kept the apartment 🙂 🙂 🙂
Countries, cities and people may change during the years but I do hope the feeling of Ghana is just the same when You get down there.
Have a great day!
Christer.
August 22, 2011 at 9:18 pm
Christer,
It was the perfect day, cool and dry and tonight has a bit of a chill.
After college, I never really lived at home though I had to stay there a couple of summers as my roommate here rented her house.
I know much of Ghana will have changed, but I also know some will be the exact same, especially where I lived.
August 22, 2011 at 6:39 pm
I brought a girlfriend home for Thanksgiving and that did it. I learned at that point in my life I had truly fallen out of the nest. Then it was just Christmas and a visit during summer and I think once I took my laundry over because the dryer in the house I was renting broke and the landlord was to replace it when Sears could deliver it. It was nice though, just Mom and I. We sat by the fire and had a nice chat.
August 22, 2011 at 9:20 pm
Z&Me,
I went home every summer during college but worked full time, mostly at from noon to 9 at the Post Office then played the rest of the evening. The Peace Corps was the final snipping of what small piece of the cord still remained.
August 22, 2011 at 7:05 pm
When I went to college I picked a school only 35 miles from my father’s home. I wanted to be close to my father’s checkbook.
The first year I lived in the dorm and hated everything about it. The food was especially bad the bathrooms were down the hall and my roommate smoked at least two packs of cigarettes a day and played Bob Dylan on his guitar every night.
In those days all the woman who lived on campus had to live in a dorm and had a 10 PM curfew during the week and 11 PM on weekends even if they were married if their husbands did not live in town. When we took a girl out on a date we all ended up parking in the football stadium parking lot and began fogging up the car windows. It was always a mad scramble to get to the dorms from the parking lot before curfew time.
My college days were in the turbulent 60s and some of the other young men and myself petitioned the school to remove the curfew from woman who were over 18 years old. Our protest group met the dean of woman who appeared to us to be very old. She was probably younger than 60. When we asked her why the men had no curfew she replied that men could not get pregnant. When I mentioned that woman could conceive before 10 PM or 11 PM she gave us a look of complete disbelief. I think she could not imagine that anyone would have sex in daylight or before bedtime and only in their own bed. We lost our first cause.
Another 105 degrees at 5 PM in Dallas without a rain cloud in sight.
August 22, 2011 at 9:25 pm
Bob,
I was only 2 1/2 to three hours away so the checkbook was never too far off.
During my junior year I lived in an illegal off campus apartment as only seniors could legally live off campus. Women could leave the dorms for the weekend if they indicated their destination. I wonder if they ever realized how often my apartment was listed.
We also had a really old Dean of Women. When I was a senior, one afternoon we started drinking on campus where we could be seen. Our objective was to change the rule so legals could drink. The dean, Virginia O’Neil, pointed us out to some freshmen as horrific examples. One of those freshmen became a close friend long after we had both graduated and began working in the same school. She still claims I am a bad influence!
August 22, 2011 at 7:22 pm
http://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/idough/id386752314?mt=8
Cheers
August 22, 2011 at 9:13 pm
All mine would look at specters, ghosts with no features!
August 22, 2011 at 10:23 pm
How many days left? or did I miss that!
Yeah, well, we won’t discuss my college days.
MT C
August 22, 2011 at 10:28 pm
Carl,
Now that today is nearly over I’m not counting it-besides it’s tomorrow for you are so drumroll please. It is 4 days until take off (Saturday)!!!!!!