you have those friends in life that you don’t talk to every week, or even every month, but when you do it is as if no time has passed. you just pick up where you left off.
such is the case with dalee…and the day we spent tooling around this town.
i think i’ve talked to my dad everyday this week, updating him on the latest piece of the saga that is my life at present. so yesterday morning when he called before 8am, i am sure he wasn’t quite shocked when i told him the latest.
parking ticket for running i red light i didn’t even see.
that’s right…just the icing on the cake to a day where i found out i failed to abandon residency in a state in which i haven’t lived for 3.5 years and owe taxes for a year in which i never lived nor worked in the state. $1000 in taxes, that is.
these two things being just the latest in the week i’ve had…
it can’t rain everyday…can it?
it can’t be all bad, all the time…right?
one can get a break…can’t one?
i sure hope so…because i need a new day.
i need the sun to shine on me.
i need to know it’s all going to be ok.
i need to keep my chin up.
i need to focus on the positive, even if it seems there is none.
i need to remove myself emotionally.
i need to laugh at the string of events…because, instead, i might just cry.
i need to enjoy being away.
i need to take it one day at a time.
i need to remove the emotional.
i need to get away.
i need today…
“hey. guess who was just in my store?”
“who?”
“dylan mcdermott. i mean, it’s not like i know who he is anyway…but he was in here.”
“cool. oh yeah, i forgot to tell you who i saw this morning crossing the street in front of my store.”
“who?”
“joe montana.”
“shut up!”
“yeah, i saw him crossing the street with his wife this morning.”
“shut up!”
“i’m serious. i…”
“shut up! i hate you.”
click.
do you ever look back on some days and…
wish you had just stayed in bed,
wish you could go on vacation…again,
wonder what in the world happened,
wonder how it turned out that way,
wonder why what i meant to say wasn’t taken in the same manner,
wonder why i take things personally,
wonder why i care so much,
wonder what the grass looks like on the other side?
i’ve had some days like these lately…
truer words never spoken.
ironic that i see this posted on the wall of the montgomery airport waiting on my flight out. waiting to leave the home i’ve known for 29 year to return to the home i’ve only recently known the past 3.5.
and on most trips back home, i am ready to return to my new home…but not this time.
this time was bittersweet.
this time just wasn’t long enough.
this time was different.
this time i had a tough time distinguishing between the two.
this time was the best yet.
this time made me miss family, ‘bama, the south, friends, comfort, food, culture, slower paced living, space, and the general way of life more than ever.
this time coming home…
makes me long for the next.
last breakfast with dad.
last shopping with mom.
now on to the final hours…and the rest of the lasts.
southern ladies meeting for lunch.
dressing the part.
eating salad.
strawberry cake. chocolate bread pudding.
food, however, secondary to the conversation.
mom and i invited some of our mutual friends to lunch yesterday. it’s funny when i think about our friends–mine and mom’s, that is–because it seems that we share a lot of friends. my friends become hers, and hers become mine. the 3 ladies above worked on staff at the church with both mom and myself…just years separating mine and mom’s tenure at the church. and i love these ladies.
to me, these ladies are comfort,
understanding,
loving,
genuine,
caring,
encouraging.
like when marie spontaneously posed the question to the other ladies, “what do you remember most about jen from being on the church staff?” the ladies answered but didn’t catch on to marie’s baited question…but i did. it was very encouraging to hear what the ladies had to say, what they remembered about me, what they appreciated most…especially since i didn’t have much direct contact with any of them. then marie pulled it out of her purse…
because what she remembers most is the twinkie award i used to give out monthly at our staff meetings…the silly little jingle and the dance to accompany it. and she would remember that since she was a unanimous recipient of the monthly award. funny how the small things can make a such a difference. and funny that she can still remember it years later. funny, too, that i can still remember what i appreciate most about each lady and how they have made a difference in my life. funny thing about those small things…
funny thing, maybe they’re not so small in the grand scheme of things.
