It's that special time of the year, one I always anticipate with much happiness and excitement. My oldest daughter and her hubby are coming home for a visit.
You see, long ago and far away, in a land very different than this is right now, my oldest daughter watched a movie. It was a normal day in a normal life, and we just decided to watch a movie. What bad could come of this you would ask? Oh gentle reader, do not be lulled into a sense of peace and calm, with visions of popcorn and snuggle blankets dancing in your head. This innocent act, of "just watching a movie", changed my life and my daughter's forever!!
What movie could possibily have that kind of affect on one's life. It was Apollo 13. A well written docu-movie about the ill fated Apollo 13 mission, the successful failure, I believe it was called. They headed for the moon, something went boom, then they had to take a right turn and head for home. After many meetings of the minds in launch control, they splashed down, safe and somewhat sound. A good movie......to my daughter, a great movie, one that sparked an interest in the space program and all things star like that she continues to thrive in even today, and I believe, for many years to come.
I have a magnet on my refrigerator that I have had for a looonnnnggg time. It says "Put away your dreams for your children, and help them with their own". Profound, yes, easy to do, well that is another package of dehydrated space food (don't like cans of worms, blech!!). My daughter, she became this walking, breathing stack of books. Ask her anything about the Apollo 13 space mission, she'll tell you!! And she did..........a lot..........did I say a lot............I meant......A LOT!! OK, she was really interested in this stuff. So, the logical thing to do is to send her to space camp. Mistake #2. (what, oh first mistake was letting her watch the damn movie...). To sum up this preamble; many trips to space camp later, fast forward a few years, and my daughter and her husband are 2 very intrical associates of US Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville Alabama. There you have it, help them with their own dreams and you can say bye bye to them as they move 800 miles away from you...........Geez, ain't that a kick in the flight suit.
Seriously though, I am very proud of my daughter and what she has accomplished in her lifetime. It is a proud moment to watch your child achieve that which they set their minds (and dreams) too. So that brings us back to where I started (wow that was a long and winding road). It's that special time of the year, one I always anticipate with much happiness and excitement. My oldest daughter and her hubby are coming home for a visit.
As I prepare my menus, house work schedule, trips and treats, it hits me that this is my daughter and her hubby coming, not the Queen of England (although I am sure at some point in her life she thought she was...tee hee), so why am I pulling out all the stops and setting forth this great production because she is coming for a visit. I want the house clean, the dogs well trained, the food delicous and reminiscent of what she used to eat when she was here under my wing. I want her to be able to go all the places she did when she lived here and I want to hang with her as she travels down her memory lane. Geez this is a big deal.
I seem to recall that my mom does the same thing. She too has helped me with my own dreams, which landed me 800 miles away from her. Hummm, seems to run in the family, this trapsing far away from home. Mom is always asking what I would like to eat, where I would like to visit, if there is anyone with whom I would like to spend time with. And, be sure, the dust bunnies quake in fear before we stop in. It is a big deal when the brood comes home.
I think this is a capture of the nesting instinct we had when we were awaiting the arrival of our said bundles of joy. As we padded our nest for the coming of our child, we now fluff the feathers of the nest, making home a welcoming place for our brood to return. In a way, the excitement is just about as palpable. The welcome difference is that we don't need to head to the hospital and face many and suntry indignities and an assortment of drugs to kill the pain to have this welcome reunion. Although, I have to admit, as I scrub my tub and vacuum the stairs, that the physical energy taken to complete these tasks for arrival, can be just as exhausting.............but also just as welcome...................
It is such a wonderful feeling as they walk in the door, almost like they have done so yesterday. But, it feels like a long time since then too. You give big hugs and kisses and exchanges of greetings. You feel the momentary weight of time as it has passed, and there is a bittersweetness that you sink into for just a moment. The coming home of the brood is the realization of how quickly this time to last time has gone, but also the realization of how quickly this time to leaving will go. You can't stop it, you can't slow it down. But, to be in the moment and enjoy it is the only way you can be. So, you snap out of it, and smile and hug her one more time. You will make the most of this space, this place in your life. You can pretend for just a little while, that she is home and will never leave. As she comes and goes, and you do whatever you do together, it will feel like it did in the days gone by. What sweetness!!
The time will come all too soon, when she will leave again. You'll see that look in her eye, the one that tells you, yes she will miss you, but her life is waiting, at her home, for her. She needs to go there and live it. Again, you put away your dreams and help her with her own. You smile and say how wonderful it was to see her, and you make plans for doing this again soon..............time will pass quickly, and you'll all be together again.
For the moment though, you will live in that icky grey between place. After they drive away, you walk back into the house, it's deathly quiet and the place echoes. You can see the empty dishes and wet towels that were just in use. Just moments ago. Time needs to pass, the universe will make sense again in a little while, but right now, it feels like said universe has just given you a wedgie. And, you're in a crowded room, no way to fix it. Just gotta deal with it......
***I gratefully acknowlege my wonderful son in law, Ed, who helped me get the words and directions correct in relation to areospace references***
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