1. Adventure
One of the first hot weekends this summer, Tim and I took Ol' Blue (non-air-conditioned) for a spin, and found ourselves waiting for help by the side of Delta Highway. Mostly to my surprise, the heat and waiting didn't bother me, even though traffic merged right about there, and drivers get distracted, you know, and Tim was checking everything inside and outside the truck, in the only way I've ever known him to operate, calmly evaluating and testing each possible means of remedying the situation.
We called a friend, but before our friend could arrive a man stopped and offered his services. He held out to Tim a crescent wrench, which was just the thing he needed. Soon the truck roared to life, and we headed home to cool off near the window air conditioner.
2. Gifts and stuff
Not long after this first adventure, Tim's dad and sister announced they were moving from their senior mobile home park to a senior apartment complex. They needed to downsize. It all needed to happen now.
They hired help for much of it, but still there were many things for Tim and Ol' Blue to transport our direction. The living room and my office began filling up. But stepping around such items as a much newer desktop computer for me(!) somehow wasn't such a bother. Soon Tim, in his evaluative way, had organized and stored much of the trove up in the attic (he does mutter that it's getting full...).
Victoria was arriving via a flight to Portland, and to pick her up I traveled with my parents, taking turns driving with Dad, so that we could also make a quick trip to Tacoma and see my aunt who's battling cancer. We had lunch with Aunt Lorna, my brother Richard, and others near the Narrows Bridge on Puget Sound.
Then my parents and I hopped in their van to go greet Victoria in Portland. We hadn't seen her for more than a year! It was a joyful reunion.
During the next week, as my daughter and I caught up, I nearly lost my voice. We were in the midst of talking about everything under the sun, as we do, when we discovered that driving around in that week's heat in my un-air-conditioned car was wearing us out. But a surprise awaited. Tim's dad and sis decided, since they owned two cars and would now only need one, to give Tim and me their 2012 Prius...
In shock and gratitude, we drove it home. (Thankfully, a young friend, who can withstand heat, has since purchased our 1993 Concorde, so we paid Tim's dad a fraction of the sticker price on the newer ride.)
I think my two days at work saved my throat. One of those days was Tim's dad and sister's moving day, which went well. It was also the day our son-in-law, Alex, and our grandson, Edmund, arrived after driving from New Jersey. Their big road adventure (part one) went pretty well, over all. (They do have air conditioning in their nice SUV.)
3. the Boy
Five is an amazing age. Edmund and I have played imaginative versions of going through Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Oregon ("not California; it's smoky"). We've also hung out at playgrounds, discussed death, and composed prayers.
He's camping with his other grandparents this week, or I wouldn't be taking time for blogging! Last weekend he visited his great-grandparents on my side, and we sat out on their patio.
As we left my parents', Edmund gave small, getting-to-know-you hugs. He graduates pretty quickly, I've learned, to giant, joyfully-squeezing-you hugs. I've overheard him say to his mommy, "I love Grandmom and Granddad."
He doesn't comprehend yet what a great gift he offers. A child's love freely given bears the same abundant fruit as a newer vehicle granted without request for repayment, the same sort also as an ordinary tool loaned in summer swelter on the verge of a busy highway.
One of the first hot weekends this summer, Tim and I took Ol' Blue (non-air-conditioned) for a spin, and found ourselves waiting for help by the side of Delta Highway. Mostly to my surprise, the heat and waiting didn't bother me, even though traffic merged right about there, and drivers get distracted, you know, and Tim was checking everything inside and outside the truck, in the only way I've ever known him to operate, calmly evaluating and testing each possible means of remedying the situation.
We called a friend, but before our friend could arrive a man stopped and offered his services. He held out to Tim a crescent wrench, which was just the thing he needed. Soon the truck roared to life, and we headed home to cool off near the window air conditioner.
2. Gifts and stuff
Not long after this first adventure, Tim's dad and sister announced they were moving from their senior mobile home park to a senior apartment complex. They needed to downsize. It all needed to happen now.
They hired help for much of it, but still there were many things for Tim and Ol' Blue to transport our direction. The living room and my office began filling up. But stepping around such items as a much newer desktop computer for me(!) somehow wasn't such a bother. Soon Tim, in his evaluative way, had organized and stored much of the trove up in the attic (he does mutter that it's getting full...).
Victoria was arriving via a flight to Portland, and to pick her up I traveled with my parents, taking turns driving with Dad, so that we could also make a quick trip to Tacoma and see my aunt who's battling cancer. We had lunch with Aunt Lorna, my brother Richard, and others near the Narrows Bridge on Puget Sound.
During the next week, as my daughter and I caught up, I nearly lost my voice. We were in the midst of talking about everything under the sun, as we do, when we discovered that driving around in that week's heat in my un-air-conditioned car was wearing us out. But a surprise awaited. Tim's dad and sis decided, since they owned two cars and would now only need one, to give Tim and me their 2012 Prius...
In shock and gratitude, we drove it home. (Thankfully, a young friend, who can withstand heat, has since purchased our 1993 Concorde, so we paid Tim's dad a fraction of the sticker price on the newer ride.)
I think my two days at work saved my throat. One of those days was Tim's dad and sister's moving day, which went well. It was also the day our son-in-law, Alex, and our grandson, Edmund, arrived after driving from New Jersey. Their big road adventure (part one) went pretty well, over all. (They do have air conditioning in their nice SUV.)
3. the Boy
Five is an amazing age. Edmund and I have played imaginative versions of going through Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Oregon ("not California; it's smoky"). We've also hung out at playgrounds, discussed death, and composed prayers.
He's camping with his other grandparents this week, or I wouldn't be taking time for blogging! Last weekend he visited his great-grandparents on my side, and we sat out on their patio.
As we left my parents', Edmund gave small, getting-to-know-you hugs. He graduates pretty quickly, I've learned, to giant, joyfully-squeezing-you hugs. I've overheard him say to his mommy, "I love Grandmom and Granddad."
He doesn't comprehend yet what a great gift he offers. A child's love freely given bears the same abundant fruit as a newer vehicle granted without request for repayment, the same sort also as an ordinary tool loaned in summer swelter on the verge of a busy highway.
