Rainy day

This is Jim after Son #1's birth.  Poor guy, he worked so hard.  Wait a minute .... that was me!
See, he was so pooped he couldn't even stay awake the next day!!!  Whatever.

And this is Son #1, on the way to orientation.  Sometimes he looks so much like Jim that it makes me stop and stare:  

    

      OK, so I am tired of the rain.  Hurricane Dolly dumped mucho quantities today.  So no tennis.  I came home tonight and had two messages from some very optimistic people about playing tomorrow.  It was too late to return their calls, so if any of you "tennis people" are out there and you do play, please extend my apologies to whoever needs them.   Besides, I think I'll be pretty busy finishing up the ark I started this afternoon.

     These are the latest picture updates of my house:

     

                                              Pretty, ain't it?

     I am told that tomorrow there will be more jack hammering.  Sigh.  I really do need to go play tennis ..... just to ensure that I'm out of the house.  Just to ensure that you don't read about me and what I might do in the Saturday paper.  

     I got some interesting news today.  Are you sitting down?  Trust me ..... you should be.

Son #2 came home today from summer school and announced that, after 3 weeks, tomorrow is his last day.  ........... can you hear the crickets chirping?.............  They were very loud when I was staring at him, dumbfounded (which is often how I stare at him).

     Now, he is doing a self-paced program, but he has 3 classes to make up.  Add that together with the comment I got yesterday ---- "At the rate I'm going I'm not going to pass." and what do YOU come up with?  Chirping crickets!

     After my ability to speak returned this was our conversation:

Me:  "What?  Did you say that tomorrow is your last day?!"

Him:  "Yes."  (he's a man of few words)

Me:  "What do you mean?  Why?  How is that possible?!"

Him:  "I don't know." (see?)

Me:  "Who told you that?!"

Him:  "My teachers."

Me:  "Why?"  (thought I'd try this one again)

Him:  "I don't know."  (I'm a slow learner)

Me:  "How can you be done?  You had three classes and yesterday you told me you didn't think you'd pass?"

Him:  "I don't know.  It's just what the teachers said."

Me:  "Did they give you anything that says that?"

Him:  "Nope."

 ----- the crickets are getting totally out of control at this point -----

Me:  "Are you sure about this?"

Him:  "Yep."

Me:  "Well, you have to bring something home that says that."

Him: ---- totally offended ---- "Why?  Don't you trust me, Mom?"

---- the crickets are now deafening -----

Me:  "Sure I do.  Completely.  Just be sure to bring something home."

     I just found him sleeping on my bed so I woke him up so that he could go to bed (yes, I know .... like waking up someone to take a sleeping pill).  I asked him again if he was sure about this whole thing.  To which he replied,  "I'm not asking any questions .... I'm just going with what they said."  

   Guess I'm not the only one who thinks there's something amiss here.

     I had a good evening tonight.  I went to dinner with R.  You all remember R, she's the woman who's husband died the month after Jim .... of an aortic dissection (it's funny how certain words can cause bile to rise up in your throat -- those are two of them for me).

     Anyway, it was great to spend time with her and for us to compare stories and lives and grief.  She and her husband had a marriage similar to ours ..... great.  They met while in high school and were married 22 years.  Sigh.  Best friends.  Together a whole.  Apart .... not so much.  

     I think that we are more of a blessed minority that I would have imagined.  Well,  blessed as in our marriages and our love.  As V put it, "You two were always boyfriend and girlfriend.  Always."  I like that.  Yes we were.  I would sometimes refer to him that way when talking to the kids.  My boyfriend.  

And I miss my boyfriend ..... very, very much.  

I miss being a whole.

OK, I don't want to leave you on a sad note, so here's a picture of one of my psycho cats.  I think I need to change his name from Rigby to Spaz.  He's been racing through here tonight, tripping on cords and making everyone nuts.  Suddenly he stopped cold and did this:

     I'm not sure why ---- never saw what made him do that.

I guess it could've been the beautiful wall.  

It scares the crud out of me!