Monday, May 20, 2013


For now my babies are staying in town.
Jason has done the math and added everything up and decided that the move would not make financial sense. I know that both he and Lily are somewhat disappointed. They are young and they crave adventure and change and so they should at their age.
But for me. Well.
I am just incredibly grateful that they are going to be here for awhile at least.
So grateful.

I feel as if I've been wound so tightly about this situation that it's going to take me awhile to uncoil, for the twitch to leave my eye, for me to relax back in to it. Or for me to relax as much as I ever do, which isn't much but everyone has their level of normality and I shall try to reattain my own.

After my bitch-a-thon this morning I actually got quite a bit done. I took my walk and remembered the hell of walking in Florida in the summer although we are not nearly as hot as we're going to be. The chill, however, is definitely gone, and I came home soaking wet from sweat and stinking to high heaven. I showered and raced to town to get a few things and return a few movies to the library, and then raced back home to get things in order before that baby boy got here. He fell asleep on the way over and his mama got him down on my bed and I laid down with him and got a short nap, such heaven. When he woke up we read some books and visited with the goats and collected eggs and sat on the porch swing and he happily ate an apple and looked at the trees and babbled away in his own Gibson language. He is an easy boy, that one. It is a treat to have time alone with him. The second child never gets the undivided attention the first one does. It's a fact of life.

And now he's gone and my body is rebelling against this heat. I feel incredibly languid and slow, despite the nap. I could easily lay back down on the bed, the fans blowing over me, to read, to nap some more, to do nothing but lay as still as possible. Mr. Moon is on his chair in the Glen Den and I think he may be resting his eyes. I have some plants to water and supper to make and those two things together seem a completely impossible task but I'm sure I'll rally. I always do. We could turn on the air conditioner but it still gets into the sixties at night which makes the AC seem ridiculous and besides, I absolutely hate shutting the house up. Even with the heat, there is glory in the open doors, the open windows, being able to hear the birds, the chickens as they move around the house, scratching and talking about what they are finding under the leaves in the dirt.
It's a trade-off and soon, the heat will make the balance tip and again we shall live in the comfort of the wonderful and beastly cold air machine which makes life possible here for us, we weak forms of human life who are so very spoiled.

I feel so very grateful to be spoiled by air conditioning and refrigeration and ice at my fingertips for cold water to drink and by water that I don't have to pump and haul, spoiled by my car which I can drive to grocery stores filled with food to choose from. And spoiled by my husband who brought me a magnolia blossom today, huge, white and smelling of lemon to place in a vase in the hallway.

But I am especially grateful to be spoiled by grandsons, close at hand. Grandsons whom I can nap with, read to, teach chicken-tending to, and also and yes, most assuredly...to spoil.




13 comments:

  1. You are a most fortunate soul, Ms. Moon. Few people take the delight in their lives that you appear to in yours.

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  2. I'm so relieved for you. I know exactly how you feel because one day I might face the same possibility of being far away from my grandbabies and I try not to think about it. My youngest (10 months) was away from me for 4 days this past week and I missed him so much I almost couldn't stand it.

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  3. We are a spoiled lot here in the US. I too, prefer open doors and windows but the cool has evaporated and the humidity has returned. My husband broke down and turned on the AC. It will go off when we go to bed and tomorrow morning I can have open doors and windows again. So glad for you that the kids are staying.

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  4. It's a damn good day on all fronts.

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  5. I am SO glad to hear that...I missed the post that they were thinking about moving, with all my crazyness this weekend --I can imagine you were all out of sorts over that one. Glad you can breathe a sigh over it for now.

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  6. ahhh... a reprieve, however long or short is cause to celebrate.
    congratulations!
    xxoo

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  7. I have found that situations like this that Jason and Lily were in end up with on even better outcome coming along. Just watch - we will all get to read about an awesome turn of events for them soon.

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  8. Here's to babies close at hand (raises a glass)!

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  9. The pic of you and Gibson is adorable and I am so glad they will stay close - at least for awhile. I want to point out how awesome you are for acknowledging that Lily and Jason want and deserve adventure. You are a really good mom. Sweet Jo

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  10. I'm so glad to hear things have worked out this way and your family will be staying nearby. (Even though I'm sorry it's professionally disappointing for your son-in-law.)

    I always held out against turning on the a/c for as long as possible, because like you, I enjoy open windows so much more. We don't even have a/c here!

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  11. I am glad the boys will be staying. You would have missed them? I'd have missed hearing about them! You have no idea how I love watching them grow through your words here. xo

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  12. e- I do try. And mostly it's overwhelmingly easy to appreciate what I have although not always easy to live the life of it.

    Lois- No one told us about grandchild bonding. Turns out it's real and powerful and I'm sure it makes sense, evolutionarily. Mother Nature just keeps on tricking us into loving, doesn't she? And caretaking.

    Ellen Abbott- I came THIS close to turning on that AC last night. I doubt I'll hold on too much longer.

    Elizabeth- You know, it WAS!

    SJ- Me too, honey. Glad you got a weekend with all your beebies.

    Yobobe- You know. You understand.

    Jill- I surely hope so. Those kids need a break as pertains to financial stuff. And Jason is such a hard worker.

    Nancy- I keep thinking about the comment you made on Elizabeth's post about the contortunist and cracking up. It was that funny. Thanks.

    Sweet Jo- Well, I can vaguely remember being young.

    Steve Reed- Do you ever miss it there in London? Do you ever think, "Jeez. I wish we had AC?"

    Angella- Those boys sure do have a lot of aunties, out in the world. Or at least, that's how I think of it.

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  13. Glad that your grandkids won't be moving away for now. And that you will have your family close by.

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Tell me, sweeties. Tell me what you think.