Saturday, August 21, 2021

How Things Have Changed


Last night as I was eating my supper, I began to get pictures from my husband showing me what he was seeing on Lake Miccosukee. This was one of the pictures.

And here's another.


So beautiful. And yes, he could just go out on a boat and look at the scenery but let's face it- he is far more apt to go into the wilds if he is hunting and that's all there is to it. I am glad he shares the pictures with me. I asked him, when he got back, if he had seen any alligators.
"Oh, about fifty," he said. "And they were all about this big," and he held his hands about two feet apart. 
"Well, their pappy has to be somewhere out there," I told him. 
He said that's what he was thinking too. The trick will be finding him. 
I have said so many times that I do not understand my man's love of hunting. I just don't. But a long time ago I realized that what I DO understand is that it's important to him and that's all that matters when it comes to my understanding. 
I think we both show each other a lot of grace when it comes to accepting each other as we are. There are plenty of things about me that he doesn't really understand but he accepts them and in doing so, he accepts me. 
And isn't that what we all want? 

Jessie brought out her wild boys today. They ran directly to the Glen Den and began playing with toys. It was good to see them. They played with Lincoln logs and tiny dinosaurs (is this a meat eating dinosaur?) while Jessie and I talked and caught up. She is having a very hard time right now trying to decide whether the boys should be in school. The damn state and county are not giving parents, or anyone for that matter, the data they need to make the best decisions about their children being in in-person school or not. Children are already being quarantined because of exposure to another child with Covid but are the children who are getting it getting very sick? How many children in quarantine are coming down with the virus? And so forth. And Jessie goes back and forth and back and forth in her mind about what the best thing to do would be. Frankly, I don't think there is a perfect answer but more disclosure would certainly help in making the decisions that need to be made. It's a mess. Parents who are working and who suddenly face the fact that their child or children must now stay at home for at least ten days due to exposure are stuck with having to stay home with them which of course is what they probably all want to do but jobs are not so understanding all of the time. 
And they wonder why so many women aren't rushing back to join the workforce. 
Both of my daughters who have children are stressed out about these issues. They know the importance of the children being in a classroom. All of Lily's kids love school and August likes it too. I asked him today what his favorite thing about school is and he said, "Playing with toys." Maggie told me yesterday that she is learning letters and numbers. And this is how it should be. Levon has quit crying when he goes to his school and seems far more cheerful about it. It's so good for them to be around other children. If, of course, they don't get an illness from the other children that could possibly have extremely severe repercussions. 

These are things I certainly never had to worry about and it causes me pain to see my children having to make these literal possible life-and-death decisions. And even still, it was stressful enough to figure out the right preschool when I got divorced and went back to school and to find a house to live in where the schools were good when they entered elementary school for me to have many sleepless nights, worrying about my decisions. Looking back, I realize that was nothing compared to what Lily and Jessie are going through. 
These are uncharted waters for us. 

So Jessie and I talked about these things and other things and we fixed a lunch for all of us and the boys got to watch some TV and we read a few books and then, despite the heat which seems to be unrelenting, the guys went out to the garage. The boys wanted to see the golf cart which is not yet running but still- fun! 


Levon was in heaven. He is ready to drive. Except his legs aren't quite long enough. August spent quite a while advising Boppy on how they should paint the golf cart. He definitely sees a black stripe across the front of it. 


This picture cracks me up. I'm not sure what the boy was thinking about but it was something fierce, I am sure. 


He is so pretty, that child. That golden skin, those blond curls. He and Maggie could be child models. 

After they left I called my oldest friend. She just had a birthday and we had not had our annual birthday call. We ended up talking for almost two hours which, after a friendship of fifty-five years or so, really isn't that long. It was so good to hear her voice, for us to connect again. We always just pick up where we left off and I feel so lucky to have that sort of friendship. 

I'm about to go cook some fish, some okra, some grits, some tomatoes. My husband, believe it or not, is going to be leaving to go to Las Vegas on Tuesday to spend time with his sister and some cousins. They are also going to go to St. George, Utah, where their beloved Aunt Elizabeth lived. I am scared to death of him traveling but I completely understand his need to see his sister, his kin. Funny how I've been so very sanguine about him leaving for parts beyond for so many years and now, having spent almost every day with him for the past...what?...eighteen months, I feel a bit lost at the thought of him not being here. 
We joked tonight that while he's gone I'll be eating lots of Le Sueur peas, salmon, tuna, tofu, and curry. All things that he is not overly fond of but that I do love. 
Usually, the thought of that would be a cheerful one but now, it's not nearly enough to make me happy at the thought he'll be gone for a week. 

Well. Enough of this. 

Love...Ms. Moon


21 comments:

  1. I know what I would do in the situation of whether or not to send children to school during a raging and very dangerous pandemic. Advising others is dodgy. They all have their reasons. If I lost a child to this terror unnecessarily, well ,you know.
    August is incredibly gorgeous- fairy tale gorgeous.
    All of your kids are! Great gene pool!

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  2. if someone has the capacity to keep their kids home at least until some of the madness passes i would recommend it. i know not everyone can do that and that is why both this year and last year i'm in the actual classroom.

    xxalainaxx

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    1. Mrs. M, I very much respect your input. You're on the ground where it's all happening.

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  3. Thank goodness Levon's legs aren't quite long enough to reach the pedals! He looks ready to rock and roll. And August seems to be channeling a meat-eating dinosaur when he's not looking angelic.

    I feel for Jessie and Lily, and for the kids - for all the kids (and teachers). Wishing them well no matter the decision.

    You have pointed out another foundational aspect of marriage: acceptance of each other's true selves, however inscrutable.

    Chris from Boise

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    1. Levon wants nothing more in this world than to be big enough to drive a vehicle.
      You put what I was trying to say so very well. Thank you.

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  4. I think governors in low vax states are pretty close to criminal. Definitely cowards!

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  5. It is a terrible dilemma. There is social interaction that is crucial to their development and mental health and then there is the virus.

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  6. It's so good that Jessie and Lily have a wise momma to converse with about the school and COVID issues - a wise momma who listens without judging and does not offer trite responses such as "Oh don't worry dear, everything will be okay in the end" or "You just gotta go with the flow honey" or "Do what your heart tells ya!"

    I hope that Mr Moon does not go a-gambling in Las Vegas. Before you know it you might not have a house any more!

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    1. Well, I admit that I have said "Go with your gut," on this issue to my girls. I just don't feel qualified to give them any more advice than this.
      Mr. Moon does like to play blackjack. I used to as well. But I don't think he'll lose the house.

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  7. I am so glad my kids are grown and I don't have to figure out their schooling during Covid! How stressful for parents these days.

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  8. I've said before I'm glad my kids and grandkids are out of school. yoga class is in the gym of the elementary school K & 1 (the elementary schools in El Campo are broken up into two or three grades each). the principal attends class and I asked how things were going. they aren't allowed require masks, aren't allowed to do contact tracing when a kids gets covid, aren't even allowed to tell the other parents if another student is out with covid. already some teachers our quarantining and some kids thanks to our horrible governor's no mask or vaccine mandates allowed but he has had to beg for nurses to come here and help and has ordered four morgue trucks for the overflow of dead.

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    1. What are these governors thinking? It's like they truly are trying to kill children. I am bewildered and I am horribly angry. Furious.

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  9. I love Mr. Moon's pictures of the lake, especially the second one with the water lilies. I'm sorry Lily and Jessie have to wrestle with those decisions about the kids. I can't imagine what it must be like, how scary it must feel, to be a parent in the middle of all of this. We haven't even heard yet how our school is going to handle Covid cases this year -- I think we're supposed to get that info tomorrow. That second picture of August is beautiful -- you're right, he COULD be a model!

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    1. I would assume that at least your school will require masks, no opting out. Sometimes I just think that you were so smart to get the hell out of Florida. Far, far away from Florida.
      August is lovely, isn't he?

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  10. I feel so much for your daughters and their worry about schooling. And I know how it feels to have a child who needs to be home for whatever reason and still have to worry about getting to work, what with us having no family here in France. I'm so glad I can be there for my little grandson, although as he's so small yet, we don't have the same worries! And you're right, those golden curls are model-making material!

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    1. Well, you're grandson will be growing up faster than you can believe, even faster than your children did and his parents will be so lucky to have you. They already are.

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  11. I can't imagine how parents of young children are navigating this back to school business, my heart goes out to them, there are absolutely no good choices. I am glad at least that the kids will be wearing masks, that will help. Your grandchildren are absolutely beautiful, and Maggie and August poetically so.

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Tell me, sweeties. Tell me what you think.