Wednesday, May 6, 2020

Time Traveling Again


Isn't that a lovely plant?
NO! NO IT IS NOT!
That's the chenille plant that has taken over half of my yard. I finished weeding it and the monkey grass and the crocosmia from around the hydrangea bushes today. It's only taken me what? Three weeks? And by the way, there are only three of them. Maybe four. I'm too lazy to go look.
I actually put on my overalls and a long sleeved shirt and Owen's old pair of rubber cleaning gloves to go out and see what pulling poison ivy felt like and it felt like a very, very ridiculous thing to do. And because its roots are so deeply embedded and integrated into more monkey grass, I wasn't getting any of the roots so it was pointless. There is no way around it. I am going to have to use Round-Up. I mean, you can go online and search for more natural ways to deal with it but even most of them sigh and say, "Well, in the case of poison ivy..."
Unless you have a goat. I suppose I could borrow one from next door and tie her to the fence. It's a thought.

So that's what I did today. A little weed-pulling and some crosswords. I made an eggplant casserole early because I thought that Mr. Moon and I were going to take a safe trip to the coast where the boat motor repair place is to drop off the big boat which has some problem.
As boat motors almost always do.
But that's another story.
Before our little journey Mr. Moon wanted to take Lily an earth box and some tomato seedlings which he did and while he was there he helped her with a few other things and then he went and picked up a free washing machine (not stolen, I swear) and took it over to the duplex we own that Hank and Rachel are going to be moving into.
By the time all of that was accomplished it was getting late so we decided to go tomorrow because tomorrow is always free and clear these days.
I'm a little anxious about going so far from home although really, it's only a two-hour drive at the most. More like one and a half hours. I've already decided that if I have to pee (which we can count on) I'm going to use the woods (there are a lot of them on the way) rather than the germ-ridden restrooms at the Stop'n'Go or Beer'n'Bait.
I really am worried that if this is ever all over that I'll be completely and utterly agoraphobic and never want to leave my yard again.

Last night one of my best friends from nursing school texted me a whole batch of pictures from when we were all at FSU and there were even pictures from my wedding and also of right after Lily was born.


Look at us! Me with my 80's perm, Mr. Moon with no gray hair, Hank and May and that beautiful little peach of a baby, Lily Rose Moon. I looked pretty good for just having birthed a 10 pound, 2 ounce child, don't I? 
Oh, gosh. That was one of the four happiest moments of my life. 
And my nursing school girls were there. The pictures Vicky sent threw me right back to those days over thirty years ago. We were so close. We studied together, got trashed together, danced together, cried together, laughed together, survived together. We were there for each other through so much. Exams and bad dates and good dates and heartbreaks and hairdos. And finally graduation and the state exams. Which we all passed. 
Here we all are at our pinning ceremony. 


I was already well and truly pregnant with Lily, wearing a maternity nurse's uniform. 
What beauties we were! How we loved each other. Mr. Moon had to court not only me but all my girls and there were more because I had some very close friends who weren't in nursing school. Not to mention my children. He must have really been taken with me because it wasn't easy. 

I think about this and in some ways it seems like two days ago and in some ways it seems like a dream that I can barely remember. 

Well, so it goes. This is life.  

It isn't always easy. In fact, it rarely is. 
But some of it is magnificent and those parts always involve people that we love. 
Isn't that what it truly all boils down to? 
Whether you're in nursing school, pain, ecstasy or pandemic, it's the people we love and who love us who get us through the darkest times and magnify the joys of the best times. 

Hang in there, folks. Love fiercely. 

Ms. Moon










20 comments:

  1. Oh these pictures! I was just thinking this morning about getting that box of photos I inherited out from under my bed and having a peek but I decided it would be best to wait until the kid gets home. You were and are so beautiful Mary.
    Rebecca

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  2. Well now we know where Maggie got her curls. I too think I may come out of this agoraphobic.

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  3. Oh, wonderful pictures. I love that new-baby one of you all <3

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  4. I wonder about the agoraphobia potential too. It's been a part of my life since endless childhood illness, to cope with, travel in spite of, and now we're encouraged to stay put. I try to drive a little bit every few days just not to let it overcome me.

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  5. And having rudely talked about myself, I need now to say how wonderful your pictures are, such bonds. They radiate energy.

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  6. OK, this will be weird, but here you go. Many women van dwellers (no facilities at all) use baggies with clumping kitty litter in the bottom for the middle of the night need to pee. I'm just putting that out there for your consideration.
    A trip somewhere, anywhere, sounds really good to me.

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  7. Wonderful pictures. So that's the Mr. Moon who looked across the room and knew he would marry you. Of course.
    I used to grow chenille plant, hanging over the edge of a pot. Fortunately it died every winter.

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  8. Omg I love seeing these pictures from the past. There you all are, so beautiful then, so beautiful now. All of you giving off light. I adore these.

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  9. absolutely gorgeous you were then.....and are now. How beautiful that your friend sent you these. A slice of your life that is so important
    Susan M

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  10. I love this, all of it. Rebecca is right--you are so beautiful.

    I too haven't left my house in weeks (months?) and the thought of a 2 hour drive is both thrilling and terrifying.

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  11. Your pictures are wonderful! I have had some concerns that I will come out of this pandemic with a lot more hang ups than I had going into it. And that's A LOT!

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  12. You were glowing! And how right you are now. Have a sweet night.

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  13. Those photos are wonderful! Lily looks like a three month old baby at birth. Miss Katie was the same way. She was 10lb 11oz and the biggest baby in the NICU.

    You're still that same young woman, loving and compassionate. And Mr. Moon, a fine looking man:)

    Sending hugs and love.

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  14. kitty litter in a bag! but yeah, I would definitely use the woods. you'll be safe enough in the car. just think of it as a little pod extension of home. as for the roundup, there are products out there specifically for poison ivy that don't have glyphosphate. I use brush/stump killer.

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  15. Can goats eat poison ivy?! I had no idea! That in itself is good enough reason to get (or at least borrow) a goat. Except that I imagine they'd also eat a lot of other things, including things you don't want them to eat.

    Love the old photos! It is easy to get freaked out about leaving the house these days. I try not to overthink it!

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    1. Oh, and YES, I'm sure your story about your Norwegian friend prompted my blog post. I'd forgotten about it, but there's no doubt that awakened my memories!

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  16. I am beginning to feel as though agoraphobia may be something I deal with after this as well.
    I love those old photos, what a beautiful family, then and now.

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  17. Oh isn't it lovely to see those old photos!! Just beautiful. But a 10 lb baby???? Oh my word, sooner you than me!

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  18. Love the old photos- what a lovely family picture with baby Lily

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  19. Happy memories. As you suggest it can all seem like a few days ago. I don't think I understood that beguiling sense of time when my parents were in their sixties. Like me they must have been living with vivid memories from long ago. Holding Lily Rose, Mr Moon looks so justifiably proud - the position he is in is typical of fathers holding new babies.

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