Summer/Fall of 2009

Actually posting again has made me realize how much has happened these last months that I don't want to forget about. Therefore, this is a summary of the last months.

In June, I had the pleasure of visiting Eddy in California. We went to Golden Gate park where we sat by a pond feeding ducks and various other pond creatures (the poor turtles were slow)! It was a moment where I felt the happiest of my life. It was a moment I wanted to stay in forever. Alas, that trip was the last time I saw my Eddy. Different circumstances kept us from visiting each other the following months, and now we are broken up. While it is my fault for being unable/unwilling to move out there, it feels like I am almost an outsider watching some cosmic hand of fate wrench us apart... I miss him terribly. I am grateful that we still talk almost weekly. I care so deeply for him, so it is nice to hear about his life. It's always bittersweet, however, because there is a certain iciness to his tone that I know is there to hide his pain. I hate that I am the source of that pain. I can't imagine finding someone I could love as much as him, but I'm just taking things one day at a time.

I had the pleasure of attending my grandparents' 60th wedding anniversary celebration in Texas. They are adorably old!! They are quite lucid and pretty healthy for being over 80 though! My aunts and uncles asked if one of them was the boss and that's how they stayed together so long. Grandpa said there was no boss, to which grandma exclaimed "I thought you said I was the boss!" Grandpa wryly retorted "No, I said you were bossy!" The room errupted in laughter. Another humorous moment came when the waitress was passing out food. She called out a BLT salad, and Grandpa raised his hand. Aunt Leanne, said no, he ordered a BLT sandwich. Grandpa insisted he ordered a BLT salad. This argument went back and forth in cartoon fashion with the salad being grabbed to and from. Finally the waitress meekly proffered "We don't have a BLT sandwich." I yelled "Dang people let Granda eat his dinner!!" Again there was an uproar of laughter.

I got to visit Shanna in MN in October. I really liked Minneapolis, and if it weren't for the COLD weather, I'd think it a great place to live. It was quite vibrant and alive with culture, intelligence, and had a nice aesthetic. It didn't seem snooty though. We saw One Republic and Rob Thomas in concert, which of course, rocked my face off! She is dating a boy, and they seem to be getting pretty serious. She really wants a family, so I'm happy for her, but I don't like any boys touching my baby sister!!

Of course, I finally purchased a motorcycle! I seriously don't know how I lived before!!!! It's like I'm a brand new person. I wish I had bucked up and found one earlier. It's fun, cathartic, social, outdoors, cool... I love it so much!

An addendum to the Thanksgiving post: My family is crazy weird! And I love it! Matt and Shanna do this pitched mouth percussion thing. They are quite adept at the William Tell Overture, and they even did a round (Row Your Boat). Someone suggested a major scale, to which Matt did quite deftly!! I laughed my ass off and suggested a minor scale. It was a bit more difficult, but he acquitted himself quite well. Naturally this was all at the dinner table...