Monday, November 03, 2008

North Carolina at last

I'm upstairs in the play room of my son's house on the lake in Charlotte, NC. Out the window is the most beautiful array of color...gold, red, orange...the full array of autumn. We are relaxing here after a really tough few days. We were to leave last Wednesday but after my husband's visit to the tax accountant it was obvious that he was missing a bunch of stuff. His mind isn't what it used to be (at 77 whose is?) and he lost some major components. We spent 3 days running around Houston resurrecting what was needed and finally finished on Friday mailing the last piece on our way out of town. This will not happen again as I am taking OVER! Geez, men and their control issues!
The journey was full of delays and frustrations and 12 hour days of driving and driving. Our usual route along I 10 was loaded with construction all along the way around every major and minor city...lanes reduced to one and it is a major trucking route. I have to do most of the driving as hubby fatigues easily and his vision isn't all that great. In Atlanta as we got to 85 going north there was a shutdown of the whole northbound lanes. We waited almost an hour at a standstill and never did figure out exactly what had gone on. What a mess and very stressful! By the time we arrived in Charlotte and met my son and family for Mexican food at the wonderful Miguel's, I was a wreck. We missed Halloween with the kids which was a big disappointment but we finally made it.
But it just feels so good to be here where someone else is in charge. This has been a hairy month or two...first packing for a possible evacuation from Gustav, then the glorious Alaska trip, home for 1 1/2 days, packing and evacuating for Ike, home to put the pieces back together, oldest grandson in some big difficulty (he's bi-polar), more Ike stuff, catching up on everything missed while gone and/or without electricity for two weeks, taxes, art and poetry deadlines, best friend moving, and so it goes. Whew! Now I can take a deep breath and leave the Universe in charge as if it wasn't anyway. Working on maintaining an attitude of gratitude...I am warm/cool, dry, fed, clothed and have a roof over my head, friend and family that love me and that I love back, and my mind still seems to be in reasonable shape, though my poetry says otherwise. Life is good even it gets hairy at times.

4 comments:

Kristin Allen said...

who wouldn't feel a little crazy after that long of a drive? Everytime I'm in the car that long with Mark and family I go through such wild swings of emotion - from love and gratitude to complete detachment and wondering how we ever thought we had anything in common. it is amazing how the universe makes opposites attract. so glad you are there and it sounds beautiful. now you get to sit back, see the fall colors and enjoy!

Kristin Allen said...

and yeah obama!!

Andrea said...

I like hairy pomes. Nuthin' wrong with those.....!!!

Kristin Allen said...

Just checking back in to say that for some reason your blog doesn't update on my reader. I put your blog in my "reader" on the front page and it's supposed to update me whenever you write -everyone else's works but yours. Could you be transmitting the yahoo virus to blogger? hee he!! it really is a mystery to me. check it out on my page and you'll know what I'm talking about - it says your last blog was one year ago.