When You Least Expect it - Expect it!
Nothing can get me moving earlier in the day than the summer heat! Not
like back in the old days when Summer meant beach parties, pool
parties, and going to "The River" where the party went 24/7 for how
ever long you were there. Ah, those were the days... I miss being a kid
and counting down the days to Summer vacation. (Now I hate Summer!) As
a young adult I couldn't wait for the weekends! Now, I dread the sticky
weather and long to live in a cooler climate and ditch the whole
"California Scene" - so I am! I took a leave of absence from work for
an extended vacation.
My divorce was final a year ago and my friends and co-workers have all
been at me to date this or that friend or a friend of a friend -
someone like me who knew what it was like to be married and raise
children, only to find they couldn't survive "empty nest syndrome" with
their spouse. You think it means you have time to yourself and can run
around naked all day if you want to! That's not quite how it works
after years of getting dressed before the kids catch you nakey! You are
suddenly left to find out who you are now since you can't find or
wouldn't want to find - the person you were before.
If one more date starts talking about sex or sports to me, I think I
will scream! I look great for 50 but I am also more intelligent, more
involved in politics and the world around me than I ever was when I was
young. Hello! I have a brain here... My eyes are not located South of
my chin! I'd had enough of that after twenty five years with my
husband. It had been the biggest issue - decent, logical, adult
conversations that were not punctuated by being groped or
propositioned! I don't give a damn about sports and if not for my book
club and world news chat club, I wouldn't know there were actually men
who respected a woman's mind and actually looked forward to hearing my
view on any given subject. Too bad they were not around to go out with!
I have chatted with friends on the computer for years so had decided to
go meet a few and make a cross country adventure of it for the summer
just to get away from here and go to a family reunion. I swear, on the
computer you have to talk about life, love, weather, subjects of
interest. That's why I joined the groups in the first place, to meet
people with my interests and ones that challenge me and make me think!
That's all you can do in a chat group, chat! Oh sure, talk gets a bit
racy here and there but it is all in good natured fun! Men and women
talking via the keyboards is great, but it does not make up for
companionship with a significant other taking long walks or just
looking at the stars.
The trip will end up North where I came from thirty years ago. Funny,
back then small town living made me nuts! I have friends and family
there still and some I have not seen since I left! We write and with
the computer, we chat and e-mail often! My trip is planned to the
finest detail, mapped out, and my car is running better than ever! My
little log book sits in the passenger seat, they don't nag, or backseat
drive, or flip the radio channel, I am so out of here!
Day one: Weather man says it will be a blistering 101 degrees all week
and humidity will be high in S.CA. I couldn't have picked a better day
to leave! I sit on the trunk of my car to get all my gear squashed in
and load the back seat with the ice cooler and snacks, a pillow for the
inevitable back or butt ache. I am on the freeway by 5 AM and drive
through my town and well past Los Angeles before I need the A/C on.
I make it all the way to Grant's Pass the first day and locate friend
#1 as the Summer sun sets.
Their house is exactly what I expected it to be, cute, comfy, and well
off the paved road. A dog bounds out to meet me at the car, I know his
name is Zippy so I call out his name and am welcomed with kisses. My
friends come out and vie with the dog for real hugs and kisses after
all these years! Carole and her Hubby are exactly as I expected also,
no surprises since we had shared pictures via our book club for a long
time.
We visit and chat face to face (f2f) for the first time late into the
night and share stories and my trip plans. I will see her on the way
back! In the morning, her brother stops by. He is not what I expected
at all, a big goofy, PITA. (Pain In The Ass) In fact, he is tall and
handsome, in his flannel shirt, straight legged jeans, and cowboy
boots. If that is a PITA who can't dress himself - as she said, I
wonder what her idea of handsome and sexy really is! I am wishing I
didn't have to go after just and hour of talking books, movies, current
events, and politics - eye to eye even! (My bubbas didn't seem to be a
focal or vocal point.*G*)
They wished me a safe trip. And with a promise to come back and stay
longer on my way home I am gone again! I look in my rearview window as
I drive away and only Carl is still standing there watching me drive
away with a suspended wave of the hand. The moment is frozen in time -
in my mind. As I head off through the ribbons of tree and deer lined
road ways, I think I could live here. It is so much cooler and greener!
Day 2: I make it to another old friend's house. He is a cousin of my
cousin and we grew up together until we were pre-teens. After not
seeing him for all these years, he is still fun to talk to but like
most men, he can't seem to keep eye contact and time has not been
merciful to him or my cousin when he arrives. I think they both would
fill the pages of Modern Hillbilly magazine, so the evening drags as
badly as any with my EX and his "Card Night" buddies. I find myself
thinking of Carole's brother. I knew these two would be fun but that's
about it and I have my bag packed before I go to sleep! I am up and out
the door at daybreak and leave them a thank you note for the
hospitality and all but run for my car!
Day 3: I pull into Seattle fairly late and decide to get a motel so as
to avoid another night like last night. I call a couple of my friends
in the area and let them know I made it and make a lame excuse as to
why I didn't come to their house. My butt and back have been fighting
for the pillow all day and frankly, I didn't sleep well the night
before. I hear the disappointment in their voices but decide I really
need to have my own space. I will be here a few days. I make a date for
breakfast with the first friend and dinner with the second friend. I
call my aunt and another cousin in the area. We will all gather at yet
another relative's place for a mini family reunion. All calls made, I
sink into the bathtub with the Book Club's choice of the week. The book
sucks! I wake up in cold water and towel off quickly! It's nice to feel
cool in the dead of summer instead of drying off once for the bath and
again for sweat. I fall into bed and sleep late!
Day 4: I loved the whole day and evening! My friends from my Book Club
are witty and intelligent. They are classic nerds and computer geeks.
Like me! I enjoyed the entire day and we made plans to fit in another
dinner before I left. Man, it is so nice to talk to people with brains!
Not to mention their hilarious sense of humor!
Day 5: My cousin and I meet up by the pier. She has always been a sweet
gal and we both love to shop so we spent the day poking around all the
quaint shops. She gripes about the heat off and on. What heat? It might
be eighty degrees at the most! Later in the day it rained some. I am in
my bliss! Cool weather and rain! I see the hospital I was born in. It
is a beautiful, old and brooding looking place - in a charming way. We
pop in on another cousin and a couple of friends of hers. They will be
at the mini family reunion tomorrow and I am looking forward to it!
What sweet people they all are! We talked about silly stuff and
intelligent conversations were peppered in and out enough to make the
whole night entertaining and witty! We went dancing at a club I had not
seen since I was twenty one years old! I actually recalled the faces of
several old friends, male and female! Why had I been all fired up to
leave here? I felt light and happy since I woke up today as I, well, I
couldn't recall how long it had been since I felt like that! We closed
the club and made a vow to stick together at the reunion tomorrow, uh,
today... Even at our ages, we'd neither be the youngest or the oldest
ones there!
I go back to the motel and decide I am going to put in for a transfer
and move back here! Maybe even hire someone to do all my packing and
shipping for me and never go back! I laugh at myself for such a silly
and unlikely thought. I dozed off listening to the rain that supposedly
causes more depression than in any other state in the USA!
Day 6: I peek out the window and it is cloudy so I pull out a sweater
and a lighter top and tossed my favorite jeans and sandals on the bed.
I shower and blow dry my hair which will be straight or in a pony tail
all day, no sense fighting the rain and hairspray! I flip on the TV and
catch the local news. "Another hot day is expected, high 70s and lower
50s in the evening." I laugh to myself, "Try high 100s and 70%
humidity!" Now this is my idea of summer! I ditch the sweater
altogether and head for the door!
My cousin is meeting me in the restaurant on the corner at 10AM and the
reunion starts at noon. Several of us will meet there and drive out to
the country where the reunion will be. I am excited to see my old
friends and family, meet the ones I couldn't recall from childhood and
do some note taking for genealogy! My trusty digital camera was ready
to go with extra batteries and a second 128k spare chip. I could take
100s of pictures! My laptop was in the room so I could look at them all
that night.
We are met by several cousins, their mates, kids, and a few friends of
the family. In my old town, here outside of Seattle, friends are family
so it is nothing to see them at a "family dinner" and new ones too,
like boyfriends, husbands or wives, or partnered couples, all changed
often enough to always have new faces. Babies grew up and new babies
followed. I was so excited to see how all had changed and kept mental
notes as everyone chattered about who was with whom and who did what to
so and so, Aunt Minnie's sex change was the big topic! I hoped I could
look at her, uh, him - seriously. (I would find out later this was very
easy to do. I'd always loved her as a kid and she was, even as a he,
very funny and witty as ever!) I was on overload with local and family
gossip before I arrived so I wouldn't blunder into something. I am
always putting my foot or a whole leg in my mouth so I was glad for the
"heads up" to try and avoid a mega foot sandwich!
I was amazed to see so many people! I thought by saying "small or mini"
they meant maybe fifty people but there were well over two hundred by
the time we arrived and we were early! I was bent over with my arm deep
in a trashcan filled with ice and sodas when I hear the deep voice say,
"Well! Hello again!" My heart fluttered and my hand froze around a can
of soda. I had not had that feeling since I was a teenager! Talking to
my back side, he asked if I could grab him one too? I stood up and
looked into the bluest eyes I had ever seen. His smile was white and
even, dimples played at his cheeks as he spoke and he took both cans of
soda and dried them off on his flannel shirt. I am sure my face blushed
one shade of red for every year I had lived as I smoothed my hair back
from my face to look up at his. My heart was pounding and the
butterflies in my belly danced! This was impossible! Right?
He popped the tops on our sodas and handed me mine. He leaned back
against the tree with a smile that made me melt! His long legs crossed,
he looked like any model for blue jeans. I finally could talk without
squeaking after I took a couple of sips of my soda. And said lamely,
"Great Summer day for a picnic!" He smiled that dazzling smile, I fully
expected to see a sparkle on a tooth like on TV. "It's the best Summer
day I can ever recall." He made an arm for me, "Would you like to go
for a walk?" I slid my hand through the loop of flannel and loved the
feel on his strong arm through the huggable fabric. "I would love to go
for a walk with you, Carl!"
Day: 30 The movers will be here with my stuff any time now. I love
Summer!
Diva Rici
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