Convergence

There were far too many things going on this week, but it was to be expected since the summer is rapidly coming to a close and school is upon us and soon the cool weather will be reminding us that winter is on the way.

Meanwhile, the much-anticipated beginning of Mary's college career was begun on Monday as we loaded up her car with all of her belongings (well, not all of her belongings, but only the ones she wanted to bring along to school) and headed off to Allendale to get things started.

I was particularly proud that we were able to fit all of her belongings into one car; the possibility of having to drive two cars was not palatable, given that Cheryl and I were planning on heading to the beach after Mary was settled into her new digs. I didn't relish the idea of coming back to Allendale on the way home and having to split into a two-car caravan. Usually the puzzle-packing job goes to Cheryl, but this time the task fell to me (one might even say that I grabbed it) and it was lots of fun. Except for the part where the last piece to fit in was my backpack which had the camera and the food for our beach picnic. Wouldn't do for that to get scrunched!

We arrived on campus and had absolutely no trouble finding her dorm. She's in one of the Honors Student dorms, and there were 'guides' all over the place to help us figure out where to go. We pulled to the curb right in front of the dorm and piled all her stuff onto the grass and then I took the car to the parking lot, which was just a few steps from the place -- very convenient! Mary had to go over to another building to get registered and obtain the key or passcode or whatever; while waiting, we made the acquaintance of a very nice family whose child was also moving in. The wife/mother just happened to be from Germany! So we had a nice chat about Germany (in general) and learning German and going to Germany and having kids in Germany and on and on. Til finally Mary returned and we were able to bid our new friends good-bye and take Mary's luggage to her room.

Mary's Stuff on the Grass, Alas!

One of her roommates, having arrived on Sunday, had already staked out one of the rooms in the two-room, four-bed suite, but she had gone off shopping so was not there when we arrived.  The other roommate was there with her mother, getting her things organized. They are from Colorado, just outside Denver (seems to me I know someone out thataways), but have relatives in Muskegon, which might explain why GVSU was the school of choice. We hung out chatting for probably too long, but were hoping to meet the other roommate before we left. So, naturally, just as we said our long-anticipated good-byes (yes, Mary , we could tell you were ready for us to leave!), the other roommate showed up at the door! So we were able to say hello and good-bye.

On the way out, we remembered that we had forgotten to give Mary her traditional Letter (we write a special Now That Your Are In College letter to the children when they leave for college), so we asked Mary to come with us to the car to fetch it, then took our farewell photographs, and then Cheryl remembered something else we'd forgotten (our lunch!) so she went back to the dorm with Mary and returned with not only our lunch, but also the flattened cardboard boxes we'd used to carry Mary's stuff. Which she obviously didn't need anymore.

Saying Good-bye (Again)

We're quite the forgetful bunch in these emotional moments.

After all that, "free at last", we headed off to the beach to spend some quality time alone. And, incidentally, to see what was the big fuss with this 'eclipse' thing.

We drove out to Hoffmaster State Park, which we'd visited a few times before, and went through the exhibits in the Visitor Center before walking out to the beach on the wooden pathway that winds through the woods, and then along the beach until we located a suitable spot to rest. The sky was overcast and hazy, full of humidity, not especially conducive to viewing dramatic sun events, but we sat and waited until the appropriate time to see what would happen.

Not much.

Cheryl is Less Than Excited about the Eclipse

The sky got a little dim, and the air got a little cooler; but other than that, it remained hazy and overcast and the sun was just a fuzzy ball of white-orange. We noticed other people on the beach wearing their eclipse-viewing glasses and looking up at the sky and shaking their heads in disappointment. But if we really wanted to see it up close and personal, we would've gone with Adam and Isaac on their trip to St. Louis. As it was, it was only an astronomical oddity that occurs now and then, which has no real effect on our lives (other than having the weekend to ourselves because our son was off on his midwest camping adventure). We sat around a while longer, than drove home. I needed a nap before dinner.

Rob Just Wants to Play!!

After our nap, we went out for a nice Chinese dinner and talked like a couple with no children at home. It was strange, mysterious, oddly refreshing, and curiously exciting. It almost felt like we had achieved something grand and majestic, like launching a boat. And now we could just sit back and see what happens next.

Of course, what happened next was that we woke up the following morning, which was our actual anniversary, and Cheryl and I went to work.

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Oftentimes during the day I thought about the fact that this day was also my grandmother Meyer's 100th birthday, which brought me a curious mixture of sadness and joy; sad that she was no longer here, and joy that I had been given the chance to get to know her if even for a short time. At the time Cheryl and I were married, we had hoped that she would be able to come to the wedding. Cheryl was very excited the day that she told my grandmother that we were getting married, and that we were getting married on her birthday. I had always hoped that Grandma knew from this how much I really loved her. She could be a cantankerous person sometimes, but she was also sweet and kind and generous and loved to laugh. How I wished she could have seen her granddaughter-in-law! I like to imagine that they would've gotten along well.

 

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The rest of the day was altogether ordinary. It was probably too low-key for a normal 25th wedding anniversary. Normal people go off on their second honeymoon or jet off for the weekend to some special spot to rest and relax and recreate; we went grocery shopping. We are not normal people.

But we now have all our kids in college!

August 21st

--->

August 22nd

Counting Down

We've less than a week before Mary moves up to college.

I've gotten rather used to the pattern of our lives lately, coming home from a hard but not very stressful day at work, having a nice dinner, maybe playing some cards with the family before we clean up and sit down for an evening of BBC on Netflix and crochet and web browsing and occasional (but not very often) work around the house.

I apologize for not getting anything done much lately; sleep has been fitful and not quite satisfying and my alarm cat wakes me up before there's been much chance to wander through the fields of REM seeking that deep, deep restful state which makes it so much easier to get up in the morning. So it's off to work while my brain is still in some quasi-state where it is nearly impossible to think straight. Luckily it's not a prerequisite in my current job.

But there is much to do, so very much to do. I made up a list the other day, listing all the big and little tasks that need to get done (mostly sooner rather than later) and it numbered nearly one hundred. Some are relatively quick, some are going to take a long time, some really need to be done before the snow starts falling, and some are probably just wishful thinking. But the weight of the list on my mind is heavy. And here it is, already halfway through August!

And Mary starts school next week.

We went to a wedding last weekend in the tiny village of Hemlock, Michigan, which is approximately two hours away. The wedding was scheduled such that the day was spent in two-hour blocks of time: the drive out, the actual wedding, the wait for the reception, the reception/dinner, and then the drive home. We left a little before noon and didn't return home til nearly ten o'clock. I lost my way a couple times, missing some route sings, taking wrong turns, and we arrived at the wedding a mere five minutes or so before it began. It was a very nice wedding, very high-church Lutheran, filled with scripted passages and vows and scripture readings. Afterwards, we had time to kill before the reception, and we were probably the only ones at the event without family nearby to hang out with. Everyone else could just go home and wait a couple hours before heading over to the community hall for the dinner. We hung around the park next to the community hall and just waited. And talked. And crocheted.

After dinner, we headed home, finding a few detours along the way to slow down our progress. All in all, it wasn't the best of days. But Cheryl and I and Adam were able to spend some time together, and that counts for something.

Mary stayed home and watched movies and read stories and generally enjoyed the last bit of peace and quiet she's going to have for awhile. She has a week or so to pack all her things up and make sure she has all the accessories and accoutrements and groceries she needs for her new campus life.

Then on Sunday we had a Skype session with James and Tabea which was lots of fun, followed by an evening with some very good friends who also have a daughter heading off to college.

Consequently, this weekend, although eventful and generally interesting, accomplished absolutely nothing insofar as all those little jobs around the house. If anything, it just put us more behind.

And soon the weather will turn and all those outdoor jobs will become imperatives. And prepping the house and the yard and the cars for winter will become crucial.

And soon it will be just Cheryl and Adam and I in the house.

Which will be very, very odd.