Despite being very hungry - and thinking I would pull over when I felt the pangs - I pushed on to get home and lose no ground or time. I was stuck in the lemming traffic on a Sunday - all those vacationers trying to get home and beat the crowds driving south on I-75.
My gosh, they are brutal and crazy!
But, I made it home in pretty good time, and was never happier to be anywhere (with maybe one exception).
I now have a tremendous amount of work to do before the next week is out, and I am running in circles trying to figure out which direction to cast myself first. No easy decision, believe you me, and the fun doesn't end here...oh no. I need to repack to be ready for my stint at Gram's by mid-week. So I will barely get to reacquaint myself with my own bed and household noises before I am out the door again. Agh!
From all reports, and what I can plainly see in front of me, the boys did a fabulous job keeping it all together in my absence. 5+ weeks of being away forced them to be a lot more capable and goal oriented ("What's for dinner? All of the spoons and bowls are dirty, and I want soup, now what? What's for lunch? Uh oh, I have no clean underwear in my dresser..." and so on). They worked together and tackled most of those issues, and I am very proud of how they came through it.
Brian bought his own car, and he finally sold the pick-up! (Don't even ask about the jeep.)
Karl got to class (most of the time on time, even) and managed to complete his weekly assignments and turn them in - with a lot of cajoling from Bud and Jean, and periodic phone calls from me.
But the point is...we all survived.
I planted $50 bills around the house for them, and called every Monday to instruct them where to look for that week's money. It bought them necessary vittles, paper products, cat food, and the occasional fast food meal, not to mention a little gas money to get Karl back and forth to class. No, they never found any of the cash ahead of schedule, and because the locations were so varied, there was little hope of them locating anything without direction, so the plan was a success.
The boys visited mom and Gram Schaffer, when mom was at Gram's towards the end of July - and Karl learned to play Euchre! Brian completed his summer art class at CCS, and I came home to a mere sinkful of dishes, and a smattering laundry. All in all, not so bad.
For now however, I am pooped. The day has been long and emotionally crowded, and my brain, psyche and body are spent.
I awoke this morning to the rumble of violent thunder, which quickly became a torrential downpour. Wisely, I had packed a good deal of my possessions into the car last night, and had plans to wash my laundry and then stuff the suitcase full early this morning before it got hot and I showered, so that everything was done before I left the apartment for the last time - before heading to the FOB. Execution of my plan worked perfectly last night, but I didn't take into account the ever changing weather for Grayling.
My idea was brilliant, but it didn't allow for two hours of solid rain! So I waited with great anticipation for a break in the clouds, then dashed back and forth with the remaining items, making certain nothing was left behind before leaving my key on the desk and closing my door one last time. The rain started again, lightly, and I drove slowly to the FOB for a final look around and some goodbyes.
The humidity was incredible already, and you could tell the heat was quickly on the rise. By the time I drove in to town, the heat had evaporated a lot of the moisture on the roads, and was making things sticky. By the time I reached I-75 southbound, I was glad to be in my car with the windows down slightly. Boy! how I missed my Prayer Room/Office and it's lovely surround windows, and that constant breeze.
I somehow managed to forget about the hoards and masses of 'Sunday drivers' who head south after vacationing in upper MI, and I found myself wishing I had begun hours sooner! I was now one of them. But, as I said, the drive was pretty good and I was home in a scant few hours.
Aside from being sleepy, I had a good time at the Moody Blues concert at the Knob tonight. Thank you, Jean! We had a blast, and pretty good seats - I wish I had taken my camera, though. I will never follow the rules again when it comes to not taking a camera to a concert! So help me. LOL
Oddly enough, the humidity was worse as we arrived at the Knob and took our seats, and by the middle of the first set, there was apocalyptic lightening and thunder vying for prominence over the band. It was something to have that kind of 'light show' along with the concert. Then, the clouds opened up and people on the hillside were washed away, but the band played on! It was phenomenal!
Remnants of Grayling followed me home, but I was pleasantly Moody Blue.
No comments:
Post a Comment