When adult children move in --- Yikes!

I just kind of mosey along in my own personal fog most of the time and not much flusters me, but I have to say that having our Eric and Alsiha both move in with us while they reset their compasses has made me reflect a bit about how much I have slowed down from my youth without really noticing much. I have stopped trying to keep up with their energy levels.

We are in the process of gutting out the old garage and remaking it into something usable and not so nineteen fifty sevenish. The work is taking a toll on my knees mostly, but also on my perception my own mortal makeup. My body is asking for days off when there is far too much work yet to be finished. Screaming for attention! Me too, me too! The kiddos have done much of the heavy lifting, and I am thankful for that, but they both have jobs now and I cannot play without guilt until the space is habitable so I just work until my body says it is time for a shower and a glass of wine. When we recently took time to play golf with friends, parts of my anatomy protested, but I averted a general strike by slowing down my pace.

Anyway, spending time with our children has been fun, rewarding scary, and a blessing.They will always be our kids, but it is fun to get to know them as adults.

Time Crunch

With each passing year my perception of time changes. Things speed up and there often is not enough time to do all of the things I want to do. Right now, with the help of Julie, Eric and Alisha, I am in the middle of converting the old garage area into a real bedroom and bathroom space, along with a sort-of-space for Julie's treadmill and other related junk.

But this coming weekend is our annual Rhododendron Festival, so I want to get the DeLorean out on the streets of Old Town for fun and attend the car show. Of course some time at the Grape Leaf may be warranted just to pace the day properly. The trouble is I have been invited by Gary Nauta to go on a fishing raft trip down the Deschutes River for four days beginning next Monday and I may not have enough time to get my work done and do the Rhody Festival thing and still have time to pack. Everyone should be so unlucky! I suppose that the worst could be that the drywall guy may have to wait a few days until I get back and do the final work so that he can get started.

Deaven will be here for the weekend just to make sure that the little carnival is still doing what it is supposed to do - entertaining kids. And Alisha has taken on a job at the ICM Restaurant in Old Town, saving money for Grad school, so she will get initiated in the customer service side of the Rhododendron Festival, although she has never made it here to participate in the revelry in past years.

I suppose that all of us here have so many skinned knuckles that it will be a good time to recover and heal for a few days. Maybe that is why everyone just about pushed me out the door when I received the invitation to go fishing. Hmmmm?