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My self-manufactured love of my life just hit the road for another year at State. Beau's a light traveler by training now, so all contents of his soon-to-be-occupied space fit easily within the confines of our Honda. I'll get the call by Wednesday with a list of necessities left behind. Hopefully, whatever they are will fit into one of my saved Amazon shipment boxes. He gets to pay the postage. 😉
He did the Harris Teeter run this morning to get buttermilk and Oscar Mayer Thick Cut for his departure brunch – banana pancakes and bacon. Mrs. Butterworth's for him; just the "Butter" for me. Plus a splash of Log Cabin. 60-year-old preferences die hard; I'm sure they'll find those in my coronary arteries one day.
Whenever Beau is home, we spend time together on the back porch discussing his choice of subject. The practice is something we've simply fallen into. I love that he has things he wants to discuss with me – I don't know whether that's a given for all 20-somethings. But I'm more than happy to oblige mine.
We spent some time in the (sub-80º) spring, working on this porch to make it more Mom-like than Beau-like. Meaning, light on video games & clutter and heavy on clean & arranged. We ran across a "thrown-to-the-curb" nightstand in our 'hood and took possession. Now clean and freshly painted, it found its new purpose as a TV stand on Pristine Porch. For hours over these past summer nights, I have taken to my favorite chair once dark sky has absorbed day's heat. TV benignly tuned to "Friends", I practice whipping my iPad Scrabble opponents. That is, until I myself am thrown to the curb by Beau with a video gaming buddy in tow. Aarrrrgh.
Glimpses of light in this dark global scene do appear:
1) Unexpected assistance from my pandemic-waylaid son, and
2) Deferred maintenance on my dollhouse makes its way to... Done. (Home Depot, anyone?)
It's early for Beau to be going back, but State has opted for the start-early-no-fall-break-done-by-Thanksgiving strategy. I hope/pray that measures put in place serve their purpose of keeping all as healthy as possible – and that universities don't become our next hot spots. Online learning from one's dorm room BLOWS though, especially for the price! But at least he'll be within 6 feet of his peers. When they're outside, of course. Wearing masks. Supposedly.
As the Honda backs down the drive, I'm sad for him. For the fortunate who choose to go, college is a rite of passage. A never-to-be-repeated time when added responsibility is the pittance one pays for the easy days, social opportunities and interesting classes replete with mentoring possibilities. But that's not the village for which he is headed. This one is (supposed to be) sequestered, as opposed to in person; physically distanced, as opposed to belly-up-to-the-bar; with an enmasked face, as opposed to a broad smile. Booooooooo!
But, as I've heard recently, "It is what it is."
So I pick up my cell & iPad and head back to the patio, where I discover...
The TV is gone!
DAMMIT, I forgot it's his!
Well, I just figured out I'm about 30 minutes overdue for a Costco trip.
Wonder if those Pork Rinds are still in stock?
