Wednesday, October 13, 2021
"Goodbye, Mom!" W and I say that to our mothers in separate cities. We've packed up our suitcases once again, along with some clothing and linens from Mom's house.
"Take it all!" she says in one breath. And with the next, putting an item back on a shelf: "No, maybe leave that. I'm not dead yet." It makes me chuckle. I double-check before accepting anything. What we can't use, we re-home among the needy.
We make sure we're not taking anything the others might want. I call and send photos if there's any possibility that one of my brothers wants something being given away. We packed up most of what they asked for last December after Dad's memorial. Two of them haven't made it back from Europe and maybe they've thought of other things?
Nope. Then I send pic of a rack of ties and one brother texts back, "Hey, I was wondering where those went. Don't give those away! Hang them back in the closet till I get there." Done.
I'll miss this welcoming front door. Mom's flowers are still going strong. Everything is tidy inside the house and out. Her wonderful neighbors watch out for her. And our in-town brother takes good care of her.
We lunch with W's sister in Langley. She's prepared a delicious Thai menu. After, Wis able to visit his mom once more as an "essential" visitor (thanks, Doc). Then it's back over the border to Seattle.
We get no hassles from USA immigration. They ask where we've been, where we're headed, and what we have along. And they wave us through. We are the only car going to the States at the time. They don't check our vaccine records, ask for data, or anything else. It's ... strange.
We see many things that are different than Indonesia: the sidewalk and roads are level enough for old people to drive carts to go shopping.
On the trip to Seattle, the highways are predictably empty and everyone is driving in their lane. That's weird, too. It drizzles off and on. Autumn is here and the overcast winter months are coming. Brrrr.
We unpack as soon as we get into our apartment. The floors are cluttered when we go to bed.
Thursday
W and I work on the weekend talk for Chehalis. Then I start tucking items in the "Back Home suitcase" that every expat knows about. We crave certain items when living abroad. I tuck in some big Trader Joes chocolate bars so IbuA can bake her famous chocolate chip cookies. The summer clothing we wore from Indonesia goes on top - we'll pull those out during quarantine in a week and a half.
This trip, we mostly have separate appointments. Today one of mine is a nap.
I get the giggles at supper when the older 2 grandkids start comparing what they're better at than their siblings. Listening in, the youngest inserts a matter-of-fact pronouncement: "I'm not better than anyone." She doesn't seem too upset about it, either. She's honest, secure in her place as the youngest. Yeah, Oma has to laugh.
After supper, I take the 3 older grandkids to jujitsu. We bribe the youngest to stay home with her mom, who rarely gets a respite from the kiddie commute.
The driveway from the house to the street is peaceful. I remember tramping through this forest plot 31 years ago, before we bought the land. Now the grandkids tell me about their summer adventures, roaming the acre and bridging the creek to cross it. Lucky kiddos.
When the kids start wrestling in class, I can hardly contain myself. The mask provides minimal camouflage as I double up with laughter. The kids look so cute, throwing each other around - and boys have their own methods of conquest.
The instructor pairs the two grandsons (6, almost 8) for the exercises - oh boy! What is he thinking? Doesn't he have brothers? Or sons? After raising our 3 boys and watching my 3 brothers, I can't help but enjoy the kids' extracurricular moves: the stomps, shoves, and extra kick just for good measure. (Bad Grandma. I needed those hearty laughs, for sure.) Our granddaughter is focused and intentional; she's a natural athlete.
Friday
Melissa bakes scones for breakfast. Grandson Isaac loses his first tooth. What a gift of God to have both at the start the day. We miss so many milestones, living far away.
W and I hone the weekend talk one more time. All morning, we send WA messages back and forth. W is scheduling details for our time here. I'm writing Indonesians about Christmas, funerals, and music. During Advent, BIC will meet in person for the first time in over 1 1/2 years.
We hear that Indonesian quarantine has dropped from 8 to 5 days. Thanks be to God! We have to isolate in a hotel room upon return, but that's a better timeline.
In the afternoon, 4 friends meet me at our old gathering place: Third Place Commons. One comes all the way over on the ferry - wow! Wonderful to catch up and send some Indonesian goodies home with them.
After a short nap, W and I have supper with a group that used to meet on Thursdays. These friendships have stayed together for decades.
The dinner is delicious. Of course, everything tastes better with friends!
The hostess is one of four women in the WPPR accountability group (started in 1994?) One has made it from another state. We are missing one more, who has moved to the South.
Saturday
It was a late night so I'm startled and foggy when the phone ring after 7:00. "I have your table! I'm going to drop it off. Text me your address." Melinda says.
She's downsizing. She got the antique table when we sold stuff to move to Indonesia; now it's coming back to us.
The table has history. It was the first furniture purchase after W and I married 44 years ago. (Well, it was the first thing we bought after a washing machine and W's Hasselblad camera.) We displayed a wind-up mantle clock, a wedding present that's also gone, on its lower shelf. The original top got ruined by water when a plant sat on it. A Vancouver friend redid the veneers. Where can we put it in our small suite?
We're on the road again today. This time it's a short drive south to a city just over 100 miles and 2 hours away.
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Anyone think it's too early for Christmas? I'm dreaming about get-togethers (though who knows ... ) I'm eager to get our home ornaments out of storage and sett up our Christmas tree. We'll have volunteers decorate at BIC as well.
Last year, we postponed our annual October USA-Canada trip due to travel restrictions. We rescheduled the trip for December. We missed Christmas in Indonesia.
My dad died the week before we flew north. We arrived in time to celebrate his life with a small group of family and friends at the service and graveside. Other mourners joined us online. We had 3 weeks of family time afterward, sharing memories and tidying things in Pop's violin workshop. Of course, none of us felt like decorating for Christmas at Mom's.
When we got back to Indonesia, I was tired and relieved that there were no Christmas items to put away.
Mid-year, I popped into the storage room and poked around. Everything was just where we put it away after Christmas 2019. That's when I started looking forward to this Christmas. Oh oh!
"Why are you planning Advent so early?" several people asked me in August. "And how can you be thinking of Christmas already?"
Planning the second half of the year, I realized it would be "almost Christmas" soon, especially with time in N America. I dislike a last-minute scramble. I prefer to experience the richness and joy of the season by having everything possible done in advance.
When our kids were young, I would start baking and writing cards in August. Canada, where I grew up, celebrates Thanksgiving on October 11. When we moved to the USA, we'd wait put up the tree after their late Thanksgiving, which made for a short Christmas season. This year, we had Canadian Thanksgiving already.
"Ready-set-go!" Today I click open my first "Trends of 2021 Christmas Decor" blog. They have the same old stories and pictures. So not to worry. We won't have to be creative.
This August, W and I picked hundreds of pinecones off the neighborhood parking lots.This year's Advent bags include dried and painted pinecones. They're even prettier than the shiny ornaments attached to the bag handles last year.
Alice, our wonderful assistant, started assembling it all in mid-September. Before our trip, I also emptied the fridge so our helper could start baking; she'll have boxes and boxes of cookies read to pack into treat bags.
I feel anticipation, even if it is October. Soon we'll be celebrating the birth of a King. Jesus is a wonderful gift from God.
Read more:
*I will praise you, Lord, with all my heart; before the 'gods' I will sing your praise. I will bow down toward your holy temple and will praise your name for your unfailing love and your faithfulness, for you have so exalted your solemn decree that it surpasses your fame.
When I called, you answered me; you greatly emboldened me. May all the kings of the earth praise you, Lord, when they hear what you have decreed. May they sing of the ways of the Lord, for the glory of the Lord is great. Psalm 138:1-5
*Happy are those whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord their God. Psalm 146:5
*Jesus said, “Do to others as you would have them do to you.” Luke 6:31
*Stand firm, and you will win life. Luke 21:19
Moravian Church: Jesus, sometimes you make things complicated, like when you say, “Do to others as you would have them do to you.” If I’m going to stop defrauding my neighbor, I’m going to need your help to even understand how I am participating in said behavior. Help!
God of Jacob, our hope is also in you. Wonderful! Amen and amen.
P.S. What does this “stand firm” look like? Just how taxing is that going to be?
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