Sunday, January 6, 2013

What is normal?

They say it's back to normal now.
The tree is laying out in the snowbank and will be roasted in the spring cleanup.
The decorations are put away
The needles are mostly out of the carpet
and the cat has puked and shat the last of the tinsel out of her system.
 
 The goodies are almost all gone
(someone shared a good theory with me the other day, eat all the leftovers really quickly, gorge yourself because the sooner they are gone the sooner you can start to lose that weight!)
 
Roast turkey, turkey pie, turkey sandwiches and turkey soup are done with until next Thanksgiving
Tim Horton's Candy Cane Hot Chocolate is no longer stocked
And the outdoor lights still hang but are no longer plugged in.
 
I used to look so forward to this time
Time to go back to normal.
 
But, normal these days
means that the house is just Gerry and I
after two weeks of hustle and bustle and cooking dinner every night (gasp!!)
Mom caught her Greyhound bus back to the coast

and
 
Jeremy flew off into the fog this afternoon in the little rinky dink 2 prop plane today back to his work in Edmonton and home in Red Deer
 
after a couple of false starts, first to bring us back the bottle of iced tea in his pocket that he wasn't allowed to take on the plane,
then the bottles of shampoo and conditioner in his backpack that had to go back through the luggage check in area to get put into his suitcase.
When the plane only holds a couple dozen people, it's easy to find his suitcase back that hadn't yet been loaded.
Finally getting the go ahead to step out on the cold windy grey tarmac and climb the dozen steps into the plane,
us banging on the window for a last wave goodbye but him not noticing
and the door folding him up inside
putting my son's life in the pilot's hands, wanting to tell him to be careful as he has precious cargo on board
Then the two and a half hour drive back home, him nearly arriving in Edmonton before we get back home.
 
Thankfully, normal does mean that Trevor is still around, even though he no longer lives at home either.
Having a girlfriend means that he is not to eager to explore the opportunities that well paying labourous jobs in the cold north have to offer, for now. 
He's only 18, still young, time will tell where he will head in his future.

So, back to normal, like it or not.

ps....what is not normal is that I can't upload pics off my computer to put into this post, anyone else having that problem??
 
 


6 comments:

  1. I've read of several that are having that problem. Must be a blogger issue.

    Hope your new year goes well. The house is always so quiet when everyone leaves.

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  2. I saw your comment, thank you. You would not want to see my library as my books are not in order and hard to find – they are everywhere in the house. I need to have some plan – a good decision for 2013 now that things are returned to normal as you say.

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  3. You are a wonderful writer when you describe your situation and a photo isn't always necessary, but I understand your frustration. I'm enjoying the photos on your new header.

    Normal to me right now is that I will be back in school tomorrow but the students starts on tuesday so we have one day to prepare and I know that the kids here in my home will enjoy this last day of their Christmas Holiday.

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  4. just wanted to let you know i'll be on a plane headed your way tomorrow....well, in my thoughts that's what i'm doing....ps...you have all month to come up with questions for me :)
    xxoo

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  5. That's one tiny plane your son boarded, is it a company plane? And yes the money is phenomenal out here, but I often wonder if it's all worth it. Families are apart for long periods of time, it's so cold here and days are short. The summer things are different, but in camp what is there to do when the weather is so bloody cold? On a positive note though we've been experiencing warmer than "normal" temperatures, still a wee bit below freezing but not too bad at all. I hope this lasts, we went through about 2 weeks of being in the deep freeze and brrrrrr!

    Have a wonderful week Joyce!

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  6. Oh, my! It IS hard to say goodbye to the kids, isn't it? We experienced the same, though with a little less drama. There's always that clutch in the throat. My Christmas is still up because I love the lights so and it takes so long to get it done and since I've been under the weather, it's more than I can handle. But the house always seems a little drab after... Happy New Year, my friend. Onward!

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