Saturday, June 23, 2007

Honeymoon in June

Actually, this could more accurately be titled Second Honeymoon in June. My wife and I celebrated our twenty seventh anniversary this week. I had a training class scheduled in Austin all week for work. By driving to class, we decided that both my wife and I could go together.

The extra company made for a much more enjoyable week for me than normal at class. My wife stayed at the hotel during the day and we ate lunches together, then after class we were free to set out on a new adventure every evening. We ate at our favorite restaurants, walked all over the capitol and saw the sights. We watched the bats fly out from under the bridge two different nights, once from the grassy bank and once as we took a tour boat on the lake for nearly two hours.

I walked two miles every day going to class and back. Monday night we walked around downtown, to the lake, to dinner and back to the motel again for a total of at least five miles. Finally we returned home Friday to find everything and everyone in satisfactory condition, none the worse for the wear.

The last time we went to Austin together our youngest son was less than a year old. Maybe we'll take another excursion before another fourteen years go by.

Twist

Saturday, June 9, 2007

Vision of the Future

In keeping with my last entry, I thought I would reveal the insights I've received about the future. Before anyone assume there was a dream, trance or visitation involved, this vision was merely a glimpse of the present as it will be in a few short years.

My oldest daughter has been married now for 5 years and has two children. They live 15 minutes across town, a distance sufficient to enable both parent and child to feel independance.

Although my oldest son still currently resides in a small corner of our house, he seldom occupies that space. Work, girlfriend, work and fishing keep his room vacant and quiet, if not clean. He comes in late and sleeps amidst the clutter then wakes and begins the routine again.

Our next daughter is very involved in college, work, church and boyfriends. Once again her inner sanctum is vacant most of the time except for the 3 dogs that prefer to sleep on her bed while she is away.

This week our youngest daughter went on a choir trip to Florida. No competition was involved. No singing practice was needed. I assume that the choir teachers like to get trips to exotic places. She left Sunday at noon and returns Saturday at midnight.

Our youngest son left Wednesday to go to a church youth conference to return Saturday evening.

Thursday and Friday nights found my wife and I alone at the house. There was no shouting, no loud music. No clothes, books, shoes or other accouterments of youth were laying around the house. No friends phoned for our children. None came to visit. In short, the house was peaceful, quiet and just a bit boring. We, of course, filled our time with cleaning, walking, shopping and other activities including conversation, some of which centered on "This is what it will be like in about 5 years."

As long as my children live in the same area enabling visits as often as desired, I think I could learn to like this vision of the future.

Twist