July 2013

As I sit in my easy chair I wonder how can it be almost August.  July was a whirlwind of work from the yard in Missouri to Mom's apartments in Texas.  Now back in Missouri the new grass is looking good.  It is young and tender.  We really do not want to walk on it or even mow it as it appears so tender.   

From the sounds of reports on the news existing homes sales are on the decline again, having peaked on May.  Oh, well.  Guess we missed the boat.  Maybe in time the market will improve.  At least things are cleaner.  The yard is in better shape than in a few years.  Next spring the wallpaper in the kitchen will come down as a change is needed there, also.

There is a trailer load of various items from Texas that need to find homes.  Some will be moved to our son's home on our next visit.  Others will replace a few items of mine.  Still others will remain stored till 'the move' happens if it ever does.  There are tubs of pictures and documents to be scanned.  And then there is the 100 year old dish that must be used to serve cranberry sauce.  A candy dish that sat on Mom's coffee table for a couple of decades.  Never mind the areas that are glued back together and a missing foot, I just wanted it.  There is a serger, thread and a myriad of items for some of my friends.

One last item I took was a plastic box with a pair of Mom's gardening gloves, a thimble and a pin cushion tucked inside.  As I noted to my sister as I choked back tears those items represent the essence of our Mom.  The Mom that cared and loved us and flowers.  Not the Mom that had a fuse too short for the rearing of children.  The Mom that would stay up till the wee hours making dresses for us to have for special occasions.

So July will come to a close with us in easy chairs wondering if our son was on either of the trains in Switzerland.  He was to be in Geneva early this week then on to another city in Europe.   He will be forty in August.  And I wonder where the years have gone.