Monday, September 17, 2007

We Heart Visitors

My parents came to visit this weekend, and I feel just how I always feel after such a visit. Sad and prosy. I had an English teacher in high school who said, "The memories and anticipation of summer vacation are more important that the actual holiday." I've anticipated their arrival for weeks; it has motivated me to clean, unpack, paint and decorate. Settle, in other words. But as I said goodbye to my mother this morning for I don't know how many months, I just feel gray and snarly. There are mountains of laundry I've put off for four blissful days, dishes galore and goopy leftovers. There is vacuuming to be done. Instead, I just feel like I want to crawl into my covers and have a good, selfish cry.

To combat this feeling of having been left adrift 700 miles away from my family, I instead will focus on the happy memories, hoping they will sustain us until the next visit. Because, as awful as "home"sickness feels, how much worse to NOT have a family I missed!




This is my mother talking with the Honey Hippie and his wife at the local farmer's market. This place is awesome. Plantboy has been telling me about it for weeks, but we haven't gone yet. The organic produce side was incredible and the smells in the air were divine, but even more fun was the arts and crafts portion. I have such a love for silly, dangly earrings in all their forms and it was a homemade jewlery paradise. I passed on the tarot reading, however.


Plantboy took our picture while we posed under this huge, double hanging basket. The inside of my house is nearly settled, the next job will be to get going on our yard. If I can get past the snakes and spiders, gardening here will be heaven.


STM's Dad posing with Poopy Pirate and Captain Tootypants. We spent several minutes trying to get CT to smile, but he just kept looking at me with the dazed over face that said, "Too much flash."

Scallywag Plankwalker wanted to be a farmer after church on Sunday, after a discussion about where carrots come from, so I got him all dressed up. Then he decided it was more fun to shoot bad guys than to plant crops so he added the hat below and became a cowboy. An Aussie cowboy; Plantboy doesn't have a real cowboy hat. The one below is from his Indiana Jones phase.

Next time my parents come we want to spend a day at the coast and hike to the lighthouse, or maybe see the Sea Lion Caves . . . so I will look back with fondness and anticipate the future with hope and look for small happinesses from day to day.

6 comments:

Sunnie said...

i'm glad i'm not the only one that always feels sad when family leaves and life has to go back to normal. that is reassuring to hear. and your mom totally looks like you. well, the you i remember with short hair. i can't believe how long your hair is now. i love it!

Juzzme said...

So fun to read this post with all the pictures! I'm sorry that you have to live far from your family. What a blessing they can come every so often!

Kimberly Bluestocking said...

Man - I wish I'D had an Indiana Jones phase . . .

I thought the Honey Hippie was your dad. I also expected you to have shorter hair, for some reason.

The farmer's market sounds like a blast.

chicagosapps said...

Brings back memories of the Portland farmer's market. I sure miss it. Do you heart visitors enough for our crazy family to come someday? Maybe we could visit Oregon and go patronize the hippies with you.

Science Teacher Mommy said...

We'd let anybody come. The house is just under 1100 square feet, however. You'd have to bring a tent. :)

Five Froggies said...

Love your long hair!

Your babies always look so older - I'm thinking it's all that sweet baby hair.

I can relate to missing family. Each time my family visits I have a few days like that. I especially miss my mom, knowing it will be months before we see each other again.