Fond Memories

I really thought by now that we’d be off to America with many suitcases and high hopes to reconnect with family. My 3-week visit to see my daughter and family where they’ve relocated was a quick taste of that pleasure that’s eluded me for 19 months. During my stay it was easy to get back into the swing of things with them and fit into their busy lives as if we’d never been apart. But John and I haven’t been back to the States since late 2019 and we’re still not prepared to travel until life settles down some. So catching up with my other children and their families won’t be as easy since the gap has been so much longer and so much further away. We were going there for 10 weeks a year for many years to stay in their lives. We’d stay with each of my sisters in immaculate houses while being treated to many enticing favorite restaurants, so different from our regular lives here in New Zealand. They are in the thick of it and everything is at their fingertips.

Here we’re surrounded by nature’s landscapes and big skies with soaring alpine mountains, currently snow covered like a picture postcard in the background. But there are few shops and the ones that do exist are much further afield.  In past years from their houses I could visit with my children. On the next trip I can visit one of them. The other son has moved to a different state, so we’ll have to jump on a plane to stay with them. It’s all getting so much more complicated than it used to be and for now we’re going to stay put and watch what happens in the world. So far we’re not terribly impressed with what we see anywhere. So for now, I’ll focus on going back to my daughter’s house and try to bring John over there to catch up with them and see where they’ve landed.

We’re still in the throes of massive rainstorms here in the Christchurch area. Apparently this July was the rainiest in recorded weather history. I’ve come back to enormous ponds, a few ducks, a few less roosters than before I left, and an abundance of mud. The garden has never looked worse. Although I managed to clear some pathways and remove self- seeded lemon balm that had taken over my front patio, the place actually looks worse than before I pulled it out. The chickens are not helping either, as they dig in the mud and make more messes than when the ground had a protective covering of plants. But somewhere in that equation I trust that spring has a few tricks up its sleeve and it will come next month and camouflage all these barren spots. The daffodils have sprouted stems and the beginnings of leaves. All they need now are flower tops. I know that they’re there somewhere, just as I know that we will go to America when the time is right. Things will work out in the end. We will see all our loved ones in due time even though it is overdue time. For the time being I’ll think about the day I made a tuna sandwich for Elijah. He wanted pickles on his 2^nd sandwich and he cut them himself. His mother is a chef and so she always shows him how to make food and lets him experiment sometimes. He was very pleased with the results. I also remember all the times that Elijah would pick up a favorite hen and carry it, lovingly, around the yard. Silly kid. Of course the dog would have to accompany them. Silly dog. Funny how much I miss them considering I just left there a few days ago. But it’s nice to be back with John too.