This was written the night before the big Iowa trip...
I have always envied people who live near their parents...I'd hear them gripe and complain and I'd think..."wouldn't that be cool to live close to your parents so you could see them whenever you want - wouldn't that be a luxury instead of maybe a week out of a year and then again when there's a funeral to attend?" Tomorrow I load up the kids and head out to Iowa...a place where I use to joke "it's not the end of the world but you can see it from there"...the big thing in the summer is to sit on my brothers roof and watch the storms roll in...I try to time the vacation so we get at least one tornado while we're there...
But lately the trips to Iowa have taken a different tone...my mom's been in the hospital SIX different times this year...and every time I thought this was going to be the last time...
Every spring my mom and I use to visit the graves of my grandparents to lay flowers but the last couple of years she started pointing out the spot where she and dad are planning to be buried and I would find myself being jolted by an incredible burst of pain...like, someday it's going to be my turn to bring my daughter here to lay flowers and honestly, I don't think I'm ready for it, and time which use to move so slowly in Iowa is now suddenly moving too fast for me...but you know what?
Tomorrow is a time for celebration because I'm going to go home and see my parent's and even if I win the lottery someday...I will never be as rich as I am now, at this moment.
1 comments:
If you were anyone else, I'd think you are being sarcastic about timing for a tornado. But I think I know you well enough to assume you probably not only time it to see the tornado, you probably have a rope with you in hopes of capturing one and bringing it home with you.
As to the parent situation, I have to admit it IS a great thing to have my parents living in the same county with me. Problem is, sometimes they can be taken for granted, especially when they are in good health.
However I'm suddenly in the same boat, very worried about my father and never knowing when he may take a turn for the worse. As you say, the best we can do is hold onto the moment(s) we have.
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