Perspectives

This week had it's shares of disappointments, but currently I'm not thinking about them as I write this from sunny California sitting at my friend Dani's house with not a care in the world. This is payback time for all extra work I had to do when we first came home from Norway. It was Kory's idea to reduce my stress one day by suggesting I plan a little weekend get-away so I had something to look forward to. It worked then and it's working well now, even though I wasn't sure I was actually going to make it here. I'm such a skeptic sometimes.

I decided to be hip and use the new light rail system to get to the airport from downtown Seattle. Kory and I were up at 5am on Thursday so he could drop me off and I could take the supposedly 40 minute tram to the airport. I had plenty of time, but that was only if I believed what I had read on the internet. It felt so European as I was completely unsure how it all worked and didn't realize until I was at the airport I was supposed to buy the ticket before I got on the tram. I felt like a foreigner in my own land. It actually took nearly 90 minutes to get from Seattle to Sea-Tac as the rail doesn't go all the way just yet and there was a transfer involved that ate a lot of time. I arrived too late to catch my flight and I had a ticket that allowed for no changes. I prayed before I approached the agent to tell her of my dilemma. Because, she said, I decided to try the new light rail, she had mercy on me and booked me on a new flight with no fees. Whew. I was to arrive at 10am in Fresno and spend the day with my friend's husband but I knew that wasn't going to happen so I made the best of the day anyway. I didn't want to sit at Sea-Tac all day so I
asked for a flight to Portland so I could spend the day there instead. I never hurts to ask.

The agent was more than accomodating so I was able to spend the day in Portland just a few tram stops from the airport where I did a little tax-free "retail therapy" and bought a few Christmas gifts. I had a cheap lunch at Ikea and I was back at the airport waiting for my 3:20 flight to Fresno. It was a sweet day, but even sweeter when I got to see my pal Dani once I arrived in Fresno.

It's been sunny and hot since I got here so that's a nice change from the weather I left behind in Seattle. Dani treated me to a mani-pedi (manicure and pedicure)on Friday as she took the day off work to spend time with me. We did a little shopping, had lunch out, enjoyed a margarita and a few movies and chatted in all the in-between times. It's been nice to be doing her life instead of mine, even though it means we've eaten dinner on paper plates standing around the kitchen sink and have had cheez-whiz and Ritz crackers for appetizers. She doesn't have a sophisticated life, but I love her anyway.

Kory and Kaleb have been doing just fine without me. Imagine that. Two yellow labs arrived yesterday for a two week dog-sitting stint so Kaleb is in doggy heaven. He did well in school this week and I hope it continues next week without the dogs becoming a distraction. Kory is back working a little at our apartment building in Seattle and going about life as usual.

One day this week Kaleb told me, "I just can't imagine anyone else being my mom. Sometimes I think you would do just aboutanything for me ." It was one of the nicest compliments I've gotten and I assured him that was true, as long as whatever I did was for his good. There are definatly lines to be drawn in that arena and I wanted to be sure he wasn't buttering me up for something. Turns out he wasn't, I'm just a skeptic about my mothering skills.

It's good to get away to work on my perspective. And there's nothing like being with Dani to help with that task.
(The photo is of Dani and her foster granddaughter on Halloween.)