TheBanyanTree: The Star is Eclipsed

[Margaret R. Kramer]

Hey ho!  It was an absolutely perfect day in Minnesota yesterday!  The sun
was out, there was a minimal breeze, it wasn’t humid, and it was warm, but
not hot.  Boy, we deserve this weather!

Ray and I got out the lawn furniture and cleaned up the chairs and tables
after their long winter hibernation in the massive garage.

One of my co-workers was having a garage sale, along with his community, it
was one of those community garage sale deals, so Ray and I took the
opportunity to drive out to Apple Valley, a suburb south of St. Paul, to
peruse the stuff people had for sale.  We love garage sales, but we
absolutely do not need anything, so we used that as an excuse to go for a
drive and get out of the house.  It was a stress reliever more than
anything.

The daughters came shortly after we got home.  Yes, they left Arlene at the
hotel.  And the daughters were NICE!  If I would have met them any other
way, I would have liked them.  The nice thing is that they’re my age, so we
have lots of things in common, like getting gray hair.  I tried to let them
have moments alone with their dad during the visit.

We were able to sit outside on the clean lawn furniture.  They’re not real
comfortable with animals, so Axel the beagle, and our two cats kind of
freaked them out a bit.  Ray made a meat tray, a veggie tray, and we had
chips and salsa.  They brought the beer and we had the pop.

We chatted along.  There were no zingers, no guilt tripping, just good
conversation.  It was like the way I imagined the visit to be.  Ray’s
youngest granddaughter came along, she’s 13, and what a cutie!  She is still
a girl and hasn’t morphed into an obnoxious teen yet.

It was interesting to spend so much time with women.  My main social
interactions are at work and I’m the only woman in a group of men.  I feel
like I have to keep my mouth flapping when I’m with women, whereas when I’m
with men, I feel like it’s OK to have a few moments of silence here and
there.

Women use more bonding behavior, too.  We look for things we have in common
so we can find ways to link up.  Men do that, too, but it doesn’t seem to be
a priority in their conversation.

They stayed just long enough.  Ray and I don’t socialize much, so we get
tired after a while of constant talking.  Ray, at this stage, more so than
me.  He was getting tired.  Plus, the star was waiting at the hotel for her
moment of attention, so everything came together in a natural way, and they
left with lots of hugs for Ray, and a couple of hugs for me.

Gosh, what a relief it was OVER!  It was like getting through finals or
completing a big paper or finishing up a major project.  We had a pizza
delivered and vegetated in front of the TV (and I read, too) for the rest of
the night.

Today brings another beautiful morning.  There were no plans made to get
together with them again today.  I’ll go to workout.  I got a few things I
want to plant in the garden.  I want to walk the fat beagle.  I want to be
outside and enjoy this wonderful weather.

Margaret R. Kramer
margaretkramer at comcast.net
margaret.kramer at polarispublications.com

Easter spells out beauty, the rare beauty of new life.
~S.D. Gordon