Kayla came home for the weekend for the first time this school year. She’s been at college for about a month now, even though it seems longer. It’d be nice to think she came home because she misses us, but she came home so that she could get her hair done. Oh, well. Whatever works. Right?
Kayla and I always have a great time when she’s here, but I’m finally coming to the realization that the days of the girls living here are over. She’s a visitor now. She spends more time away from our house than here. When our kids grow up, we have to accept they are going to grow away from us, too.
We go to a going away party for a friend’s daughter. She’s an only child and is very close with both her father and her mother. They still spend a lot of time together as she still lives in Cincinnati only about 20-30 minutes from where they are. But, she’s met a young man and is getting married and moving slightly farther away. Well, maybe a lot farther away- Switzerland. At the party, her mother tells us that if we see a new river in Cincinnati, it will a river of her tears. I talk with her father and give him my sympathy. He reminds me that he and his wife left their parents to move across the ocean when they came to America. Yeah, but us leaving our parents isn’t the same I tell him. Our babies aren’t supposed to ever grow up.
Kayla tells us a story about her boyfriend. They are talking about affection in their respective families of origin. Kayla tells him that we kiss and hug her every night and tell her that we love her. He looks at her with amazement. “Even when you’re not leaving? Even when they’re going to see you the next day?” Yeah, every day.
Today, Kayla will go back to school. I’m not sure when she’ll be home again. If the hairstyle holds up, it might be a while. Here’s hoping it doesn’t hold up.
p.s.- weird happening- the ceiling fan light continues to come on, on its own, randomly. This morning I wake up about 6:30, my usual time. I’ve been taking a course on getting in touch with images, sounds, thoughts, impressions that come into my mind. I wake to see an image of Shayna at around age 7, toothless, smiling at me. I’m just there in that state halfway between sleep and being awake and thinking about Shayna when the light on the ceiling fan comes on at 6:55. Tywana turns it off. I’m wondering if Shayna is doing this. So I try a little thought experiment. I ask her if she’s doing it to do it again. Nothing happens. I say “Well, maybe we can do it together.” So, I focus on making it come on again. Nothing happens. Still, it’s very strange that it keeps turning itself on and when we turn it off with the remote, it just goes right back off.
