Monday, April 16, 2012

Y'all Are Made of Win

Thank you guys so much for the letters and cards, the emails and the flowers. Uncle Bob was a neat man and it was stunning to see his grandchildren. Boston and western Massachusetts was chilly and just beginning to be spring.

It's weird -- my daddy left New England years before I showed up and, in my heart, he's a cowboy -- a Texan, born and bred. (Which oddly enough, my mother's people are the Texans, and she's from Missouri...) Everyone up there kept looking at him and you could see them trying to reconcile this loud, brusque, jeans and boot and hat wearing cowboy with the man they remembered and the brothers they knew.

Also, let me tell you, pink hair and visible tattoos? Not huge up there. I was *definitely* in the stand out section.

I did get to spend one night in Northampton and share a long, lazy, lovely supper with my lady and on Saturday we drove to Boston and had a long walk (our flight out left at the crack of dawn on Sunday, and let me tell you, it's a LONG run in Houston when you have 14 minutes, land in terminal E and fly out of terminal B. Especially when you have to pee) that was lovely. I did splurge and buy two skeins of sock yard to make footies for me and Julia, but that was it.

The unpacking is almost done here at the new condo. The bad? We lost a lot of space. The good? My new office has a window into the huge backyard and there's a new bird feeder right there. :D

We start with treatment for Julia's dad on the 19th. Not sure what to expect, really. My stepmom passed away from cancer 6 years ago, but it was too advanced to fight when they found it, so it was simply a 'keep her comfortable and wrap up loose ends' situation. This will be a learning experience -- both in helping with practical stuff and holding Julia's heart safe.

Hope y'all have a good Monday. I'm going to take a load to Goodwill, pop into the store and buy cumin, parmesan and paprika and possibly buy a latte. :D

Much love.

BA

3 comments:

Katherine Halle said...

I'm happy that it sounds like there was a wonderful celebration for the life of Uncle Bob <333

Glad you got to have dinner with your lady - sounds like a lovely time :D

UGH with the unpacking, glad it's almost done though.

My thoughts and prayers are with you and Julia and her Dad. I lost my mom to lung cancer back in 1992 and some days it's still so fresh it makes me catch my breath. Lots of love and hugs to all of you.

ElaineG said...

I have been thinking about you lately, not knowing how to say I am sorry and I hope you get through this....moving and losing someone and just generally having your life in upheaval are more than most people can deal with. I hope you and Julia find time to just breathe. Will be thinking about all three of you in the coming weeks and months.

BA Tortuga said...

Y'all are dear. Sometimes things feel so alone and I hate to be a downer, so I try hard to chin up, but I appreciate the love and the fact that y'all have my back.

BA