Greetings!
Last December, my older son drove me back to visit the state we had lived for over four and a half years.
It was not a planned trip.
Near the end of Nov., my son told me the H.R. department of the company he worked for had scheduled all the employees to take their remaining personal and vacation days before the year was over. He knew I needed to go back to that state to close my safe deposit box account. He offered to use one of his two personal days for the trip.
He said, "We can leave on a Saturday so that you can go to your church on Sunday. On Monday morning, we'll go to the bank and drive home afterward. I'll go to work on Tuesday."
I said, "I want to go there in the summer. Winter is here. Some states already had snow storms. It is a 14-hour drive, and may take longer if there is snow. Since we have to go to the bank on Monday, we will be home in the early hours of Tuesday. I don't want you to go to work without much sleep."
He said, "I can go to work without much sleep. I had done that before. Are you sure some states already had snow storms? We normally don't have snow until around Christmas."
I said, "Yes, it had snowed in some states. You don't know about it because you do not watch the news. I remembered clearly that one year we had snow on Sept. 30. It is not that unusual to have snow in November around Thanksgiving Day."
He said, "Okay, it is up to you if you don't want to go."
The next day, my son called me from work. With excitement in his voice, he said, "Mom, I am in the HR department. They say I can take two personal days together. (Originally, he had scheduled to have Monday off in alternate weeks.) Now, I'll go back to work on Wed., and you don't have to worry that I may not have enough sleep. I'll go ahead to rent a car and book a hotel. Do you want to leave on Dec. 9?"
That is my son and his 'get it over with attitude'. Though his call or plan caught me by surprise, I appreciated his good intention. I said, "I do not want to encounter any storm snow. If you really want to go there with me, I would like to leave as early as possible. Can we leave on Dec. 2?"
On the other end of the line, he seemed to be talking to his coworker. Then he said, "It's fine. I'll have Monday and Tuesday off."
The drive to that state was very smooth and easy. It was past mid-night when we arrived at the hotel. The next morning my son drove me to the church. Like his father, he preferred not to go inside the church with me. I had not called my friends before I came. They were surprised and happy to see me. Of course, I was happy to see them again. Though it had been a 'short' six years, we could see time had left its mark on all of us. A few regulars at church had moved on, and some no longer came to church on Sundays. There were some new faces. Later, we took a walk on the beach. It was a sunny, gorgeous day. We did not even need to wear a jacket. We also visited the big spiritual research center. At night, I had dinner with a friend.
On Monday, we went to the bank. The staff at the bank was helpful and courteous. The way home was quite pleasant and smooth. A light snow began to fall near the border of the state below our state. The roads were clear and good once we drove into our state. My son drove to the car rental company, dropped off the car, and picked up his own car. At home, we ate a good late dinner. I went to bed around 2 am. My son went to sleep much later than I did. It was good knowing that he did not have to go to work the next morning. He hung out with his friends the second day.
Five or six days later, an unusual early heavy snow storm caused many problems and accidents across USA. Seeing the heavy snow, my son said, "Mom, luckily you insisted on driving there on Dec. 2. I could not imagine what would have happened if we . . ." I said, "Yes, I am very grateful that everything went well on the trip."
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
2012 was quite a year. On Jan. 14, I joined a spiritual order, and looked forward to live a more active life. (Re The Grace of Good Intention ) However, our older son had always wanted to move back to the state where he was born and grew up. In the second half of Jan., a company near our home state offered him a short term contract job. He gladly accepted and reported to his job soon after. Meanwhile, my husband was not well. He had been depressed since the restaurant years. As much as I enjoyed living in that state, I knew the move would be good for my husband. I was happy for our son because it was a step towards what he wanted (i.e. to move back to the home state). Furthermore, we could visit our younger son and his family more often since it would be a 6-hour drive instead of 14-hour. Therefore, I was at peace with the move. (Re Life is as God is - Turbulence is a life force )
Days and nights, I tried to pack everything. Since my husband was not well, I did not want to close the safe deposit box and carry the stuff with us. Several months later, our son got a job in the home state. My husband and I moved back here near the end of July, 2012.
After we moved back, I had talked to my family about the safe deposit box. In later days, my husband said he was too old to drive that far again. (In 2007, other than stops for gas, he drove all the way to that state without any rest.) Years went by. My loved ones had their plans of how to spend their vacations. I did not want to impose on them that they must drive me there. When my son offered to drive me there, I was nicely surprised for I thought he had forgotten about it.
What comes out of this trip?
Some days after the trip, I decided it was time to let go of the past. I was grateful we had safe and smooth rides back and forth. The weather was exceptionally nice during those few days. I was happy to see my friends. However, it was truly a long drive to get there. The safe deposit box matter had been taken care of. I did not anticipate driving there again in the coming years.
My life is here and now. Spring will soon be here. I can't wait to see how life will unfold in 2018.
Peace and Love,
Q of D
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