Warm and wet, kinda nice

Threesome and beer

Yesterday was a very interesting day, weatherwise, with lots of warm rain and some wind, but also beyond the weather, some delightful visiting with my friend Lily and her son Stuardo, who is visiting her from Guatemala. I hope his visa will help him get back to his country, since it seems like the entire region is now in flux.

I did look at a map and see that Guatemala and Venezuela are almost 2,000 miles apart, so maybe the conflict will not affect his return. More than 300 flights from Puerto Rico have been canceled, I notice. It's a scary time for so many right now, but I think it will be straightened up soon. I hope.

Like I said in my opening paragraph, our weather has changed from super cod to a normal wet regime, and it feels much more normal than the frigid temperatures. It feels almost balmy in comparison.

Stuardo is such a fine looking young man, and he seems awfully old to me, since Lily is only is her mid-fifties. He is 37, but it reminds me that my son Chris was born when I was only 18, three weeks away from my ninetenth birthday. How long ago that was; now I am offically an old person. I have a lifetime of memories to help me remember those early years. I don't like to dwell on them, since there was so much sadness and trauma, nof much joy. Stephen was only 13 months old when he died, and I was 22. Today I am childless and feel a bit of envy when my friends talk about their grandchildren and how happy they are to be a part of their lives.

I only vaguely remember my own grandparents. My maternal grandfather was very ill with diabetes and all I remember about him is being in bed. His wife, my grandmother, lived with us for awhile after he died. She was not a happy person and spent most of her time away from us, Norma Jean and me. And my grandmother was the only person who called my mother "Bitsy," her nickname as a child, I guess. Sparse memories, but partly that might be the case as I was a self-absorbed teenager who only paid attention to things like clothes, boys, and gossip. My paternal grandmother lived in another city, so we seldom saw her. My grandfather had abandoned his family long before I was born, so I never knew him. Even Daddy only saw his father a few times before he died, a hermit living in the California mountains.

So, I never had the usual grandparent attention that many others have had.  It meant, however, that I never felt the need for something many grandchildren experience in their early life. Today, my life revolves around my partner and our quiet life together. He is dealing with a blood cancer that makes him tired most of the time, and I spend my time away from him either at the Senior Center or the coffee shop. I have a few close friends who fill my need for company. Lily is now a friend I have known for decades, and I love her very much. My friend Steve plays Connections with me almost every day I see him at the coffee shop. I see my friend John there, too, but he doesn't play games with me, instead he and I talk together, mostly about politics.

And we have our Sunday trip to Fairhaven to have breakfast together. I am very fortunate to have a good circle of friends, and I cherish the monthly FaceTime talks I have with my sister Norma Jean. She is dealing with the recent loss of her canine companion. In retrospect, my life is quite full and happy. I struggle sometimes with low energy and depression, but it's rare. I also have a virtual family, those I follow who have blogs like me. Some of them I have known for decades, too, and I look forward to finding out how their lives are faring. 

With that last statement, I think I will wind this post up for the week, and start to get ready for my trip to Fairhaven with John. I do hope you will have a wonderful week ahead, and I look forward to seeing you here next week. Until then, dear friends, be well.