Heya All,
I'm "fine" emotionally. Physically, I'm recovering from yesterday.
I had a great though always too short birthday lunch w/ my bro. Our waiter would not believe that bro just turned forty--he was seriously flabbergasted. I OTOH, appeared just right to be the older sister of a 40 y.o. Lunch was Asian fusion and it was very, very good. After, we took a walk to a pretty park on Lake Michigan. Though it was a overcast and slightly drizzly day, it was lovely. Due to our schedules, different lifestyles and physical distance, he and I rarely see one another so it was non-stop talk. He's my only sibling so he has a unique perspective that I always find helpful in getting a better understanding of both him & me.
The drive home however was l-o-n-g and sucky. There are no highways directly between Evanston and here and I can never figure out how do a drive-further-away-and-pick-up-the-highway-then-turn-back thing so I took surface roads and it was raining and rush hour had started and it sucked the big one (fishtailing in the Mustang 'till Kingdom Come).
I had forgotten to take my nighttime meds the night prior and had slept fitfully--I'm sure it contributed to how wiped out I felt. Shortly after I turned onto the last stretch home (also bumper-to-bumper) because by then I was nearby, I cut over a couple streets to the charity store seeking a bit of a respite. It turned out well because the weather had slowed down business and the staff there was chatty so I hung out, got some work done then took my favourite way home (almost zero traffic for 3/4's of it).
The move to St. Charles has been postponed. Spouse is doing the renovation work here and it's just plain going to take longer than the time frame we've set up. Plus it's gawd-awful expensive (did anyone not know that)? The initial impetus for reconsidering was my youngest son though. He is chronologically very young for an 8th grader--and seems to just be coming into his own this year. His grades are good, he's socializing more. In short, he's happy. I--we--still very much love St. Charles and am sorely disappointed that things are being put off, but when one added up the practical such as the commute for all of us (maybe 500 or more extra miles per week) and that we need to pay off the Mustang and get a sensible car for that commute or go broke with the fuel charges, and that out ties to this area--at least whilst my son is involved in his choral group and now, trying out for a theatre troupe as well as that his AP Algebra and German classes may or may not transfer (to St. Charles High) and that since since redistricting, the "smaller" high school that I wanted to send him to is only about 200 kids less than the one here... It goes on. Really, the practical, unblinking, cold, hard truth list for not moving yet outweighs the getting the heck out of the suburbs list.
This weekend is shaping up to being way too packed. An outdoor fest-type performance for my son--quickly followed that day by his audition for a part in a stage production of "Grease." Then Sunday, a family reunion on my husband's side which sounds most interesting in light of a local mayor attending. It's not because he's mayor but that he's a part of national history in that he was a young undercover cop (on his first assignment (!) who infiltrated the group that came to be known as The Chicago Seven (big trial coming out of the demonstrations and police actions at the 1968 Democratic Convention). He was the childhood best friend of my obnoxious father-in-law's younger brother. "Uncle" is flying in from Lake Havasu (sp) so truly a big family event on my spouse and son's side of the clans.
Must see the opening showing of the film Serenity, tho'. It's a long story that only a Joss Whedon fan ( Buffy, Angel, Firefly) would care to hear. It's also a very telling story of the power of public influence using the Internet as a conduit.












