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Goodbyes

Goodbyes are never easy, but saying goodbye you r baby before he leaves the west coast is a fucking gut punch. Parents that have sent their kids off to to the military, college or junior hockey know the mixed bag of pride and sadness that comes with this particular goodbye. Perhaps it’s that these particular drop offs represent and end of a life stage it be it in their life or yours. Not to be overly esoteric or anything like that.

The Mayor heads west to Fort Myers tomorrow for orientation and Eels training camp. He’ll be moving into his billet house tomorrow as well. The Hubby is baking up some of his trademark chocolate chip cookies for the billet family. While the hubby bakes, the Mayor will finish packing up his stuff. He was pretty much ready to go before I left, but knowing him he’ll be thoroughly checking everything twice like Santa Claus.

I’m currently 35,000 feet above the ground watching Drop Dead Gorgeous. (Thank you Daddy Delta for the upgrade to Comfort+. Funny, I don’t remember the “Minnesota” accent being so thick when I watched the movie in 1999. Now that I’ve been living in Florida, I’m hoping it’s an exaggeration and not typical. I suppose it’s not so surprising that the accent would become more noticeable after moving away. Anyway, the movie is pretty amazing.

Thankfully, my travel day has gone smooth so far. Checkin and security were both a breathe. The Sky Club was packed to the gills. Can we just agree that people that take up an extra table for their stuff are worse than gate lice? When did folks become so freaking entitled? On the upside, the food was mighty tasty today. And now back to my in flight entertainment, which is now Curb!

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Survived

I survived my doozy of a Monday. It took forever to end as falling asleep was damn near impossible. In fact, I didn’t fall asleep until well after midnight. The good news is that once I finally fell asleep, I slept really well. In fact, I even got up in time for work today. What a feat! Actually, I got up early enough to go grab my own coffee before starting my work day.

Monday may have been an absolute drag, but the weekend was pretty fantastic. Friday night we ordered Sushi Yama for Goalielocks last dinner before heading back to school. As always, it was amazing. We really enjoy their crispy rice appetizer. The rice is so good and the tuna it’s topped with is delish. Naturally, the boys also enjoyed their usual helping of fried rice and chicken katsu. We ended out night by watching Messi and InterMiami.

Naturally, Goalielocks was packing most of Friday night and Saturday before leaving Saturday afternoon. Of course, he left the loft looking like a bomb of water bottles and text books had gone off, so that was nice. Hubby ended up cleaning up his mess Sunday while the Mayor and I ran errands. After Goalielocks left, we headed to our friends for a hockey family BBQ. It was hot as hell, but thankfully they had a gorgeous pool with some nice shade.

The BBQ was a last hurrah for our boys before they all head their separate ways for hockey. The Mayor is moving to Ft Myers to play junior. His Goalie is staying local, but also making the leap of juniors. R is heading north to Canada for a hockey academy. While B is heading to New Hampshire for some AAA U16 action. It’s crazy to see their youth hockey careers coming to an end. The Mayor was a mite for what at least a decade and now he’s playing juniors. It’s all just a bit overwhelming.

Sunday the Mayor and I went suit shopping. The Eels where suits to and from their games, so he needed to pick up some more dress clothes. Jos A. Bank had an amazing sale going, so I got him two new suits for $300. Prior to suit shopping, we also ventured into WalMart, while I charged the rental. I enjoyed driving the Polestar in Boston once it was reconfigured, so I wanted to see how the Hubby liked it. This time Hertz included a guide outlining the difference in using an EV versus traditional car, which makes renting an EV much less of a pain.

What brings you peace?

My dogs bring me peace. There’s something so innocent and pure in the way our dogs love us and our families. Their loving kindness brings me peace even during life’s toughest hours. Working out is an activity that brings me peace. It’s also acrucial part to staying both physically and mentally healthy.

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Stormy Afternoon

It’s been a stormy afternoon here. Fortunately, the storms took away some of the heat, which made the dogs’ lunchtime walks tolerable. The last few weeks the lunch walks have been tough due to the overwhelming heat. At least it’s August and we only have two more months of summer here. Usually, it starts to cool down in October, but nothing about this year has been usual.

I love a good thunderstorm, so long as it doesn’t impact power. Last time we lost power, not storm related, it set me back several hours at work. The power surge fried the peripherals and made it really difficult to work. After a day of working with IT, I finally got everything back up and running. There was definitely an art to resetting everything fully to make it work. Honestly, it’s a little frustrating given I was using a surge protector that the company provided.

While I’m busy selling insurance, the boys are getting ready to leave for the year. Goalielocks heads back to UCF on Saturday. Judging from the way the upstairs looks, he’s got a lot of stuff to pack. I also need to make sure he doesn’t leave with my foam rollers, massage gun, or cervical pillow. If he’s up to his usual monkeyshines antics, then I wouldn’t be surprised if they end up in his new apartment. By the way, his new apartment looks like an absolute palace. He’ll have his own bedroom and bathroom and will be living with his best friends. Student housing has come a long way since I was at the U.

P.S. Nordstroms Anniversary sale may have just ended, but Fabletics semi-annual sale just started today.

P.S.S. If you’re wondering what a cervical pillow is, here’s what I bought on Amazon. It’s really helped relieve my neck and shoulder pain.

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Seven Days

Seven days!!! Seven days is the number of days left until Jake graduates basic training. I can’t believe this BMT journey is coming to an end. After next week, I’ll retire the weekly WOT posts.It seems like he just left yesterday, while also feeling like he left a century ago. Admittedly, the last eight weeks have been tough as we adjust to our new “normal.” I miss having him home everyday!

Nonetheless, this transition for him has been fantastic. As the weeks have progressed, he has grown immensely. Truly, every time we talk to him, he sounds more confident and mature than the last. It eases my kind to know he’s found his place in this world and that his future is bright. However, it doesn’t make me miss him less.

Jacob chilling atop Mt. Ulriken in Bergen

As he moves on to Tech School, we’ll be able to have more regular contact with him. I think that will make it a bit easier on mom and dad. In the days and weeks since he’s left, we’ve been enveloped in a community of love and support. Thank you to everyone for your continued love, support and prayers for Jake. They are appreciated.

P.S. the main picture is of Jake and his Uncle Jon meeting an Air Force Pilot. It was taken in 2000 at an air show in Duluth.

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Time is Ticking

Time is ticking away. We’re less than four days away from Jake leaving for Basic training. We’re so excited for Jake and all that he will achieve in the Air Force. After all this is the natural order of things. You raise kids, hope they turn out ok and send them out into the world. Only it hurts. It’s hurts to let go and acknowledge that this phase of his life and ours will soon be over.

Inside a myriad of emotions swirl about at a million miles an hour (thank you Graves) that it’s hard to make sense of it all sometimes. At its core is the immense pride and joy in seeing our eldest son leave the nest with a great plan for success. In that core is also sadness and regret that it’s time for us to let go and let him fly.

Needless to say, if you see me and Luke in a rink this weekend (because that’s where we’ll be,) we’ll definitely be in need of all the love, hugs, encouragement, prayers and coffee one can find because time keeps ticking away.

 

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Six Days

Six days until my boy is wheels up and on his way to basic. Our impending new reality is drawing closer and closer and I’m full on Charlie Kelly freaking out. If you don’t watch It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia, you probably should.  The lump in my throat that arose when he gave me his BMT has come and gone over the past couple of months. Not anymore that anxiety laden lump in the throat tears in the eyes are here to stay.

We couldn’t be happier for Jake and his future. It’s just that he’s our little boy in the Buzz Lightyear costume leaving voicemails for his grandpa. Now he’s joining the greatest military in the world. If he had been assigned a different job he had applied for he, like Buzz Lightyear, would have been assigned to the space force. It’s just tough to admit that this chapter of our life is over and a new one is beginning in a mere six days. Damn those six days!

I’ve been blessed to spend these last several months with Jake after leaving corporate America. Thankfully, the timing has been amazing. I’ll always be grateful for the time Jake and I have gotten to spend together this fall. Nevertheless, the anxiety and nerves are in full freak out mode. I’m trying my best to avoid gluten, which increases my Graves’ symptoms, but it’s hard when you’re eating everything you see.

In other news, I started Kayla Itsines BBG on the Sweat app. At first, it’s the beginner course which covers eight weeks. Ordinarily, I would have skipped the beginner part and jumped to the regular workout. However, I’ve been out of commission for awhile and need to start out slow. Stayed tuned for reviews and updates.

Sadly, I missed my yoga class today but it was for good reason. Since Jake turned in his lease, we’re down to two cars. He really wanted to spend time with M today, so I let him take my care tonight. Consequently, the Piggie and I found serenity and gratitude on our walk instead of our mats. I did, however, help Jake with inversions on the yoga swing. These will be a great way for him to build strength and decompress the spine before he leaves.

Tonight has been spent trying to manage our schedule through Tuesday. It’s the middle of hockey and holiday season, so our schedule couldn’t possibly get crazier. Naturally, It’s Always Sunny will he playing the background.

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The Last of the Travelers

The last of the travelers, my parents, headed back to Minnesota after almost two week in paradise. It was paradise for them on account of perfect weather and having their whole family present. Likewise it was paradise, completely uplifting, for us having them here. Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end.

We started their last day in paradise with a nice hot cup of Dunkin. This morning our temperatures dipped into the refreshing 40s, so most were hundred up. It is mornings like this that my heat intolerance comes in handy.

With our Dunkin’ in hand, we headed upstairs to work in Jake’s room. He’s started to pack up his room, so it will be ready when he’s off to his first duty station. Meanwhile, Goalielocks is delighted and counting down the days until he can move into the much larger room. On the other hand, it was emotional for me. It’s hard to believe this time next week, he’ll be on a flight to Basic Training.  In between the organizing and coffee, my mom and I took Athena for a nice 1.5 mile walk. Today’s highs were in the 60s and there were few clouds in the skies. Our Florida weather was sublime. I love those days when we can open up our windows.

My parents were a bit anxious, rightfully so, about the check in and security lines. Consequently, we headed to the airport early. Traffic was light and uneventful other than the snowbird driving 45 mph on the turnpike. It’s one December 2nd and I’m already over them.

We got home and my mom texted that they had made it to their gate and that there were cookies stashed in the freezer. I guess the gluten free diet will start once those are gone! Fortunately, they got to their gate pretty quickly, but the travelers were delayed by mechanical issues. Thankfully, they were able to get out this evening. Nonetheless, the house feels empty now that they’re gone and it’s about to get worse.

For the next week, I’m pretty sure I’ll be vacillating between abject sadness, complete pride, excitement, denial and a whole myriad of emotions I haven’t even thought of yet. You might want to say a prayer for the hubby as he deals with me coping with all of that plus his own emotions.