Back to Work

After a few weeks off, flying to Iowa and back, and then down to Portland for the Willamette Writer's Conference, I'm back at work.  Yesterday I attended the farewell lunch for my Aussie coworker who is leaving Seattle for So.Cal. where her husband has found a new job.  I will miss her terribly.  She is cool, amusing and genuine. 

Okay, when flying across country, don't connect in Chicago or San Francisco.  Minneapolis and Dallas are great.  But O'Hare is a nightmare, and San Francisco has three separate terminals which are not connected, so you have to go OUTSIDE, take an elevated train, and pass through another security checkpoint just to make your connecting flight.  I arrived with 10 minutes to spare.  My luggage didn't make it.

The trip to Iowa was the best in years.  I really had a good time.  All of my friends have lost weight!  Grandma recognized me.  It's so painful to visit though.  We spent about an hour with her.  She kept asking after relatives who have passed on, where they were, had I seen them?  I just kept saying that no, I hadn't yet, and that they couldn't make it today.  What else can one do?  At the end of the visit, Grandma clearly didn't want to be left alone.  "What am I going to do?"  She said.  I gave her a hug and a kiss and left.  Sometimes I wonder if it causes more pain to visit than not to.  For me, that's true, but I wonder if it causes too much agitation and confusion for Grandma.  She has just enough awareness to be miserable, it seems to me.  The horror.

I'm going to try to be a better blogger, if only for my Aussie friend, who is apparently a regular reader.  So, hats off to you, L.