Ah, do you
hear that, friends? Those are the last sparkling notes of Summer 2020, lightly
wafting away on the muggy August breeze. With the college kid having left
yesterday, to at least begin his Junior year on campus...ish...and the High
Schooler settling into his self-appointed "home office" this morning
for the orientation phase of his remote-learning-style 12th grade setup, the
hiatus has officially ended. And you know what? Part of me just wants to say
"good riddance" to a season that was characterized by
continued pandemic worries and restrictions, canceled vacations, and a
generally depressing lack of, you know, "fun".
Don't get me
wrong, there are some things I remain grateful for--regardless of Rona,
the ultra-rude visitor who Just. Won't. Go the Hell. AWAY. For example,
although I totally sympathize with how much it sucks to lose some of his
college experience, I treasured having Derek back at Casa WestEnders for an
extended period. Not only did it take a load off my mind to know that he was safe,
it was also just nice to be able to chat with him every day about…stuff.
Such as the fact that I sold him on reading one of my absolute all-time
favorite series of books after his semester ended and he had abundant free time
to devote to leisure pursuits. Well, imagine my gratification when he ended up
loving it as much as I do, and we were able to discuss it as he made his way
through the 6 novels—it was like having our own little Book Club. (Yep,
proud members of the Nerd Herd! Also apple/tree…whatever….)
It could also be
considered a silver lining of the global…situation…that the reunited Goofball
Brothers got to spend some bonus quality time together, hanging out,
chilling, watching sporting events, and generally being the amusing,
smart-aleck duo that they tend to be when in each other’s company. Honestly,
with Derek being here for about an extra 2 months, adding his unique touch to
the daily antics, having 4 people in the house kind of became…normal…again.
Which is why--even though this is what should happen—saying goodbye
again is leaving me a bit melancholy. (Ooh, wait a second…I know how to fix
that! I’ll just focus on how much less food I’m going to have to buy for
a while! Yes--feeling better already…)
One additional
factor that’s probably affecting my perspective on his departure: this marks
the first time I won’t be accompanying him back to SC for move-in day.
With a vehicle at his disposal, and returning to the same apartment complex he
lived in during the previous academic year, he just…doesn’t need me to
tag along anymore. And seriously, I’m fine with that because he’s
technically an adult and can handle this himself, blah blah
blah…but that doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy the shared road trip, or the
inevitable shopping for supplies when we arrive, etc. Eh, I guess I’ll just
have to resign myself to having a one-time reprieve, because next year
it’ll be Riley’s turn! (Ay yi yi…)
For now we’ll
just have to wait and see how long he’s able to stick around the
university, with all (or most? some? who really knows….) of the students
returning from places far and wide. He’s living a few miles from campus, and
his courses were converted to online format, therefore his risk theoretically
should be minimal. As for the other 27,000 kids in the petri dish? Siiighhhh…fingers
crossed, y’all!
Meanwhile there’s
Riley, who informed his beloved sibling that pretty much the moment Derek pulls
out of the driveway, he’ll be taking over his bedroom for a workspace.
You see, apparently Riley can’t focus on schoolwork in his own room, and
he uses the back porch for downtime relaxation…so he determined that he needed
an alternative spot to log into his video meetings, self-guided modules,
and training sessions, and to grind out his assignments. As usual, he took care
of these arrangements independently…including electronically signing (for
me) some sort of digital permission slip related to the new technology he’ll be
(taking himself to) pick up on Wednesday. (Shhh! Don’t tell!) Alrighty,
then…the WFH crew seems to be managing swimmingly!
At least we
did succeed in cobbling together one more…family activity of a sort…before
everyone had to get back to their more business-like endeavors. First I floated
the notion of another field trip--which met with, shall we say, a tepid
response. Derek’s only comment when I asked the clan what they might like to do
was an instantaneous, fervent, “Nothing educational!” We thought about
hiking again, but were stymied by Riley’s loaded cross-country workout schedule,
and the fear that on a weekend, the more popular trails—and their parking spaces--might
be overrun with other like-minded nature lovers. Besides, for whatever reason
Riley, particularly, seemed unenthused by the prospect of actually traveling
someplace. So when he proposed that we simply find a movie to watch,
we all latched onto the idea, and gave his plan our stamp of approval.
Of course,
that turned out to be the easy part. Next we had to actually agree
on a film, which proved ridiculously challenging (especially given the sheer
number of nonsensical suggestions thrown out by the Peanut Gallery…bless their
little pea pickin’ hearts). After an absurd amount of debate, we
selected Men in Black International (because aliens, cool sci-fi toys,
and action, I guess? Ahem…and Chris Hemsworth. Just sayin’…). Then we added pizza
for the guys, and because I was determined to replicate as authentic a theater
atmosphere as possible, even whilst lounging in my living room…popcorn,
soda, and M&Ms for me. (Dinner. Of. Champions. Amiright?)
Anyway, the cinematic
choice was…let’s call it silly-but-adequately-entertaining, and we all savored
our culinary treats while participating in the final episode of wholesome Team
WestEnders bonding for this Summer. And with that, we move onward, toward Fall,
with wishes for a well-deserved respite from things that have been plaguing
us for too long—like oppressive humidity, killer viruses…and the outrageously dangerous,
corrupt administration currently occupying Washington, D.C. Signing off and looking
hopefully ahead for more temperate weather, a healthier world,
and more competent and honest leaders…SOON!
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