The 'two part' series was coming to an end. It was Monday morning, and I was starting to feel the pressure regarding packing my suitcases and returning 'home'. Where is home? It depends of where I am. When I am in Austin, and I have a trip planned to travel across the pond, I am 'going home'. When I am in Blighty, and my time there is coming to an end, I am 'going home'. The latter used to be 'going back', but home is where the heart is, and my heart is now one of 'dual nationality'. I had received a message from my friend Sheri to say that she was 'between jobs' and could come into Radlett. After a wonderful brunch at 'Chez Rick 'n Steph', and a very long walk, I was plunged back into the real world of how to occupy my evening. "Are you around tomorrow?", I messaged, in desperation. I really enjoy coming home and love spending time with my family, but I think time with my old friends is equally as important. We all make up the historical picture of our lives. Without getting too sentimental, I feel very blessed to still have my childhood/teenage/ex in-law friends in my life. However, priorities are priorities and for the time they are priorities! Once again, I digress. I met Sheri at eleven in the local coffee shop, after taking myself to the supermarket to get some photos developed to make Ollie a collage of his trip to London! Unfortunately, Sheri had an emergency dental appointment and could only stay for a short time. However, she would still be in the area in the afternoon. Steph was more than happy to play 'hostess', and looked forward to seeing Sheri again. Sheri's elder daughter has known Steph and Richard since their school days!
We spent the afternoon catching up, amid watching various plays enacted by Ollie and his friends, with Jamie heckling and disrupting. This was very frustrating for the budding actors on the stage, but very amusing to the audience!
I arrived 'home' from my wonderful afternoon to a tirade of complaints. Apparently, dinner was going to take three to four hours to cook, and it was already a quarter to five, and I needed to follow the instructions on the packaging, carefully, and ......! I smiled and took myself into the kitchen. I brushed off the 'Cinderella syndrome', that was itching to take over, and instead looked at the instructions, carefully, calculating the cooking time to be eighty five minutes. "I would give it two hours", shouted my mother from the other room. I adhered to her instructions, and told her not to complain if it was tough. "Bit tough, isn't it", was the comment upon first bite. I smiled!
Dana roared with laughter as I relayed the evenings events to him. "We can watch Coronation Street on the replays if you want", mum said as I was clearing away the dishes. "Although I want to watch it now", she added. I joined her in the living room. "Have you cleared up? Only I don't like my kitchen in a mess!" I told her that I would finish up in the interval. "Have you cleared up? Only I don't like the kitchen in a mess!" she repeated as I came in to watch the second half of the programme. "I shall clear up when this is over", I said, restraining my voice from rising. Upon completion of the episode, I returned to the galley and did not leave until everything was put away, and the kitchen was sparkling. Upon re-entry to the lounge, I was greeted with, "What were you doing? You would have loved this programme!" I smiled!
Bedtime was a little unorthodox. Samantha called and I put her on loud speaker. During the procedure, mum asked me to remove her wrist band that is her 'life alert' alarm. In my usual careless way, I slid it from her wrist and lobbed it on to the trolley. Suddenly, alarms started to ring, and I heard the familiar 'pip, pip, pip', of a phone number being rung. "What is that noise?" I asked, over the sirens. A voice echoed through the bungalow. "Are you alright?" Who was here? Samantha was laughing, and mum was shouting, "Yes", and then told me to "Go and answer her". Go and answer who? It was, of course, the lady from the alarm company. Throwing the wrist band, haphazardly, onto the trolley had, of course, activated the alarm. It had thought that mum had fallen! "Oh my goodness, I am so sorry. I am a little heavy handed and threw the wristband without thinking", I said to the black box with the flashing red lights. "Is she okay?" came the question again. "Oh yes. I am her daughter. She is fine". This seemed to satisfy the voice from the box, although perhaps it was my mother's shouts of "Yes, I am fine", over mine that satisfied the lady in the cube! The rest of the procedure went without a hitch!
I had a busy day on Tuesday. After breakfast, and morning
I made a quick trip to pick up my final load of 'essentials' from the supermarket and came back to make mum a sandwich before heading out to Janice. Steph's mum, her partner Merton and I were going out for lunch. Steph, Richard, Ollie and Jamie had gone to London for Ollie's birthday, and we were having a treat of our own! We dined at the local garden centre cafe, and had a glorious couple of hours sitting in the sunshine, enjoying quiche, cake and coffee! "Is my mum with you?" asked Richard, as Janice answered her phone. Apparently, mine had turned itself off. We collected Ollie from the station as his need was dire! The other three walked. "What did you do today?" asked my grandson, as we waited for his mum and dad to arrive so that he could open some more presents. "I spent the day with Grandma Janice. Two grandmas having lunch together on your birthday. What do you think of that?" I asked. "Wow, that is so cool", said the new five year old with gusto!
Elise and David arrived at mum's with a take-away, so that we could have a meal together before my departure on Thursday. "You haven't laid the table", said Elise to mum. "Tracie's been on the phone!" she responded. "So? What's wrong with you doing it?" Elise said. I did not feel so bad about my responses earlier in the day! I told Elise that two bulbs needed replacing in the kitchen and we went in search. I could not quite get them in straight, and David took over. "You need to go to a shop in Stanmore to get replacements", insisted mum. Elise and I tried to explain that the particular bulbs she uses are now commonplace and can be purchased from most supermarkets or DIY shops. No! They could not! We were treated to a history of bulb buying and a lesson in how to purchase them. Elise told her that the shop had closed down. The proprietor was an old man and had retired. "But he is the only one who knows what they are!" insisted my mum, not getting distressed but getting angry at our total lack of concentration! We were not listening properly! These bulbs were not 'run of the mill', but specialist items. They were the old R85's! (Or something similar!) We did not know everything, and needed to listen! David came to the rescue. "Oh, You need the old R85's. Oh I get you. Yes. The old R85's. Right. I know now!" Elise stood with her mouth open, staring at David, as she knew, he had no idea what mum was talking about. I stifled laughter. "Yes. You know what I mean. They just wont listen!" said mum. David appeased her some more and Elise joined me in stifled laughter. By the end of the conversation, mum was convinced David was a genius, and we were happy he was there! Elise called later that evening to say she had purchased some on line, and yes, David had checked they were the correct version! Happy retirement to the shop keeper of 'all' bulb knowledge!
Wednesday morning saw another emergency! The painkiller prescription had not been delivered, despite the order having been put in last week. "No it was not", said the unsuspecting assistant to the pharmacist. Wrath is not strong enough a word for what he experienced for daring to suggest such a thing! A dragon would have been put to shame when comparing the amount of fire that was emitted. What was going to be done about it! At 8:31, the call was made. I sat eating my toast and drinking coffee. "You can go now!" came the order. I was to drive around to the chemist immediately, and pick up a partial order of painkillers, as they would not be delivered until tomorrow or the next day! Now! No time to waste. The few that she had left would last only until..... tomorrow! Sheepishly, I entered the shop, and even more sheepishly, I said that my mother had called. "What's her name?" I hesitated and then said that it was probably imprinted indelibly upon their brains. "Oh", said the pharmacist. "She is very argumentative!" I smiled! "You need to tell her that she is not always right!" I laughed. "Good luck with that one", he said as I thanked him profusely, and left the shop walking out backwards, bowing!
I was moved to tears as I went to collect Ollie. "I don't want Grandma to go back home", he said to Steph. I explained that if I lived nearby, we would not always do all the fun stuff we do when I am here. That way, when I do come and visit I can spend all my time with him. It seemed to assuage him slightly. We spent a somewhat morbid morning, visiting the gravestones of my dad, Steph's dad, and my grandmother. He was not in any way distraught, but found it quite interesting to see his grandfather, great grandfather, and great-great grandmother. From there we went to Asda to collect some dinner for his dad, who was coming to see me after work, and then home for lunch, and some quality time making Lego! "You need to go to Boots to get some painkillers", said my mother. Two days supply, with the promise of a week's supply arriving later would not suffice! Ollie and I went to see Elise and Emma at their workplace to say 'Cheerio', and then went to Tesco. A brand name was purchased, so mum was non-the-wiser that I did not go to the High Street chemist!
My afternoon was spent building Lego, playing football and praising Jamie for his expertise at putting jigsaws together. I must admit, I was very impressed! With several things built and lots of puzzled completed, Steph made the boys dinner, and all too soon it was time for them to go. Big hugs and promises of a visit later in the year was enough of a bribe for Jamie, but Ollie was a little sad. We counted how many 'sleeps' until I returned, and he promised to keep counting down! The bitter-sweet reality of life and love!
Richard came for dinner, and we spent time together in the kitchen, whilst mum watched her soap opera. We joined her for the second episode and then I had to bid farewell to my son, which is always heartbreaking. I can only be grateful that I am in an age where communication is simple. With my packing done, I sat and watched some television, and then continued the routine of putting mum to bed. Although able, as she gets up many times at night, she seems to think the first 'lay down' needs assistance.
I rose early on Thursday. I was ready to go by the time my mum got up, but ate breakfast with her, and waited for her carer to arrive. I did not have anything to do, other than clean my room and make sure I had left nothing behind. The farewell was not emotional, and I made her promise, despite her not having total ability to do so, to be there when I returned at the end of the year. She said she would do her best! I did not want to think about an alternative, hence the lack of emotion!
The trip to the airport took longer than expected, but the check-in process was quick, as was the security check. I did some shopping, and headed for the lounge, where I ate a plate of food, including pasta, curry, cheese, and a number of other items that would never be seen together in one restaurant! The flight was on time. Up until my arrival at the lounge, there was no one sitting next to me on the main flight, but someone had been upgraded and despite the lack of passengers in the second section, they had decided to sit next to me! I asked if I could be moved, and the nice lady at the desk obliged. I sat alone for the flight, and mused at the fact that the 'goodies' trolley had been put on the other side of the plane! Four courses was quite enough food, but as usual, boredom set in and I went in search of more! Two packs of crisps, a bar of chocolate, a macron, a plate of cheese and grapes, and an orange just to satisfy the health critics! The afternoon snack was a salad and pizza, and we landed in Houston on time!
Immigration was a breeze, and my bags came off the conveyor belt quite quickly. After customs, I headed for the lounge, and sat in the restaurant and ordered a burger. Why? Just because. I headed out to my gate, early, and waited to be called aboard. "We have run out of Baileys", said the steward. They knew I was coming! How bizarre! However, they did have a Disaronno. In fact they had two!
Arriving home at 11:15pm, I fell into bed and slept for about an hour, before laying awake for most of the night, falling asleep just before the alarm went off.
Work on Friday was quite grueling, but a cinch compared to the last two weeks! Grant thanked me profusely for returning, and said, "You do a lot. I mean A lot!" I thanked him for the recognition! The day was long, and the swim at lunchtime was welcome, albeit a little tiring. Exercise was a good idea!
Saturday came and went, as did Sunday, with my usual routine broken by nothing! Shopping, swimming, reading. It was a good weekend.
I have spoken to my mother, who insists that I have left her kitchen cupboards in a 'terrible' state. I asked why. "All the things you bought for dinner. You have left them here". I told her that everything I bought for dinner, I used! Apparently, I am mistaken! I listened and smiled, to myself!
Work beckons tomorrow, and the housework will not do itself. I am back in the saddle with a vengeance. I miss everyone 'back home', but I am also 'back hone', and am glad to see everyone I missed when I was 'back home'. What a life I lead, and it will lead into .............. another story!
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