Rainy days and Mondays

Yes, it's a rainy day here in North Texas. All day. Very unusual these days. A welcome change...well, sort of. Today is Labor Day, a Monday, and a day off from work. And Becca just left for a 5-hour or more drive back to school. It will probably take her longer than usual because of the rain and the fact that it's a holiday. Just before she left, I took her to Wal-Mart for the usual "buy stuff for the apartment, I'm really short on money" shopping trip. I stocked her up on a few items she regularly needs and uses at school. We found some great buys on the clearance aisles, such as cute bowls and cups for 25 cents each. Plates for $1. This is why I like Wal-Mart. While we were gone at the store, Bob changed the oil in her car, and any other fluids he could, rotated her wheels, and looked at her brakes (decided the next trip home they needed work). Anyway, Becca and I came home, ate lunch, packed her car, and off she went. The house is back to being quiet again. (Remember, Molly doesn't talk to us.) Bob's up in the attic working on the fan that was busted by some critter (squirrel, perhaps?). I should be doing something, but instead decided to vent on my blog.

I miss my kids. We had a very nice time with Pam and John in Austin. Bob and I had planned on leaving Flower Mound after our Saturday morning date at Einsteins. Becca emailed on Thursday asking if she could come down with us. Normally, she would have been able to leave Fayetteville on Friday, but she was pledging a Christian sorority, Phi Lamb, on Friday evening. So she said she'd drive down early Saturday morning so we could leave around the desired time. Well, she left VERY early, around 3:30 am and got in at 8:30 in time to go to Einsteins with us. Coffee and some Red Bull had her here much earlier that we expected. But she slept most of the way down to Austin. We made great time (no Red Bull for Bob) because the traffic was light most of the way. It only took us three hours to Austin. After meeting Pam and John at their very cute apartment, we made a shopping trip (it actually turned into a 2-day spree) to the San Marcos Outlet Mall. We celebrated Pam's birthday with dinner at a great Indian restaurant called The Clay Pit. It was John's first experience with Indian food. (He liked it.)
We spent time together again the next day, lunching at Central Market. I just love Austin. Great shops. A city with a downtown you can be proud of. Just plain fun. But then again, there's the traffic. But hills and trees. And people running and biking. We saw Lance Armstrong wannabes all over the place. We spent alot of time in the car, but we laughed, we joked, we talked. We saw fake Longhorns that we pretended were real. We left around 7:00 pm and I missed Pam and John already.

Our children are adults, real grown-ups, and have become our friends. We enjoy each other's company. We watch and laugh at some of the same shows, only because they have introduced us to such hilariously, politically incorrect, horrendously offensive shows like The Office and Arrested Development. We play games together and some of us get competitive. We learn from them. (Pam, I found the dry cleaning sheets at Wal-Mart!) So when they are not around, I feel a void. But I look forward to when we can visit again. Life goes on...so I guess I'd better do something constructive this afternoon, since Bob is STILL up in the attic.

Adios.