Another Goodbye and a Big Job o' Work

This morning I said goodbye to my munchkins before they headed off to Oz. Thankfully, it’s only 11 weeks till I see them again :) I’ve decided that saying goodbye is sort of like eating an ice cream cone…suddenly quick and melty right there at the end.

At least, that’s what it was like yesterday when I thought I was saying bye to Bron and Rodge and Tucker (the others were gone or asleep). But then, there they still were this morning when I came to help clean the house, the kids huddled in the garage with the luggage and Alana, who had come to see them off before school.

It was raining torrentially, and I told Bron that my canoe had a hole in it, so I had to swim there instead. She giggled and gave me a big hug. Today, the goodbyes were exciting rather than tragic. After all, I will see them again soon, and besides, all the nervous excitement of a huge adventure was hanging all over the place. I wanted to run out there and jump in the van with them!

After some minor issues with the church van, they set off a bit late in the pouring rain. A colorful jumble of luggage showed from the van windows, mingled with small Crowe faces, wavy with the rain racing down the windows.

I found it ironic that the last thing to go was a baby blanket, which Deb’s Mom ran out with at the last minute :) Then they drove off. We heard later that the rain let up once they were on their way to Dallas, and I as far as I know, they made it to the airport in time.

After they were done, Deb’s Mom, Aunt, and I started cleaning the house from top to bottom. Deb’s Mom paid me to help, and between the three of us, we were able to get it all done. Talk about elbow grease! Sometimes I dread hard work shamefully, but today it was a welcome distraction. There’s nothing like scrubbing so hard you can’t think, and going home with a good appetite :)

I really enjoyed being with Deb’s Mom and Aunt. They are two ladies who know how to start a day’s work right! A cup of Earl Grey with cookies, first thing. So the rain came down and the suds came up, and about five o’clock we finished, and parked ourselves on the blessedly bare carpet with another cup of tea, exhausted but satisfied.