Monday, August 27, 2007

August flies by!

My husband and I often play "Guess where I am/we are?" with our boys via cell phone, and I guess I could do the same with my blog readers for the past several weeks. I am not quite sure how August "just flew by", but it did.

My husband and I celebrated our 35th (!!) anniversary, not by having a lovely intimate meal somewhere special (like we have done other years at the restaurant Bella Ciao in Ann Arbor) but by helping both of our grown up boys pack all (at least most) of their "stuff" that has still been in closets, the basement, or the garage at our Michigan home into vehicles on their way to new locations on each coast. Our older son has moved east to Virginia and our younger son went west to Washington. The following morning my husband and I started the cross country road trip in the packed and loaded family mini-van, helping our younger son with his move to the Seattle area (I knew we still needed that van!).

Many people have asked me if I was sad when both of my boys moved away from their home on the same day. (Neither of my boys were born in Michigan but both have lived here for most of the past 20 years.) Truthfully, yes, there has been some sadness, but mostly there are overwhelming feelings of joy as I have allowed years of memories to flood over me this month while thinking about and ackowledging all of the accomplishments that led to that day. I will start by saying that nothing has been easy, but I am way beyond grateful for my multiple blessings. To help you glimpse just the tip of the iceburg, I have been very fortunate able to: (1) have a supportive husband and marriage for 35 years, (2) have 2 children plus been able to experience all the trials, tribulations, and joys of parenthood that have led to ultimately seeing my boys grow to become highly capable, hard-working, compassionate, and thoughtful young men who no longer really need their parents but seem to still like being with us, (3) survive every cancer diagnosis and complication or late effect from cancer therapy thrown at me thus far, and still have my overall health and family intact (although sometimes I do joke that I think I am held together with duct tape!) so that I am incredibly fortunate to be still experiencing the joys and challenges of life at age 57 with hopes for a reasonably healthy future.

I remind myself of my good fortune that my husband and I can still play the "guess where I am" game with our boys (cell phones are wonderful for this!), both Virginia and Washington are wonderful places to visit (!!), there are non-stop flights to both cities, my boys are truly ready, willing, and able to "fledge", and we have transitioned from custodial "doggie grandparents" to full time dog owners of my older son's dog, so we still do have someone at home who "needs us". :-)

Just a quick food comment: for supper tonight, I cut one of our home-grown heritage tomatoes into 4 thick slices, layered several fresh basil leaves on top of each slice along with a pinch of freshly grated parmesan cheese. I then put these slices under the broiler of our little toaster oven for just a few minutes and ate them all myself. If my husband had been home, I would have needed to cut two tomatoes; no sharing - they were that good!!! I highly recommend that you visit your local Farmers' Markets during the next several months to truly experience your locally produced mouth-watering produce. Don't let a week go by without seeking out a Farmers' Market, talking to your local farmers, buying both an old favorite and trying something new.

Have an enjoyable end of August and start of September, which I always think of as the real beginning of the new year.

Diana Dyer, MS, RD

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