At least one thing stayed on schedule this week. That's the trip my two oldest daughters made this evening through ice and snow to WVU. They are giving the gift of themselves to my youngest for her birthday. She'll be nineteen next week. There was anxiety all week long as weather loomed ominous... at least in the forecasts. Finally, they left (late) this evening after work.
Somewhere outside of Morgantown, they called to say they were in West Virginia.
Middle Child: Mom! [No hello, mind you] Do you know the exit signs here don't make any sense? They move from 19 to 4 to 26.
Me: Huh? Who is this?
Middle Child: She said, "Huh? Who is this? [She was repeating everything I said to her sister] I said, Mom, the exit signs don't make sense. It's me, Sharon. She doesn't know who we are. Do you think she's okay? [Again, repeating things to her sister.] Mom, you okay?
Me: There is a logical reason for the exit sign thing, but I can't remember what it is. I was asleep.
Middle Child: So that's why you sound tired... anyway, we've decided that that we picked up a lot of traits from you.
Me: Uh oh.
Middle Child: Like, it's not enough to listen to a song we like once. We have to listen and sing it, over and over. Oh, and we use the windshield wipers in the car the same way you do. Constantly turning them on and off. Forgetting that they're on when we don't need them. And, the way we drive. We drive as though we need to have a telephone book to sit on.
Me: That's nice.
We talked about inane things for the next 30 minutes as they drove the mountain roads of West Virginia on their way to see their baby sister. We covered a lot of territory, too. What car I should buy, what movie they should see together, whether one can really buy a cool jacket for $10 at that store Jane mentioned...
It occurred to me that I'd been feeling bad that we hadn't seen much of one another as a family lately. But, I realized tonight that we find ways to stay connected no matter how far away we are from one another or how busy our lives might be.
I figure there is something else they got from me besides the singing, driving habits, and needing a booster seat. And that is their sense of sisterhood. I'll take credit for that. What I can't take credit for is how well they live the ideal. That's all them.
I only have one thing to say... Morgantown... watch out. My daughters are in town.
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