……but things are never the same.
We are back from a short, fun, but still exhausting trip to New Jersey. It was the first trip Kellie and I made up there since the wedding and the first time I’ve back there since January. With the exception of a frustrating morning at the local bank trying to iron out some of the last details of my Mom’s estate, it was a good visit, although I am somewhat exhausted after an 8 hour round trip in two days.
It was strange to see my parent’s house in the summertime without the flowers and vegetable garden that my Mom tended to for so many years. My Dad just isn’t the green-thumb kind of guy and I sometimes wonder how much longer he’s going to want to tend to a property as large as that on his own. As usual, there was paperwork for me to deal with and questions from my Dad, most of which I wasn’t really able to answer. I think he’s doing okay on his own right now, but its sometimes hard to tell and he’s really not the kind of guy to say anything either. The one thing that was clear after talking with his neighbors, though, is that his was a visit he’s been looking forward to. So, it was good we were able to pull this off.
As is usually the case when I go to New Jersey (even before my Mom passed away), we ended up bringing more stuff home than we brought with us. Some of the things we brought were things I wanted to have with me, like photo albums from childhood. Others were things I didn’t want to take but ended up bringing anyway, like my Mom’s computer. Its barely two years old and has pretty much sat dormant since June of last year when my Mom got sick and my Dad has no desire or ambition to get connected to the Internet despite suggestions from Kellie and I that he might enjoy it. What can I say ? That’s my Dad.
I’m not sure what we’re going to do with another computer right now, though I guess this means I can get around to setting up that home network I’ve been dreaming about for years.
Now, what’s been going on in the world this weekend ?
