Talking Turkey

Wow. What a week I had up north. I was all over that Garden State-from the meadowlands of Bergen County to the rural suburbs south of Philly to the mean streets of Jersey city and the mountains and pastures of my old home, Hunterdon County. I was up and down the Turnpike and Parkway and criss-crossed east and west over routes 78, 22, 46, and 3. I took the long way to my grandma's house on route 21 going through the center of Newark just to remember what it looked like.

I got to see friends, family, places, things. I had some great lunches and dinners and visits. I even got the chance to scope out a tattoo parlor for my next important piece of work. Best of all, I didn't lose anything important this time around. In fact, I don't think I lost anything at all.

The return home to Florida-very hard on me. I cried in the airport and I cried on the plane. I cried looking out over this state that used to be home, which still seems to hang on to my heart, calling me back. Looking out the window of the plane in the dark, watching Newark, and all of New Jersey for that matter, become nothing more than lit up highways as the plane climbed higher and higher until the clouds finally separated me from my old home, waves of sadness rushed over me as the tears fell.

I miss it. My heart is there. Florida has been kind to me, but New Jersey is my homeland. And that's all I'm going to say on this topic for tonight. Trust me, we'll revisit this topic again.

Having said that, I hope everyone had a beautiful Thanksgiving. Love you all...

Coming up North Again

I have been beyond swamped at home. I would love to get into the minutiae but I barely have time to sit down to put in an entry to this blog. Suffice to say that I am busy.

For some reason, I just can't take the thought of being in Florida for Thanksgiving. I want to see my grandmothers. We are taking a flight out of Tampa tomorrow and will be in Newark in the early afternoon. Keep your fingers crossed that we don't have any delays.

In other news, today was Sadie's birthday. Impossible to imagine that 15 years have elapsed since the day she was born! But, with a sigh, it is true. She was in a really great mood all day long and got to do some stuff that she wanted to do with friends, and got some presents, and many phone calls. I felt a little bit bad cutting it all short earlier this evening, but she was a real champ about packing and giving me a hand for the trip.

I'm hoping that when I return I'll be more in a writing mood. I do have some new developments on the home front that are worth addressing, but that's for another entry. Have a lovely Thanksgiving everyone...

Long Hiatus

Sometimes it's really hard to jump back into this thing after being gone from it for a while.

How about a bulleted entry to get right down to the main points?

• Had a full set of fake nails applied, or should I say installed, onto my fingertips and had a pedicure.
• Arranged for all of the animals in my life plus my parents' birds to be cared for adequately in our absence.
• Fielded a lot of obtrusive questions, advice, and observations from various family members.
• Packed up myself and the girls for a journey up north.
• Cried on the airplane on take-off and landing, not out of fear or anxiety, but out of wonder for how beautiful the world looks down below.
• Drove past both of my old houses in Bergen County and cried some more.
• Dined with friends and family and overall had a great time.
• Lost my rental car at the Garden State Plaza and completely went ape-shit before finding it in the correct parking garage. In the rain. And cold. Holding the baby in one arm and a bunch of shopping bags in the other. Perhaps I shed a tear or two during the ordeal.
• Woke up very early on the 28th and drove to East Stroudsburg where we managed to get totally dolled-up for the wedding.
• Wore fake eyelashes for the first time.
• Walked down the aisle as a bridesmaid.
• Had many ginger ale and vodkas.
• Decided that I really don't like Pabst Blue Ribbon.
• Lost a bag of important papers that I'd rather not talk about.
• Left the car seat in the rental car and figured it out that it was gone during my first attempt at checking luggage for the flight. I had to take the airtrain back to Hertz where I ran in like a maniac, not just crying but pretty much mentally decompensating, and begged them to go look for it now. The manager retrieved it for me fairly promptly and we made it back in time to check it in, change a diaper, and board the plane.
• Arrived home with both daughters, all of us in one piece.
• Obtained my dogs from the kennel.
• Had my fingernails shortened and re polished in order to be able to carry on with my life like a somewhat normal human being.
• Recovered from the various stressful events that occurred during the trip.
• Prepared Sadie for her homecoming dance.
• Nursed the baby through a bout of diarrhea.
• Moved all of my belongings to my new home in Spring Hill.
• Continue to live like an animal out of boxes and eating bad food while trying to sort everything out.

Each one of those bullets above could have been an entry in it's own right. I wish I would've just made myself write it down when it was fresh because each of them contains a story. I'm thinking in particular about the dinners with friends, the nails, the diarrhea, and the move.