Red White and Blue

It's been a long time since I've blogged.  My apologies, there has been much happening, and yet not much happening. I don't know how to help you digest that.  It seems that our "new-normal" phase has kicked in.  Early on we attended a meeting where some world travelers shared their views on adjusting to a new culture.  One of the phases discussed was when the culture shock wears off and we finally adjust to what is our new normal. 

I have normal days now.  I get up, go to work, come home, go to the pool, eat, get ready for work the next day, and go to sleep. Not much fun or exciting or enlightening in that.  It's a bed-to-bed story that I diligently tried to discourage in my student writers back home.  There are a few moments to write about and to share.  The videos we get from home of our grandchildren are an absolute delight and the highlight of our days.  The photos of our dogs peeking over Dutch doors and spying through a crack in our weathered shed doors.  These are the delights.

We had three wonderful weeks we were able to spend hosting our children from home.  We have toured more and played tourist more in the last month than we have the entire time we've been here. It's been a whirlwind of activity.  The birth of our third grandchild is bittersweet.  She is beautiful, and ...so.... far... away.  Watching her father fall in love once again when he gazes into her squinched up eyes with her little hands grasping his fingers and latching onto his heart, priceless.

I had to tell my two grown daughters, one a mother and the other an adoring aunt of six month old Ella, to smooch Ella's chubby little cheeks for me both at the same time.  Ella is so stinkin' cute!  And, Roman!  Oh my goodness, watching videos of him chasing chickens around the yard clucking away as he runs and playing ball with a dog...  my heart just aches.  I miss all of my kids and my grandkids and my critters back home. 

Lilacs will be blooming soon.  Sigh.  I look forward to my lilacs all year long.  I will miss them this year.  And my horse.  My big red Ginger horse.  I miss her quirkyness and her sturdiness and I miss brushing her and fussing with her and treating her like she's my big girl Barbie doll, combing her mane and tail and making her look pretty.  Enough.  I am here and home is not here.

Yesterday was a big day.  First and foremost, it was my mother's birthday.  Here's your birthday present, Mom.  I blogged.  I know how much you enjoy my blogs. :)  Second of all, there was a big bash across the pond with a bunch of patriotic red, white and blue waving of flags and outrageous futuristic hats at the Royal Wedding of William and Kate.  It was beautiful. I will admit it, I even skipped pool time to watch the wedding.  The hats were an absolute hoot! I personally loved the simplicity of it, there was none of the outrageous grandeur displayed so many years ago when Charles and Diane were married. How Diana ever dragged that train down the aisle so long ago, I guess we'll never really know.

To go along with the patriotism, I have a moment.  This moment slipped up on me, I don't know why or how it happened.  It just did.  Yesterday, Doug and I visited the Cornishe to find some sand sculptures that have been made to go along with a festival here.  The sculptures were really neat.  Very detailed and beautiful, descriptive of life here.  There were camels and forts and palm trees and beautiful calligraphy. 

I also noticed the dates on the palm trees here.  They are really interesting to see.  Somehow, I missed the blossom stage, or the trees just went straight to making the fruit.  Suddenly, there are big clusters of fruit hanging among the palm fronds.  The dates hang in clusters of what look like long ropes, similar almost to a rope mophead, and attached to the ropes are rows of green balls which I assume are the developing dates.  They ranged in all sizes from the size of a pea to the size of a small crab apple.  Pretty neat, I think.   There was also the heat.  I was dripping buckets of perspiration, running into my eyes, yikes.  Too hot for me, of course Doug was downright comfortable, not a drop of sweat on him. 

We made our way back to our car and headed for the grocery store.  Along the way we found ourselves in the Embassy area.  Curious, we decided to locate the USA Embassy.  There are signs posted everywhere near any of the embassies strictly forbidding photograpy.  However, there is a picture firmly embedded in my mind.  I couldn't take a photo, so I will attempt to paint a picture with words.

The USA Embassy here is located within a block area surrounded by other smaller buildings of embassies from other countries.  As we made our third attempt to drive by and locate our embassy within this area, something happened.  I was pulled away from my navigation duties and able to look away from the map.  I was met with a humbling, beautiful wonderful sight.  I saw home... sitting atop a tall silver flag pole was a waving flag, the red and white stripes gently waving and rolling in the wind, the white stars on a blue field standing out proudly and strong flapping against a clear blue sky.  My eyes spied that sight and didn't want to let go.  I twisted my neck and watched as long as I could keep it in sight.  That waving symbol I've seen so many times and taken for granted became something different for me right then and there.

That flag struck me and it struck me deeply, and I felt tears spring to my eyes.  Even as I write now, I am wiping away tears and holding back deepfelt emotions.  Why?  I don't know why.  My words can't do that moment justice.  Maybe it was the displays of patriotism by the Brits over the wedding, maybe it was the loveliness of the English wedding ceremony, maybe it was just because in my heart and in my soul, I love and honor and respect that red, white and blue flag.  And maybe, I just needed to be away from home to appreciate it a little bit more.