Random Thoughts

I can't think of a clever title for today's blog entry, and I attribute that to my less-than-awake brain. So here are a few random thoughts about my weekend...

1. The drive across the state of Nebraska is horrendous. It's six hours of driving a straight line. I kid you not. It's flat, it's rather boring, and the drive home after the weekend is always worse than the drive there.

2. My grandfather is better than I expected. Unfortunately, that's still not very good. He's pretty coherent and I didn't see him exhibit any confusion while I was there. But rest homes are just not fun places. I hate to see him there. But he is surrounded by pictures of his family and that makes a huge difference. But he said he gets so lonely...and it just breaks my heart. I wish I lived closer and was independently wealthy. I'm very glad I was able to visit him this weekend, though.

3. My dad has a house on the prairie, quite literally. It's peaceful, serene, and quiet, with cows munching on the grass nearby, the haunting howl of coyotes piercing the evening stillness, and the full moon casting a warm glow on the landscape. While I savor those moments, I also recognize that I could not live there for any long amount of time. Although I was born and raised on the farm, I am a city girl now and I need that energy around me. But oh, how wonderful it is to escape that energy and relax...

4. My mom and I need to open a flower store. I say this because when I walked into the shop she's working at, I immediately wanted to be creative. We spent nearly all of Saturday afternoon working to rearrange things in her store (she's the manager, more or less), and I had a blast. I also wanted to try my hand at floral arranging, but perhaps another day, another time.

5. My nephew is a powerhouse of energy on the football field. He's in the third grade and he plays tackle football. Oh my.

6. My high school band is pitiful. When I was in high school, our band rocked. We were talented, dedicated, and our band instructor pushed us to perform our best - we always won trophies and first places at music competitions. Now the band has shrunk to a quarter of the size it was when I was in school. They destroyed the national anthem at the football game Friday night. Sigh...I cringed and longed to pick up my pair of drumsticks (yes, I played the drums) and take over.

7. My house was clean when I came home. Hubby did good. He took care of the kids the entire time I was gone and I am so grateful. What a guy!!!

8. The really long drive across Nebraska is perfect for musing upon new story ideas. I came up with a three-book series and I wish I could work on that instead of this pesky day job!

All in all, I had a great time...lots of memories...lots of great conversation and hanging out with my family. Now it's back to work!