My daughter Laura, and her guy, Robert, visited for a week, and stayed around the corner with my b.i.l. (Yes, we have reconciled and we talk now. Don is, after all, Laura’s uncle.) No room at our house, because Sol is living with us. Their visit was a tremendous success. We bonded, we shared, and, get this, Laura and I both do Munchkin imitations. Our similarities are significant. Sol says she feels like she has a new sister. The curmudgeon weighed in and said they were great.

They were also determined to contribute to our well-being so they painted our front door (badly in need of it) and made it into a work of art. I had imagined they would just throw a coat of paint on – good enough, but it took them two days, working as a team, and they did a different shade on the panels and scraped all the shmutch off the edges, including the glass panels that frame it. It is remarkable and I am inviting people over to see it.

They left really early on Saturday and Laura texted throughout the day as to their progress. I responded and when they got home, we got on the phone on Facetime and they showed me around. Their house is in a semi-rural area and deer graze n their back yard. I also got a look at their cat, Buddha, who was doing his cat thing (“where were you?!”) and met Laura’s library colleague, Barry, who house sat and cared for Buddha.Don had given them a large framed photograph of Tula and me, ages 5 and 6 (a guess) and Laura has already put it on their bedroom wall. I am blessed.

Another unexpected addition was that my first cousin Connie’s sister-in-law, Effie (Efstathia) who is her brother Jimmie’s widow, were vacationing in Sanibel (island below us). She and her girlfriend came by – we had a great afternoon of conversation. Laura did the Munchkin coroner lament at my request. It was a great success. We all went to lunch at the Blue Dog and sat outside. I hadn’t seen Effie in 30 years. What a day.

The sad part is that Tula (Toops) and my Mom could not be here. They would have been overjoyed.

So, back to what counts for normal.

xx, Teal