Tuesday the 7th was the day that Lyssa and Mason were supposed to come see us.
It's been almost a year since we made the airline reservations.
Matt and Amy insisted on paying for half the ticket, which wasn't necessary but was really nice.
I
love the closeness my kids have always had. Matt has loved his baby
sister from the moment he first saw her. She's been crazy about him,
too. Best friends from the beginning.
Obviously neither of them are babies now, but the relationship they have is a great one.
So the trip... well, it was an on-again, off-again, on-again thing.
First
the house fire, then Mason had some commitments and Lyssa didn't want
to come without him. So no one was going to come. Then they changed
their minds and they were BOTH coming. And then the plague hit. And for
their safety and ours, they didn't come.
It has been nearly two
years since I've seen my daughter. Two long, long years in which I
haven't been able to give her a hug. Go somewhere in the car and chat.
Seems like a lot of our really good conversations happened in the car.
I haven't been able to go Goodwill Hunting with her, either.
And with the plague we were all concerned that it wouldn't be safe for them to travel.
Then the decision was taken out of our hands, the airline canceled two legs of the flight.
Now I'm trying to get the flight 'insurance' to fucking pay off. Shitbags.
I don't even feel like trying to write that part up, actually.
I
don't want to talk a lot of shit about someone I don't even know, but
Mason's mom isn't exactly the most welcoming or kind person to my
daughter, which kinda puts her on my feces roster.
Actually, she's not terribly nice to her son, either.
It's awful and makes me angry for them both.
I won't tell you the story, or stories.
They're not mine and it's not fair, that ______ ______ can't defend herself.
(But I'll bet you can fill in the blanks if you've been reading here for any amount of time.)
But I will say that they're going to come here and live with us while they get on their feet.
We've always had help when we needed it and I'm so pleased to be able to offer that help now.
My
daughter is our treasure, therefore the guy she has picked out is
officially family, which means is he is to be accepted, appreciated for
who he is and treated respectfully by us.
I trust my daughter's judgement and Mason will be welcomed as if he's one of our own.
Not
sure when it will happen. We would like to be reasonably certain they
won't get sick 'cause they're traveling and that we won't due to their
arrival. They'll need jobs, too.
So the economy will have to be starting up again.
So here we are, at the tail end of middle age, gaining another kid.
Awe! I love this so much!!! (Do you want MY kid? Seriously? I'm just not so sure I can do it any more)
ReplyDeleteDo I want your kid? Hm. I'm sure you'd be willing to help add another wing to the house, right? :)
DeleteThe only downside is that we'll be four people, one bathroom again. But you know, we did that from 1996 to 2018, so I know we can. :)
I really wish I had a little extra cash, I'd build an ADU or Granny Flat in the yard. Our city allows it (lots of guidelines... but all it takes is money, which of course we don't have)
Love the granny pods! Here they have to be mobile, not permanent. Unless you have enough land, then it just has to be zoned appropriately. My parents had 7.5 acres at one point and wanted to build a small ranch on the back property and *sell* me the cape on the front. Basically we'd have a family compound on the frog pond. :) Town said no SOLELY because it backed up to conservation. Ridiculous.
DeleteJust over the line into the city of Portland they're paying people to BUILD the damn things and rent them out. After a certain period of time, the homeowner is considered to have paid it off and it's all theirs.
DeleteWe love the idea of a family compound, and if things straighten out, that's the plan. Matt and Amy are on board, and I'm sure if we have adequate space, Mason and Lyssa would want to be part of it, too.
:::crossing fingers:::
Worked out well for me in the past. Other factors screwed things up.
ReplyDeleteWe have been in a position of needing help more than once and that help has always been provided, something I appreciate. I feel happy that we will have them here, I miss Lyssa terribly and Mason sounds like a guy with a sense of humor. He's treated her with great respect and she adores him, so we're inclined to appreciate him already. Can't wait to meet him. And Pixel.
DeleteFour people to a bathroom is crowded, but doable. We have thee here. I would be willing to do four if Karen's child or my middle child would come. It's the travelling that's the issue. I have a friend whose children traveled from Utah to Georgia in two days. They only stopped to get fuel. They took bottled water and packets of canned meats with them. They slept in their car. Now they are in the basement for 2 weeks, just to make sure. In the beginning I told myself to not latch on to a date when this would all end. Then I allowed myself to visualize a date, but one well into the future, September or October. Now I want to grab on to the dates that are tossed around so liberally, mid-May or maybe June. But I know that is to presumptive. Too may places where people didn't really isolate. Really, only a hand full of cities where the virus was.
ReplyDeleteI can't imagine a date. I'd like to be done, of course. We're all furloughed from our jobs right now. I have a feeling that many of my co-workers won't be returning 'cause they're dependent on what they earn and need to be working. Lots of 'essential' workers needed now and I'm sure some of them will have permanently left the company. Sad but necessary.
DeleteThe bathroom thing... while the kids were growing up we just tried to be considerate. It's not always easy, but it will work.
If I had a basement, the self-quarantine thing would work. But I really want them to be able to travel safely.
::sigh:::
I know it's a challenge, but how exciting to see your lovely daughter and son-in-law, and have them stay with you while they get back on their feet. Things will work out, they always do. When I grew up, there were four of us and one bathroom, and somehow we managed.
ReplyDeleteI can't wait to see her. I have missed her so very much. I know I've said before that I would never, ever keep my kids from having their next adventure, and I wouldn't. But I won't lie, it's been really hard for me to have her so far away.
DeleteWe are looking forward to meeting Mason, too. He sounds like a great person, and like I said, Lyssa picked him out. So therefore he's part of the family.
Guess I just haven't been around enough to understand all this. But I am glad you will get to see your daughter. Having worked in the travel industry, flight insurance rarely pays out and I hope this time is different.
ReplyDeleteI hate liars, which is all the insurance people can do. I plan to get on the phone tomorrow and tackle it, hate hate hate being on the phone these days. Ugh.
DeleteAnd I'm really happy to be able to have our daughter with us.
I'm sure you'll be happy to see your daughter.
ReplyDeleteI just can't wait. Hope the plague clears up sufficiently to allow it sooner rather than later, but of course we have incompetence in charge. Ugh.
DeleteAww this is so incredibly sweet.
ReplyDeleteI know it will have ups and downs. Adjustments. I'm happy to have them, but so sorry for the necessity. They lost their home and have to start from the beginning again, and it just seems so unfair to me.
DeleteBut I love my daughter so much and I'm so excited to have her home again, for however long she will be here. I hope we can help them get on their feet quickly so they can have their own space.