October 22, 2014

Yes, the temperature has dropped, and the forecast warns we could be in for a winter to rival the last one, as far as the cold is concerned. Already the winds of autumn are blowing, and boy, are they nippy. We’ve had rain the last few days, the icy-cold kind of rain that gives us a hint of what is to come. I may or may not have told you, but I consider October to be the first of our six months of winter. October to March inclusive is on average too cold, and too damp. And looking at it that way, by New Year’s Day we are at the halfway point, instead of just a couple of weeks in!

As the winds blow, and the rain falls, what could possibly be better, you might ask, than hopping on a plane and heading to the Caribbean for a week of sun, sand, and surf?

Let me answer that question for you: being the one who inherits the house all to herself when the other one flies south.

Each year, my husband takes our daughter on a week-long trip. It’s his way of saying thank you, because she gets up every day before the butt-crack of dawn and drives him to work. Our “second daughter” does this as well, on the days when she works the early day shift. Last year, she went with them and they all flew to Las Vegas. This year, she couldn’t get away, so it’s just the two of them.

He’d asked our daughter where she wanted to go and she confessed that she would really, really like to take a cruise. To give my beloved credit, he did look into it.

Now, I feel I must digress for just a moment. You see, while Mr. Ashbury and I have been married for forty-two years, we are not the same, in several interesting ways. To demonstrate one, in this case relevant difference between us, allow me to recount an episode that occurred over a decade ago, when our oldest son was getting married.

Our daughter came to me, and, knowing that we would give her brother and his wife a monetary gift, she wanted to know how much that would be. I replied that we were still in negotiations, and as one of us was generous and the other cheap, agreement had not yet been reached.

She laughed, raised her hand, and said, “I know, I know, let me guess which of you is the cheap one,” all the while looking at her father.

He prefers the term, “frugal”.

So, as you can probably infer, my daughter is not going to be taking her first ever cruise this month. I think that is just as well, and I’ve already told her that a cruise is more of a mother-daughter vacation. Instead, my husband was able to get a good package—all inclusive, including air, accommodations, and meals, for a very reasonable price.

They leave this coming Sunday, and will be back the following Sunday and are headed to the Caribbean.

And I, dear friends, I get my house to myself, with no interruptions, no scheduling, no fetching and carrying and I can guarantee you after the initial cleaning as the airport limo drives out sight, very little housework, as well. I have no plans to go anywhere, except perhaps to visit my son and his wife and go to bingo with them one night.

Yes, it is quite possible that I will get just a bit lonely...probably the day before my husband comes home. And that is fine, that is how it should be. That allows me the very best circumstance of all.

I’ll be happy to see him go, and happy to welcome him home.

Love,
Morgan
http://www.morganashbury.com
http://www.bookstrand.com/morgan-ashbury