Anybody who has ever been a college student knows that college life has its own unique version of stress. It's definitely not the real everyday world - not regular everyday stress - but it's different and it can produce a lot of pressure. Combine that truth with the kind of genes that my girls have inherited from me and BOOM! you get meltdowns! On Friday when Laura Beth brought me back to Auburn, Kate was honest, yet kind, telling us that school was building up in the pressure area - several tests and papers, etc due this week. I felt for her and we helped her navigate thru weekend game traffic by dropping her off at places and circling the block - that eliminated her having to find parking places - so she was able to get several tasks done - we had a really good Friday middday with each other and all parted company - Sarah back to her fine arts world, Kate to Toomers to study, Laura Beth and Ada back to McDonough - and Elizabeth hightailing it back to Scottsboro - beebopping down the road (or up the road) in the Corolla - which is driving great by the way - since Steve nearly killed himself in it when the tires blew out - but we have really nice tires on it now and it drives great - really!
Saturday morning - Charlie and I whistling in the dark - loving the Saturday - farmers market - anticipation of the evening game events on TV - and the phone rings - we were in the middle of moving heavy things out of the art studio so I can resume my project of the makeover I'm giving the art studio. I heard it from outside and ran in to get the phone. Sad Sad - poor Kate was losing it - and who could blame her? Her computer had completely crashed! College students cannot have a computer crash and go on with their lives - it can't be done. Kate didn't have time for anything, not a smidgen of anything extra, and certainly not the crashing of a computer.....because besides all the school work, she is a semi-wedding director person for a friends wedding next weekend. There was so much on her computer regarding that and all the emailing with folks - not to mention that her cell phone is "limping" - it's working but not very well - communicating with her on the phone is a bit challenging. Chunks of sentences are not heard. One has to fill in some of the blanks.
Bottom line? I knew that this MOM needed to head to Auburn on that very day and do a bit of 911 rescue and recovery - Kate just needed a personal assistant and that would be her Mom. She also needed a new computer. And that isn't a problem since they give those away for free at Best Buy..... :-) ....... just kidding of course. So - we had several phone calls back and forth - Kate borrowed Sarah's laptop for the afternoon - I did a bit of this and that and drove out of Scottsboro by 2:30 pm on Saturday - yesterday - and came straight to Kate's house at 6:00 - hearing the noise in the stadium - where Auburn was off to a good start playing Kentucky - but I understand that it didn't end well - oh well - not my problem - we were at Best Buy soon after my arrival (wanting to get that done before the exiting traffic began) and we got Kate her new laptop - amazing how empty Best Buy is in Auburn, AL during a football game. We grabbed some food at Zaxby's and a movie at a Red Box machine and got back to Kate's house for a cozy evening watching what I would call a wonderful movie - Kate was pretty much playing with her new computer....The name of the movie is "An Old Fashioned Thanksgiving" .... It was a random one that Kate picked out and she was putting disclaimers all over it - but it looked clean and good and cozy and was based on a Louisa May Alcott short story. I loved it!!! Photography was beautiful and it had a hint of Little Women to it.
Kate's church is a new one here in Auburn - and meets at 5:30 pm - It's a "spin off " from the one she's attended these four years in Auburn - Anyway - we're not at church this morning - I've already cloroxed, lysoled her bathroom for her - since I'm not a very late sleeper - neither is she, actually - I just thought - with all the stress - nothing like a clean clean bathroom as a picker upper - Right?
Oh - last night at 11:00 I asked, "What time is it?" and that's when Kate told me, "11:00". I was wowed! No wonder I was so sleepy - I was headed for bed - Kate was headed for Sarah's - where her buds were gathered after the losing game - College Life - no boundaries on time - etc - in the evening - and I said, as a Mother is prone to do, "No wonder ya'll are so tired - you stay out so late!". Kate agreed and left for Sarah's. I just begged her to remember to lock the door and she did and I do remember her coming in but it was a brief moment for me - I slept so good. This morning she told me she came in at 1:00.
Anyway - plan is to take care of the cell phone this afternoon - have no idea what that will entail - maybe a new cell phone. I'm just so grateful that money grows on trees. We have a money tree and we just go out and pick money off of it. One has to appreciate my synical sarcasm. I'm just kidding.
Anyway - this house Kate lives in is really really comfortable and nice - she has the sweetest roommate who has the sweetest parents and it's a very loving environment - I say her parents because I feel their touch all over the house - little extras and they are down here more often than we are - very nurturing place - I love it - but her sweet roommate happens to be gone for the weekend.
Okay - I've gotta close this - but I have a very unique story to tell on my post - I was working on it yesterday when the crisis hit - it has to do with family tree situations - and I was telling Kate the story last night which prompted her to rent that movie - but the story is all in my brain - and I will put that post together when I get back to Scottsboro. I'll probably return tomorrow, but maybe tonight -
One sad thing - our church is having a Fall Family Festival out at Mike and Mary Brattons gorgeous home - well it's an outside thing and I've really looked forward to it - so I'll be missing that today - lots of pumpkins and hayride stuff and hotdogs and desserts and coziness and warmth in the midst of some cool weather. But any Mom would much rather get to her little girl and help, if at all possible, and then her heart can relax a bit
I did grab a lot of my cd's that I seldom listen to - yesterday I grabbed them - because the Corolla radio is awful - but the CD player does work. Normally I listen to Tim Keller going down the road - but I was in the mood for music. I have a lot of old classic stuff - as in rock and also classical music. I listened to an entire Tony Bennett cd, a Linda Ronstadt cd, a Louis Armstrong cd, a Vittorio(romantic opera voice) cd, and finished up with Bach. On the Linda Ronstadt cd I sang along with her - very loud - and I had her turned up very loud - Linda and I were singing so loud together going down Highway 77 through southwest Alabama - that I missed a phone call from Laura Beth on my cell phone. I sheepishly called her right back and explained that Linda and I were doing a number together and got a little loud.
Okay - that's all - and I'll be a Scottsboro lady again by tomorrow probably and certainly Tuesday.
2 comments:
oh man, the thought of leaving my house at 11:00 at night sounds like torture. But not so long ago I was keeping the same hours. It's just the way it goes. But these days, I am wishing for bed around 9 pm!!
could you pick some of that money off of the tree and get me a lap top while you're at it;)
ms rhodes i can just hear you saying all these things- so funny- i love to hear these stories from "mom's" perspective... hope you are back in s'boro safe and sound ;) thanks for sharing your day!
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