Last Days in Moscow

Two full days left.

Right  now, Dad is on his way; driving from Wenatchee. Uncle Dave and Aunt Janeen are coming down this morning from Sandpoint. Leah got here from Portland on Wednesday. We are going to have a full house here at 489 Paradise Dr. It's perfect to have a full house of family to welcome in Spring, celebrate life, and just be together.

Funny how many little things there are to take care of before leaving on a trip. You'd think that having done my fair share of traveling, I'd have become somewhat knowledgeable in this process. Things like canceling phone plans. Things like money belts. Things like sunscreen. But I'm proud to report that for this up and coming trip to Mexico- I've been more organized than ever. I even made a budget. I know...

I am leaving Moscow on Sunday morning with Leah for Portland. We will get three days together there before I head for Mexico City on Wednesday morning. I am starting to get real excited about a traveling adventure, learning Spanish, eating great food, and doing some traveling, really, for the first time on my own. The plan is to spend my first night with Leah's boyfriend Gabe's family in Mexico City. I'll be with his Granny- who I hear is a complete spitfire. And it sounds like I am timing things just right because the whole family is having some kind of big get-together the night I get in. Good food. Big Mexican family. Gonna be great.

Speaking of good food, big family- Granny and Gramps are running around this morning preparing for the arrival of our guests. Grandpa is so cute with how he likes to have all of the meals planned out. He's putting a roast in for dinner tonight. We're having crepes for breakfast tomorrow morning. He's heading out the door to go pick up some extra fruit from Winco as we speak. Granny is sweeping the floor in the kitchen with her curlers in. She's looking good- had good night's sleep. It's so easy to tell with her if she slept well or not. And typically, as it is with all of us, when she sleeps well she does well. Plus, she LOVES having family together. Although, I can tell that she gets anxious when she knows that she's going to have to be "on" with friends, with family, she seems to just be a little happier and a little better. Who knows though? Granny's moods have always been a bit like the weather.

Regardless of all that is up the in air for me- I am proud to say, that it seems, in some small way that I have helped by being here. Grandma's weight has stabilized and she's slowly adapted to a healthier, diabetic eating rhythm. No small task for the ostensibly impenetrable wall of stubbornness that has defined Mary Nell Braun for so long.  I'm wise enough to know that Mary Nell doesn't do ANYTHING that she doesn't want to, but I think, ironically, my own stubbornness helped eventually convince her. I am definitely my Grandmother's Grandson.

I have been super emotional these last weeks. Having months of waiting for the final word on Grad school; appreciating all that has gone into the realization of this dream for me; fully realizing just how important and necessary Grandma and Grandpa have been for me during this time; and trying to make my peace with Grandma's death- I have been like a guest on Oprah. I think I have cried more in the last few weeks than I have in the last 6 years. I think the body pretty much always forces us to confront our emotional and spiritual realities eventually. That's a really smart evolutionary mechanism. Plus it feel so damn good to cry. For the first time in a long time, I feel like I am simply able to just experience the more powerful emotions and simply let the tears come. Nice.

Granny is sitting here next to me at the kitchen counter writing belated Easter greeting cards. And I am sitting here appreciating one more time just how unique, bizarre, scattered, and ultimately thoughtful and caring her correspondence was, is, and always will be. She has written more letters, notes, and postcards than anyone I know. And the fact that she started writing something in 1996 and found in yesterday has never stopped her from sending it. I love that. She just loves making people feel a little more loved. She's a connector. I can't wait to get more of her letters.

Well, Spring is finally here for real. We've got a vase of daffodils sitting right here on the counter with us. The hyacinths are on the sill by the kitchen window. And the rolling hills of the Palouse are showing their lush green colors. There's something so magical, deep, and moving about Spring.

Spring comes not when it is wanted-

But when needed.

She reminds us:

Lightness comes from Darkness-

Life from Death.

She teaches us:

Water, sun, and patience-

Provide.

Heed the ancient call:

We are one.

Spring comes not when it is wanted-

But when needed.

or said another way:

Spring is life.

Life is a garden...

So DIG it.