Hello, Goodbye (Gabrielle)
I have started this post three times now. I seem to be having trouble figuring out what I want to say. I want to say something about how I was glad to be gone and I was glad to come back. I want to say something about how things at home look fresh now that I’ve been gone for a time. But mostly I want to talk about how I forgot where my plant was.
Yesterday I realized I should probably water my plant. But then I couldn’t find it. My room is not that big and I had somehow lost a three foot high palm tree. I spun in place and searched, but the plant was no where to be found. I finally found Nigel right where I had left him, but I realized that I was so used to seeing him there I was looking right over him. I went into my room to get my space heater for the children and I couldn’t find it. Turns out I had been stepping around it and looking around it for so long that I couldn’t stop when I wanted to find it. This is what it felt like to be gone.
There are so many things assume. Being away from them, but still assuming them made me realize what wasn’t where I thought it was. We ran out of something early last week and Crystal’s first thought was “Maybe the Lansberry’s have some.” Then she laughed at herself because they don’t have Lansberrys in Erie. They are Lansberry-less. At first I wasn’t sure I could function Lansberry-less, but with a little practice I found I did just fine. But I missed them. They are such a part of my life it felt odd to be without them. I tend to overlook how special it is that they live down the street because them being down the street has become part of the landscape. Being away for a time brought them into focus and made me appreciate them.
On Tuesday my sisters took me out for an early birthday celebration. We went to Grasshoppers, a hippy boutique, and then we were going to get some refreshment of some kind. My first thought was “We could go to One World.” But alas, they have no One World in Erie. Now, I’m not trying to equate our dear friends the Lansberrys who have stood with us through thick and thin with a nifty restaurant much as I do enjoy One World. Those were just the two things that came to mind that I would reach for and be surprised when I realized they weren’t there.
So, I’m glad I was gone for a time. And I’m glad I’m back. And I’m glad I found my plant; he really needed some water.