a weekend almost gone.....

ok, so it is dark:thirty on sunday night....which means it is time for the endoftheweekend lamentations........that begin and end with all that one had hoped to accomplish.....separated in the middle by the short list of what was started/finished......this weekend started on friday......or at least emotionally so...when my mom and i drove off toward lexington with vague plans of finding the new goodwill on new circle road...new is relative....the checkout clerk recalled opening up in june.......for those who live in the greater lex. area.....it is huge and at the intersection of north limestone and new circle.......but mostly we did what we always do when we have a friday to go shopping.....we went to tuesday morning.....whereupon my mother bought us a santa claus the size of a toddler riding a tricycle......it is outrageous and overthetop.....as santa's go......and then we went to red lobster......and then to the camp dick national cemetery to see my dad.......and about the time i was home and putting things away......andrew showed up...to spend the weekend.......a child home for more than a few hours is more precious than gold to a mamma facing an emptying nest.....and though he spent most of his time writing ......just knowing he was home was satisfying....i read the pilot's wife by anita shreve...i liked it better than the last time they met..the plot was more transparent, but the plot was much more believable.....i felt her horror even when i saw the horror coming......if that makes sense........the rain and the wind successfully brought down the remaining leaves......and so after he left the rest of us raked....it ironic that my mother's yard, which has only one large tree.......and the natural depository for leaves from other yards....i suppose one could map wind patterns and the locations of neighborhood trees and explain it all mathematically.....when one rakes one has the time for such thoughts......the leaves were wet.....or we would have used grandma's electric leaf blower......which brings us to sunday evening......i did take a few minutes after lunch to start jane hamilton's the map of the world which has horrors of its own.....i find it a pleasant, earthy read......one can almost smell the cow manure and hear the crickets on the farm in question......and the main character, alice....she and i have much in common...when one gets down to essentials.........and there is an essence to this woman that i have to admire.......maybe i can pick it back up after dinner and cleaning up....though with the yard work i may just fall asleep into my food....i am faceplant tired at this point......