angst abated.......

ok, so......the meanest mamma around has been in a decided funk since christmas....when an untranslated letter turned up in amongst papers that were being sorted.....a letter from my cousin in lambsheim...the one we visited on our grand roots tour.......and when my eldest read it out to me with his college acquired skills...i was horrified....that he was saddened that we(read this as I) had not kept up correspondence and if he did not hear from us he would assume that something was terribly wrong.....and well...you know the rest...the letter was dated more than a year ago.....more than 2 years ago......and it must have come when my life was in flux....and when i had nobody to translate......and it was set aside and then forgotten.....i have been in a state of semi-despair since andrew read the letter aloud.....and that moment comes back to me at times when i am otherwise self-flagelating.......and then i walked out to the road to get the mail this evening....to find not just a letter from lambsheim...but a 50th birthday card.....omg......andrew must certainly have written to let them know that i am feeble and forgetful......the contents of the envelope...both card and letter are auf deutsch.......so i will have to wait for my eldest to translate again.........regardless.....i am overjoyed that we have repaired the breech......and that my old-world relations do not think ill of me.......life is good.....well, except for the turning fifty part......but turning 50 is better than the alternative.......