A great Mother’s Day week

A younger Kid Billy, now 23

 

by Pat Laster

Early during Mother's Day week, Amazon sent word that Florida son Gordon had honored me with a gift card. That Friday, Hot Springs son Eric came over and --for his (requested) Mother's Day gift--worked in the north yard cutting down and apart the huge branch of the hackberry that had peeled off and lain in the yard for a couple of months. All the while--till about 1:30--I worked alongside him pulling branches to a new brush pile beside Couchwood Dr., clipping the ubiquitous privet, honeysuckle and sawbriars (with scratches on my left hand to prove it--I eschew gloves), then weed-eating around the area.

             E. took his chain saw later and cut (to the ground) the stand of privet, a wild cherry and hickory (alas) sapling that attached (in looks) to the giant tree. Wonder how long it's been since anyone attended to that mess. (My brother said later, "Probably 30 years.") I left the yellowbell and the spirea, of course. Still more privet among the yellowbell, but I'll take care of that myself--with such a good start as was made that day. I took pictures but it will take a while to get them online.

Billy came home overnight Friday to pick up his birth certificate. He's moving from the (expensive) on-campus-but-contracted-out apartments to an apartment out in town with a friend and the friend's girlfriend. At 23, he's old enough to decide--and the rent is only $260 a month.

He'll take summer classes again. Next fall will be the beginning of his 6th year. His trumpet advisor laughingly said at the last choral concert, "Yeah, we're gonna give Billy tenure."

I told someone I didn't care what he learned or didn't learn, I'm just proud of his musical training/experience. You wouldn't believe how still he can stand without moving anything but his mouth (and vocal apparatus) and one hand to turn pages and his eyes to move back and forth (without moving his head) to watch the director/music. So proud!

And if those weren’t blessings enough, former middle-school-choir student, former church-choir member and present friend, James, came by Friday night since his wife was at choir rehearsal. We caught up on Chamber Singers, River City Men’s Chorus, St. James UMC (where he now attends) and his family doings. He told of attending a “contemporary” funeral of a relative where the mood was celebratory in the most vibrant sense of the word. The only tears he noticed were from the deceased’s mother and one other relative. Guitars, drums, vocals, praise and worship—you name it, he said.

            Saturday night, daughter Annamarie took me to dinner at Casa Americana. Afterwards, we ate yogurt from a shop across the parking lot. Two journals and two cards added to the evening.  

Cards came from the other two children-grandchildren-in-laws.

Lucky, lucky me.