role changing

sunrise:  5:35

Yesterday I stopped in New Haven to say good-bye to my oldest daughter.  Today she leaves for a 30 hour drive across the country to Colorado, where she'll be working for Americorps for a year.  It is comforting that her sister agreed to drive as far as Kansas City with her (found a cheap flight home), so she won't be making the entire trip alone.

I feel the sands of time trickling through my fingers.  Less than 3 weeks to T's departure for college, and yesterday I had a first time experience.  One of A's last jobs before leaving town was to take care of some health updates for her 2 cats, who are not making the trip to Colorado.  I stood in a veterinarian's office for the first time as "mother of owner." 

A couple of times the staff at the animal hospital looked to me as though I might have some responsibility here, but I stood aside.  My daughter was the grown up in charge. 

It was weird.  I still have one foot in the world of "Mom, authority figure," but another foot is already in the next iteration of the Mom world: "visiting helper."  I am a cat grandmother, one might say.

Not all bad, considering the fact that one anxiety ridden feline friend lost his poop all over the car carrier on the way to the vet.  When the smell in the examining room got to be too much and my allergies began to kick in, I just left!  Luxury.

Still.  Weird.

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The pond is at its least attractive in late summer with the algae in full bloom, but the ducks don't seem to mind.  I got a good look at mama mallard through my new 50th birthday present birding binoculars.  It was kind of nice for my family to get me used to thinking of myself as 50 a few weeks early.  When the actual day arrives, it will be like an afterthought:  Oh yeah!  I thought I turned 50 a long time ago!

In spite of the heavy appearance of fog, I could see that it was only a thin veil over the blue of the sky straight overhead.  It should be a nice day.