surprise visits & random thoughts

My mother let me leave a little early this weekend. She took the kids to Comedy City tonight, in a rain storm, and I drove back, with two devil puppies snoozing all the way home. They made plenty of messes on my parents' carpet (that is, Zephyr did) and every time they wrestled, my parents' ancient Madison would start yelping herself hoarse. It was much like living in a dog kennel.


This meant I was able to surprise The Fiance, which is such a lovely tradition in our relationship. I remember when we first started dating--he lived in Milwaukee and I was in the Twin Cities, and that five and a half hour drive was committed by one of us every weekend but one (and two times we surprised each other). I had found a ride to Green Bay from some random college kid and borrowed my parents' car and parked it in a friend's garage and waited in the apartment of said friend across the street... I had another friend cajole him into coming across, which he was very reluctant to do, as he can be borderline hermit, and when he spotted me on the balcony, he jumped, and later swore he thought he was seeing things.

This time, I just called him on the phone and barraged him with strange questions and finally let the dogs into the yard and said I had two more: "Do you miss me terribly?" and "Will you help me bring things in?" This last one didn't go as smoothly as I expected because he said, "It depends on when you arrive tomorrow." I was expecting him to get it then, but I'll forgive him this one time.

Especially since he didn't mind that I ruined one of his white t shirts when I stuck my own head through the head hole to give him a kiss. This, I am sure, was a strange little picture, with our dogs leaping like circus clowns, and a two headed monster, sloshing a glass of wine about, the sprinkler filling the dog pool to overflowing.


Lucky things: going home a day early, having a mother who is an immensely talented seamstress and team teacher, wishing your Grandmother a happy birthday and wishing you could be there with her to celebrate but being so glad she is in your life, a fiance who holds you with such talent you swear the world disappears, finding two blank notebooks for writing poetry in, a copy of Autobiography of Red just waiting at the bookstore for you (you didn't want to read the library version anyway), taking a picture of a butterfly so close you could reach out and hold it in the cup of your hands, finding a patch of clover on the Saint Norbert campus as you sit down in the shade.


I've decided that my disconnect last week directly correlated to my overzealous napping I've been doing recently. I know bone-healing is a lot of work, as is teaching turbo-smart kids many hours a day, and I fully recognize that Penelope and Zephyr like to lick and whine and beat at the bars of their kennel (that's just the untrustable Zephyr in the kennel; Penelope graduated long ago, though the glasses incident makes me second guess my princess thoughts about her) when the sun comes up, but this napping must stop.


Today I had my ninth (tenth?) medical appointment since February. Again with the x-rays, only these didn't make me writhe in pain, and the technician was much more gentle. I wore this strange skirt around my stomach, in case I was pregnant (I promised her, with my mood swings this week, it was impossible, but she wanted me to make the fashion statement anyway). It turns out I am healing well, could take off the brace as soon as I was ready (I popped it over my head just as he was finishing his sentence, which made him laugh), should be fully healed in three to four weeks (I still can't straighten it all the way and certain movements make me double over, reminding me that I did indeed take a face plant nearly two weeks ago), and indeed, I can probably go zip lining on my honeymoon (dang! ... I mean, yay!).



As many of you already know, my mother is making my wedding dress, which definitely makes her a superhero in my eyes, especially as the date is just over a month away. She made a "rough draft" (as she called it), and while I felt grumpily rotund, it was pretty amazing to see that muslin train behind me. (It didn't help that our EA [Educational Assistant] asked, "Is Chelsea big too?" to my mother yesterday. She doesn't have a tact filter; I don't think she is intentionally mean, though it did sting a bit.)

She's making the dress as one generally makes wedding dresses--a Frankenstein's monster of patterns, taking a ruche here, a train there, a sweetheart neckline, or maybe some cap sleeves there. It's such a blessing to receive this gift. (Now, if only I could feel as beautiful as the dress will be...)


And after I took this week's picture at my sister blog, I turned around to my adorable little posse, looking back at me. I love that Zephyr offered to take the wheel; he is kindly making up for his quirky appetite.