Whirlwind for a week or two

It’s Sunday night, I understand. We just had supper, and are grateful. Both had mighty slim pickin’s for lunch. Last week a whirlwind. The upcoming week spinning faster.  Today we were dropped into the interviews for Laura’s year abroad.

Saturday generally is peaceful, collected. Some shopping. Some cleaning. Some interesting other stuff. But yesterday I decided, time to bite the bullet, go to the phone store and pay a bazillion dollars to replace Laura’s broken phone.

She dropped it and shattered the top, which she kept together for months with clear packing tape. However, the phone loses charge quickly. Actually, that works well, since the phone lives in my room twelve hours a day, because with absolutely no other diversion, Laura sinks into the phone.

Social media is a siren song, and I bet the worst problem parents deal with. After my last scare, early this summer, when I couldn’t think my way through either of our problems, I simply confiscated her phone twelve hours a day. She gets it from six a.m. to six p.m. I’ve been told it was brilliant. I know it saved both our sanities.

The phone needs replaced, and sooner rather than later. Saturday was the day. I had her research what she wanted. I relinquished my card first to buy out the remainder of her phone. That hurt. The young man came from the stock room with her heart’s desire. Oh, yes, and mine, too, as my old phone is out of contract, and I figured I might as well upgrade to a MotoZ. Oh, yes, and the Hasselblad, too.

Laura’s new phone is like hobnailed boots. Apparently three interlocking cases and a gorilla proof screen protector is the new teenage rage. That plus ten extra dollars a month will prevent future problems. The extra money doesn’t sit well with me, but will replace the phone.

We cleared that store with exactly enough time to drop Laura for her ride to an overnight of Outbounds and Inbounds, at the Rotary Camp. Who knew the Rotary had a camp! It’s on Turkeyfoot Lake in southern Summit County, and it’s lovely. When I was young, and we all know how long ago that was, my parents brought us there for all sorts of picnics.

The Outbounds are going next year. The Inbounds are regular students who spent a year abroad and were there to share their experience. There were some foreign exchange students on hand, too. 

Today was interview day. I’d told Laura she should be thinking of everything she might be asked and how she would answer it. The couple of times I checked in, she seemed quite prepared.

We compared notes on the way home, and found we answered identical questions, different points of view. Our answers were the same, but our chat in the car about homesickness potential put a little twist in my heart. Our answers, essentially, she’s never had a “home sweet home” home. Her answer included “grandma is my home.” Don’t be teary; that just means grandma will be there for her and take care of her.

Ever one to push a point, I asked if any place she’d lived was the place her mind always would come back to, and she said, “Oh, the grey house, now that we have Kay in it.”  That did suck the breath out of me, and I’ve told the universe a hundred and one times now, thank you for sending Kay to buy my house.