Whirlwind

What a weekend!  Where do I start?  Let' see.....well, Friday I took the night off work so Walker and I could go car shopping.  I bought my last two cars in Minnesota, and while I haven't had any major issues with either car the laws in Minnesota favor sellers rather than buyers if there is a dispute.  So I decided to start my search on the other side of the river this time around.  I met a dealer who tracked down the exact car I was looking for, right down to the color.  While I'm a little sad to see my convertible go, that car is twelve years old and it doesn't work well for my life right now.  My mom has a hard time getting in and out of it, and the kids I haul around aren't fitting too well in the small back seat these days. It's time, I think, to try something new. I pick my new car up on Thursday.

The car place was about an hours' drive from home, so by the time we got back Diva was home from school and Bro was home from work.  We picked up a pizza to celebrate Bro's big news:  he bought a house!  There are some contingencies that need to be met, so it will be awhile before he moves out, but he seems pretty excited to be getting on with his life.  I get to help my nephews decorate their rooms.  I'm looking forward to that, to having a project to work with them on and to helping make the rooms feel like home for them.

Diva's dad had some big news, too.  He's getting married.  Again.  This will be number four.  Sigh. Diva seems to like this one a lot more than her last step mother.  I was hoping my big brother would stay single for a while, maybe figure out why he's so.....matrimonally challenged, but to each his own, I guess.  I wish them happiness.

On Saturday my mom rented a booth at the local flea market and I got up before dawn to help her set it up.  The problem with working nights is, when I take a night off and go to bed at a normal time, my body doesn't want to shut down. I went to bed Friday night at eleven, a good six hours earlier than normal.  I fell right to sleep, too, but then, around 1:30, I woke up bright eyed and totally refreshed.  My body must have thought I was just having a nap.  Anyway, I wasn't able to get back to sleep so by the time the flea market was over and we packed up our stuff, I was pretty dang tired.  I went back to bed after we unloaded all the stuff. 

The flea market was a lot of fun.  We found some blue jeans and hand painted sneakers for Diva, and I picked up a pile of jigsaw puzzles for five bucks.  My family goes through puzzles pretty quickly, so when I find a deal on them  I snap them up.  We already made the one we thought would be the most difficult:  a pile of pink ballet shoes. It was pretty challenging but my mom and I had it together in less than a day.

On Sunday Walker and I took Diva out to breakfast, then we came home and watch the September 11th coverage on the news.  They were showing the footage from that day, starting when they still thought it was an accident after the plane hit the first tower.  I didn't know this, but Walker had never seen the footage.  I'm not sure how that is possible, unless he lived under a rock before I came along, but his shock at seeing the second plane hit the second tower brought back a lot of the emotion from that day.  It was like seeing it for the first time all over again. Of course, he really was seeing it for the first time.  I guess it's true that a picture is worth a thousand words. He knew what happened but seeing it was horrifying.

Which brings me to my final thought:  it's a little late, but then, I guess it's never too late to express gratitude.  I am grateful for our service men and women, and their families.  I'm grateful for the police and firefighters, and the medical professionals who put aside everything else when a crisis looms. I'm proud to be an American, proud to fly my flag, proud of the resilience of our people.  May we never forget the horror of that day, and may we continue to work for peace.