Chapters

Another parental chapter closing.  My Mom told me years ago that motherhood never ends.  Ever. 

She is right.

Daughter Gillian has packed up all her worldly possessions.  Some, she has packed into her car.  (Hurrah!)  Some, she packed into our closets, and our outbuildings.  And some, she packed off to Goodwill. (Hurrah!)

This afternoon, she and I went out to her car, ready to say our goodbyes.  She is off!  Her birthday is tomorrow, but we have been celebrating 26 years all weekend long.  I hugged her, cried my maternal boo-hoo into her shoulder (she is taller than I), and she hopped into her car for parts east: Cape Cod!  This is very exciting, and I love that she embraces a sense of adventure. 

But, wait.  Her car made a terrible noise.  Terrible, outlandish noise.  I called to her, Give it some gas!  She did.  Awful sound.  I yelled, Shut it off!  She did.  But...

...it did not turn off.  The !^!*#%I*! kept going!  No gas, no key in the ignition: Holy Mackeral!  It must be possessed!

I turned to her, calmly.  "I guess you should take the Trailblazer."

Our extra car - who in the world knows why, but yes, we have an extra, and yes, there have been more than a few instances when this pretty-good-car has really bailed out our family.  So!  The Trailblazer is off to Seafood and Cranberry Land.  For the time being.

And this evening, that Spouse o' Mine and I looked at each other, and sort of smiled.  It was not a happy, gleeful smile.

It was a sort of coming-of-age acknowledgement: Empty Nest, more and more...