SIMPLY SUNDAY

What an interesting day it has been! Of course I love Sundays--- having gone to Mass on Saturday evening, we can sleep in, have a leisurely breakfast, enjoy each other.

And today, though rainy, we were grateful it wasn't snowing.

This afternoon we went up to Newburyport to visit Jack's daughter Debbie & her husband Patrick, so he could get his "Maria fix" and spend some time with his granddaughter, the apple of his eye and the sunshine of his life.

Debbie and I talked at length about her job and how she's proceeding through school, and she thinks she'll be able to take her registered nursing boards this summer! We also talked about what I'm looking for in a job, and about her networks, which she's going to get into and see what's available that may be suitable for me.

It really was a very good visit!



This evening we went to Salem for supper with my son Carl and his wife Melissa. We had a tasty and nutritious sweet potato gumbo with french bread. We had general conversation, and then got into some weighty family matters. Discussion was about how things might be should they buy a house and have Carl's dad live with them, however that may work out--- separate space somehow in a single family or separate apartment in a multi-family--- or if we were to buy property with them, how would it be if Carl's dad came to visit. And not just the housing matter was discussed, but holidays, and other times in the future when they have children which Mark (Carl's dad) and I will be grand-parents together for.

This was going over some painful ground for me--- I haven't seen Mark for five years, and that was at their wedding. He was extremely hostile to me then, and inclined to the kind of behavior that had the Pastor talking to his brothers and asking them to take him outside for awhile....

I had written him at one time, acknowledging specifically many things I did and ways in which I contributed to the failure of our marriage, and asked his forgiveness... he wrote back, refusing, stating he would never forgive me as long as he lived, and that "from this time forth from me you'll have only silence"....

Painful....

Necessary though. We'd never all spoke together so frankly. And I'm sure we'll do so again, as they make their plans and we go through life together.

Family matters!

All in all, a full day.