Leaving Oz

Wildfire on campus

The phone call from my son, Hethaestus, came early Thursday evening.  "Mom, I thought you should know.  A wildfire started in the hill just above Westmont College.  It's reached campus, so everyone has been evacuated into the gymnasium. The gym is built of cinder-block; it's fire-safe.  I'm at the apartment, so I'm ten miles away, but I can see the glow from here.  Two of my roommates are still on campus, and lots of my friends.  I've been texting them--everybody seems safe."

Farewell to My College-Bound Daughter

She's gone.  I waved goodbye from behind a glass window after she cleared security, pulled her hiking boots back over her "Nightmare before Christmas" socks, and hoisted her carry-on bag onto her shoulder. Then she strolled off to Gate 25 and her future.  It was 6:15am.  My tissues were too soggy to be useful, but the diner where we'd shared breakfast had napkins to spare.  I got home in a fog, fed the cats, put in earplugs against the garbage trucks prowling the neighborhood, and went back to sleep.

Yesterday, she withdrew into herself.  She's an introvert, and gains strength from her alone time, so I wasn't alarmed.  She spent alone time in all her favorite places--our roof, our climbing tree, my room. It seemed that she was steeping herself in these special places one last time.

A Stress Mess: My Problem with Limits

My body decided to hold a protest last weekend.  I didn't get any warning about it's complaints. At least, I didn't catch it before hand.  No,my body decided to just call it quits. Kaput. I-am-no-longer-working-for-you-anymore type of rebellion.

When did my body decide to throw in the towel?  Yep.  Saturday night, right before my kickoff meeting with all the LeavingOz mom writers the next day.  Hubby and I had just returned from our monthly date night out.  I was in seventh heaven. 

As I got ready for bed, I noticed splotches of red bumps appearing all over the front and back of my body! What?! My first thought was, "Okay, it was probably the lamb I ate at that new Afghan place tonight." As another hour passed, the bumps had turned into welts. Itching and burning welts which were swelling up in large masses. HIVES. Okay, now I was really freaking out.