I don’t know what has happened to my “write everyday” commitment, but I guess I should cut myself some slack.

Last week found us in Boulder, Colorado for Joe’s graduation from University of Colorado.  He is now a Forever Buff.  It made me kind of sad – I’ve really enjoyed the times I’ve gotten to visit him there and he’s totally enjoyed the college experience.  The graduation was rather chilly – the day after we arrived it was gorgeous – 70 degrees and sunny; by graduation morning it was hovering around 40 degrees and overcast.  Fortunately there was no rain but I ended up having to purchase a CU hooded sweatshirt.  This is the second time I have walked away from Orange County without packing a jacket.  Duh.

The weekend was not without its fodder for future dinner table memories.  There was a mixup with Jeff’s flight to Denver.  He was coming to the graduation and then leaving directly from Denver to head to Italy for his summer session there and subsequent float trip around Europe.  Apparently the flight we booked for Wednesday conflicted with his final final, and in all the confusion we never changed the flight to Thursday.  No problem, Jeff was game for driving from Kansas – a mere 8 hour drive.

Unfortunately, his trusty Honda Civic had other ideas.  It dropped dead right smack dab in the middle of Kansas, a few miles out of Wakeeney, KS. (I”ll wait while you locate it on a map…).  He sat by the side of the road for awhile, and we also discovered that our AAA no longer covered him because we had to switch to the SoCal franchise, which had different rules, i.e. over 21 he had to have his own.  While Al was researching all that the state troopers came to his aid and he ended up getting towed to Wakeeney.  In the meantime I made a reservation for him at the Wakeeney Econolodge.  The next day we went to graduation and then Al and I took off for the five-hour-one-way journey to fetch our son, when the diagnosis came in that the car was dead dead dead.  After checking out of the Econolodge he did a warmup for Italy by hanging out with the locals at Twisters II Bar and Grill, playing pool and enjoying a few beers.  When we arrived we met his new friends and along with him thanked them for their hospitality.  We got his stuff out of the trunk of his car and took off the license plates. In Wakeeney, Kansas, if you arrive after the garage closes you simply call the owner and he happily comes over to help you out.  And he estimates the salvage company will give him $100 for the car which covers the tow so we’re all even.  Rational thought still exists in America.  Too bad you have to go to a tiny town in the middle of Kansas to find it.

Jeff is now in Italy, his dorm room facing the Italian Alps and the architecture reminding me of my beloved San Damiano Retreat House in Danville, CA, which of course is Franciscan and reminiscent of San Damiano in Assisi, Italy.  His tale of his journey there (after Wakeeney, that is, which is considered the start of his experience!) was classic – fourteen hours on a plane to Frankfurt, meeting up with other students headed to the same place, hanging out in Frankfurt for five hours to catch connection to Venice. Arriving in Venice just a tad too late for the first train to Paderno, Italy (an hour northeast of Milan), so they cooled their heels for another two hours, arriving in Paderno at about 10:30 p.m.   Apparently they messed around trying to figure out how to buy a bus ticket to the train station in Venice and finally asked someone who was getting on the bus and he looked at them like they were crazy and said “You just get on the bus.”  So Italy – tickets machines to buy tickets?  Only there for show, really.  You just get on the bus.  And ride it.  And  never need a ticket.

Mom always tells the story of when she and Dad were in Italy years ago.  Apparently there was a big deal in the papers because it had been discovered that the Italian postal service had gotten overwhelmed, essentially three months behind in sorting and delivering mail, and so they decided to dump it in the river.  Even the laid back Italians were not happy about this as the mail included things like checks and bills and other important stuff.

Anyway, I can’t believe my son flew halfway around the world and is hanging out in Europe for the next 12 weeks.  I join the millions of mothers over the years who have held their breath when their offspring make that journey.  These days, though, we have iPhones with FaceTime – which is like Skype only on your phone.  I asked him to please be kind and know that it is normal for a mom to worry or at least think about a travelling son all the time; he FaceTimed me this morning.  As school ends and he begins the backpacking part of his trip those calls will be spotty, but it’s nice to know I can see his face…growing more mature as the weeks pass, I am sure.

The final news item: the house in Lafayette went on the market about ten days ago and we have an offer and a backup offer.  The stress level around here has been cut in half with this development.  In another month or so we should be back to one monthly housing payment instead of two.

We will start going to open houses in various areas around here and will take our time deciding where to live.  Ed the Dog is curled up tightly next to me and has quit marking his territory in the house.  The Lakers and Oklahoma are in the last 5.7 seconds of game two aaand….Lakers lose!  Uh, no, I’ll never go to the dark side – Lakers or Dodgers – no matter how long I live here.