Looking Ahead

Anna and I traveled to Moscow this past week to visit the University of Idaho and see Seth. His girl “friends” put us up in their apartment and Casey made us supper one night. I can’t express how good it feels to a mother to know her child is surrounded by friends like that – supporting, challenging, ever encouraging.

We visited the Moscow Co-op which carries our meat, had supper at Mickey’s Gyros, and managed to hop on over to Spokane to get Seth a jacket for the FFA convention next week. We visited campus, stopping at a wonderful 2^nd story alcove overlooking the ivy covered mathematics lab. Seth came up with the name “solace room” to describe the area behind a curved wall - a comfy bench beckons young people to sit, gaze across campus and contemplate their future. We had breakfast at Bucer’s, a little coffee house downtown, with creaky floors and yummy quiche. There’s also a wonderful consignment store with tall ceilings and vintage duds where Anna found jeans and Seth a three piece suit for $36.00.  

One favorite evening we walked the paths of the arboretum, a fragrant collection of flora from around the world, ponds, even an old barn. It butts up against a golf course. “Mom have you ever seen a putting green?” The grass is an emerald turf, so tightly shorn it’s hard to believe it’s living plant material. I knelt to run my hand across its bristly texture. I’ve always known grass to be remarkable, but this was amazing!

And then there was the drive. Nine hours each way, with rain pelting us much of the time. The rolling dry farms of the Palouse, the forested ridges along the Clark Fork, the cattle nestled along the grasslands around Deer Lodge and Dillon, all make lustrous viewing. Anna made a playlist for me on her ipod and we whizzed along, her madly reading All Quiet on the Western Front for English, and me, lost in the theme from Forrest Gump or On Golden Pond.  Lots of time to reflect on a life of parenting, and giving thanks for my kids’ individuality - their inspiration, their positivism, the many lessons they teach me. 

Hungry for Spring