I really shouldn't post at 2 AM...

but when Bob's sawing logs and sleep is elusive...

you'd think, after the day I had yesterday, I'd be solidly out as well. Thea's home, for a couple of weeks, and it happened as usual in my life, by the seat of my pants...

see, she's just finished exams, has two weeks off until her summer classes begin. she's completing her GE classes at the JC this summer's break, and we weren't supposed to see her until the beginning of August for only two paltry weeks...

then, yesterday, as she and I were chatting, it hits us... I could just go collect her for the next fourteen days...

and that's what I did. Bud unfortunately has his exams this coming week, so he's stuck north. sigh... but at least for the next fortnight, I have 2/3 of my brood under one roof!

it was a lot of driving, yes, that's true. fast driving, once I cleared Fairfield, in which Thea and I decided last night upon returning to the Bay Area, that EVERYONE in California lives in Fairfield (some bizarre Bermuda Triangle of clogged motorway that is nearly always slower than snot!), and not only do they all live in Fairfield, they all live there IN THEIR CARS, making for sluggish driving conditions...

because the run-up to the Benecia Bridge was also a haven for everyone under the sun, once I had taken the I-505 exit, it was time for some speed. not sure if one can be given a ticket long after the fact, but while the posted speed limit on I-505 and I-5 is 70 MPH, I was doing WELL over that, and made it to my offspring's flat in a goodly time, letting the tunes carry me there...

we had dinner (it was 4 PM by the time I arrived, a late start indeed!) and I got a latte, so I'd be good to get us back home. then petrol, as the car was nearing empty, followed by frozen yogurt, of course. places were DEAD, which seemed strange, in that finals were only over on Friday, and graduation still takes place later this morning. but there was no one at Jon and Bon's, the yogurt shop eerily quiet, only a few at pizza, roads strangely smooth for the time of day.

maybe everyone really was in Fairfield...

and now, for the next 13 days, I have two daughters at home, something that thrills me to my toes. Thea had expressed her anxiousness for finals to be DONE, but hadn't really lamented not getting home, aware this summer would see her busy with film and geography classes. then yesterday, as she was getting ready to get to the store for some food (as she'd been too busy studying for finals to grocery shop!) it was a light, hitting us both...

well, why don't I just pop up there (as much as a three hour drive is popping anywhere...) and bring you home?

yes, she still doesn't drive, a skill/pastime/ability of which I am rather fond...

with 3/4 of a petrol tank waiting in my car, off I went, tea in a travel mug and Birkenstocks in the back seat. I have to wear trainers for long drives, but it was going to be warm up north, and once I was at their place, off came the shoes and socks, feet slipped into comfy Arizona birks. I've had this particular pair for AGES, this style my favourite. a pretty magenta suede, and they stayed on my feet, even for the drive home. which was NOT overly fast, well, at least not until I sailed back over the Benecia Bridge, daughter in tow.

it's odd, having one's grown children at home. Thea's 20, and the last time she was here, back in March, I was busy writing Alvin's Farm. this short holiday will only see some editing in the AM, while she's sleeping, then time for the two of us. I was also writing in January, when she was hanging out over the Christmas break; poor duck, seems I'm always writing when she's home. right now it's a slow period, in between novels, end of the contest, beginning of summer. a very good time to pluck an eldest child from her college domicile, and let her have a few weeks of R&R, cooking what she likes (she's great with soups in addition to other things!) while I simply enjoy her presence.

these children; they grow too fast, are here, then gone. wasn't I just a little over her age, having three kids in four years? where does the time go?

(I know... lost while stuck in traffic in Fairfield, California....)