Linda, thanks for the chuckle! I'll have to remember who I need to DB and when!
Wonder, glad you're back! Can't wait to hear all about your fun in the sun...
I've had a decent day, though I wasn't exactly the life of the graduation/going away party earlier this afternoon. I had to drive to our old neighborhood, which is still sometimes painful for me. The minute I walked through our friends' door, I burst into tears. You could have heard a pin drop, even with about 20 teenagers! Our friends (the parents) did a fantastic job getting me to engage in conversation that put me on a more even keel. Who'd have figured? I ended up having a really good time, even without Mr. Wonderful. I miss them. Good thing the mom and D13 are going to get together with me and my girls in 2 weeks to go to dinner and catch up.
I won't bore you with all the details up to getting D10. On the way to the airport, we had an awkward silence in his truck. I have NO idea why the lull. It wasn't exactly comfortable silence, so I can't write it off as just me. I ended up talking about the friends whose party I had attended earlier...
He said with a weird expression (sort of a smile but forced--not quite sure what that meant), "How does our old house look? Did you drive by?" I found tears welling in my eyes and forced myself to look out the passenger window. I said, "No." He asked why not? I replied, "Because driving by the old house is sometimes painful for me."
We didn't really break the silence until I was at D10's gate, when he called and had a much more cheery disposition.
(I got the escort pass and had the honors of meeting her at the gate.) It was a very happy moment for both of us! We met Mr. W. and D7 at baggage claim and headed out to a nice restaurant--one we had not visited before.
D7 was awful--she was seated next to me and really being a pain. Finally, D10 spoke up and asked her, "Would you like to sit next to Dad?" She nodded yes and they switched places. BTW, our convos before, during and after dinner were like we were any other family.
D10 and I started doing a little parody on Shooter McGavin (from Happy Gilmore) when Mr. Wonderful burst out laughing. We both looked up and saw him grinning from ear to ear and he spoke, "You two are quite a pair. Just watching you makes me smile."
He ended up asking for our opinion on this doofy guy who works for him--someone he said he really struggles to get along with. This coworker had seen another car hit a cat, which was writhing in pain in the street... so he backed up, drove into that lane and ran over the cat once again, killing it.
D10 and I were absolutely horrified and pretty doggone upset. Mr. Wonderful saw our reaction and said, "That's all I needed to know. I really think this guy is an [censored], and seeing what you guys think seals his fate with me. I'm also wondering why he told me that."
He also started filling us in on other more trivial matters....
We got to the house and D10 unloaded her stuff and handed out all the presents, including her gifts to her dad. (I had given him a set of horseshoes earlier with a really swell card with a nice note inside: "You are a WONDERFUL father! Thanks!" I signed it with a heart... He turned around when reading it, so I didn't see his reaction.
When it came time to go, I was fixing some peanut butter/chocolate bars to take to my adopted dad tomorrow. He looked like he really wanted to say something but lost his nerve. It looked on the positive side, though. He finally leaned across the counter and said, "Thank you for the dinner and the horseshoes. It was really a very nice evening. I'll have the girls home tomorrow afternoon sometime."
Whatever he was going to say didn't get said... but I'm not going to punch that button either.
That's it from my neck of the woods.
Betsey
"There are only 2 ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle."
Betsey 
