A House Isn't a Home..

Mama finally arrived yesterday evening for a visit! She made the trip in 11 hours and I'm very proud of her, although I wasn't expecting her that early. I managed to clean up a bit and get ingredients into the bread machine for homemade honey-wheat bread. We had a nice evening.. just sat in the air conditioning and chatted. When it got cooler we brought her stuff in and she had brought me some lamps, which I very much needed. One in particular was gorgeous! She is going to help me move my dressers from the bedroom into the sunroom and the rolltop desk into the bedroom from the sunroom, and I want this lamp to go on the desk. Its hard to describe, but it's got the arm that kind of goes out to the side and curves and dips; then, the shade itself is white milk-glass ceramic with lovely thin strands of white beads hanging down.

The bread wasn't ready until bedtime, but it was worth the wait....it was one of the best loaves I've ever made. Thick and very, very moist and good flavor. And this morning, Mama got up and sliced some for me and buttered it and peeled me an orange so I would have breakfast to bring!

I know to some that isn't a big deal.. it is in fact just expected. But to me, it brings me so much pleasure. My mother was always loving and took good care of us. But she suffered from horrible depression when I was little, and back then there was no cure - no medicines, no therapy. It was hard to deal with. I had to do my own laundry as a third grader, if I needed clean clothes. I learned to cook early and to shop for food. Regardless, I still had a wonderful upbringing and she wasn't like that all of the time. It is still a bit amazing and nice to see her doing so well, and able to do so much - that's why a little thing like what she did means so much to me. I'm so happy she's here and I hate that I have to be at work. I'm going to try to get Friday off, though.

Another thing.. even though when she'd brought in all her stuff the house was crowded and thanks to my laziness there were cat-hair dustballs around and my own clutter... when one of my family members is in my house, but especially her... my house seems different. More like a home, like its really part of me. It starts to kind of glow - the furniture seems comfier, the sheets softer and the lamplight burns differently. Life becomes just living instead of trying to figure it all out every minute of every day.

I really look forward to being back where they are.