It is 12:42 am here in Sherman, Texas – 10:42 Pacific Time – and we just arrived at our house here about 45 minutes ago. We worked in Fort Worth all day on the condo, got stuck in Fort Worth traffic on our way to Sherman in early evening, then arrived an hour and a half late for a gathering of friends at the home of Darrah Dunn and Shann Schubert. At one point in the traffic when we were inching along 35W in Fort Worth at 6:45 pm, I actually thought we might miss the party altogether. Luckily, we made a quick switch and came an alternate route, Highway 121 North, which made all the difference.
Now we are here and I can hear the train whistle in the distance. The clock is ticking as well, and Ray is watching television in the next room. He is feeling a little sick – congestion and a cough – so he’s already in bed. I am still on Pacific Time so I am wide-awake. That’s actually good since I wanted to write my blog for today.
When we were at the condo today, I couldn’t help but think about our oldest daughter Sarah’s years at Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine since we bought this condo for her when she started there. Those were some tough years for our girl; living so far from the family, and facing all the stresses and strains of medical school. She and her future husband met exactly one month before she left for Fort Worth from LA so their long distance relationship was another factor in that stress. Sarah, who had been a long distance swimmer in high school, painted her bedroom swimming pool blue while she was in medical school. “Why this color?” I asked when we came to visit. “Because when I swim laps, this is the color I see and it’s calming.” Of course, that makes perfect sense – a great calming device and coping mechanism.
Here is the room and the color:
I was thinking today about how hard this girl (young woman at this point) has worked over these past several years now. She not only made it through medical school, but also had our darling baby Luna, and is now a second year resident in Family Medicine with another baby on the way. Sarah works long hours and then comes home to be a wife and mom, and then goes back and works more long hours. She tends to be quiet and focused and doesn’t call a lot of attention to herself. She just gets the job done day in and day out. It is not unlike that long distance swimming – lap after lap in that blue pool. The good news is that she goes on maternity leave in a little less than a month with the baby arriving in early January. I am glad that she’ll have a few weeks to rest before our little grandson enters the world. Then she’ll be home for a while before returning to finish up her residency. I look forward to spending more time with her.
So, here’s to my sweet oldest daughter. She is a jewel in every sense of the word.
We are coming to the close of a chapter with the preparation for the sale of this condo. Here’s to all that is to come.
Here is a picture of Sarah, Gregorio and Luna at Halloween.
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