12 June 2011

Ah well, perhaps it's for the best. For the 32nd year in a row we've gone without a Triple Crown winner; Ruler on Ice beat the Derby and Preakness winners to win the third and final leg of this years Triple Crown of races.

I was so hoping-I tuned into the Preakness and was on my feet with the live crowd urging Animal Kingdom on, on, on...the disappointment was thick and I knew then I would leave the USA without seeing a Triple Crown winner.

I was tuned in that glorious early summer day 33 years ago when Affirmed thundered down the last stretch and won the Belmont Stakes-WOOHOO, a Triple Crown for the world to savour! I danced and shrieked and celebrated and my little daughter watched her mummy going deliriously, deliciously mad with American horse racing joy.

Every horse lover/rider/owner has that secret dream in us. Gelding, unbred mare, we still dream as we groom the glossy coat, check the hooves, parcel out the feed morning and night...we stand at the paddock watching our old nags and in our mind's eye see him or her decked out in Triple Crown glory. It's a beautiful dream no matter age of owner or horse, lol!

My visa has been granted and I am on my way back to Scotland to rejoin my beloved Paul-I leave early next week, and am, LOL, already packed to go.

My son, my grandson, and my husband have become acquainted via digital photos and emails, and vid chat-this modern age, how amazing it still is to me that a family is forged thanks to the Internet! But we are a family, and Grandpa is already rubbing his hands together at the thought of an architect in his newly acquired by marriage grandson

Dreams made possible by family ties-last night on an evening walk around the neighbourhood my grandson observed that a particular house didn't fit into the neighbourhood-right as rain, the adobe style house, while cute and doubtless energy efficient in this horrid heat and humidity, doesn't fit in with the rest of the houses in this area. My son lives in the historic district of an old Southern town. Most of the houses were built between 1890-1930, and are gorgeous little cottage gems. The mansions are in the next neighbourhood, lol, this section of the historic section is more modest.

Any road, when this intelligent and unsolicited observation by ahem, OUR grandson was reported, Grandpa rubbed his hands together in undisguised glee saying "We'll have an architect or urban planner out of our wee lad yet!"

Family=Dreams. We haz 'em:)

I am an official expat again, this time in a marriage made in joy and peace, and love and happiness, and every good thing. My husband in this latest expat adventure is a man of the country I am going to be an expat in, and in truth, I'm only two generations out of Caithness myself, so it's not as hard as it could be.

Not at all as hard as it was the first time I was an expat, those nightmare Guatemalan years when I and my son accompanied Crusty to a country hostile to Anglos owing to the ongoing civil war, kidnappings, the organs and orphans for sale scandals, and the nature of my then husband's work (US Embassy attachment). 190+ days without leaving our little compound because of all the car bombs. The rolling black-outs, the water shortages, the water contaminations, the e.coli laden fruits and vegetables...

This time I'll be an expat in an English speaking country-the country my own family has called home for over 1000 years. A country where I can walk safely (prudently but still, safely) alone to the butcher and green grocer for our few needs. A country where my husband and I don't need to own a car, where we found my treadle sewing machine in, as my darling calls it 'good nick' and working perfectly.

Where our wood stoves heat the house, the water in the kettle, and our meals-yes, I've learned to cook on a small wood stove, and I love it.

Expect to read more in the coming years of my expat experiences, and to see photos of our beautiful home. For now, in closing, I leave you with this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6km7phBQRF0&feature=related

4 comments:

  1. When I saw a new post in my reader I have to say, I got a little bit excited. And now that I've read it I'm smiling and thinking that you have finally found some peace and happiness. I just wonder how Mozart and Gonzo are doing, hope they're well.~Donna

    ReplyDelete
  2. LOL, I meant to write about Mozart and Gonzo, and completely forgot!

    I got in touch with their new people as soon as I hit the US. The family has returned to Wisconsin so I didn't get a chance to see them, but they're fine, fat, and happy in their new home. I miss them but it may have been a good thing that I couldn't see them-it would have been so hard to say good-by again!

    Paul and I are going to be looking for the right cat (or cats:) to share our life as soon as I get home and get over the jet lag. We're not sure if we should start a new blog for the mogs, or continue Mozart's in his honour.

    I am VERY excited to be going home at last. It's been wonderful spending this time with my son and grandson-something I never thought would happen-but it's time for me to get home to my new husband. Life is amazing, just amazing-I have my family back with the added bonus of having found a truly wonderful man to grow old with!

    Bianca

    ReplyDelete
  3. Glad to know everyone is OK. We were starting to wonder a bit after so long without any word.

    Tell those new people we really need a photo or six of Mozart & Gonzo.

    ReplyDelete
  4. need to check

    ReplyDelete

Regretfully I've had to update my blog to comment moderation to prevent spamming. LOL, if only the fools knew my blog is seen by a very small and select group-it might help them understand the waste of time it is to spam my blog! Oh well, it's not as though spammers are very bright, after all.