A visit… finally… with my daughter

Published October 21, 2013 · Updated October 25, 2022

In this last installment of my lengthy update as to what has been happening with me since my big relocation move to Kentucky, I can reveal the second reason why I was in a mad rush to finish unpacking and setting up house. Actually, I revealed why in the title of this blog, so no mystery remains.

Yes, after one year and seven months almost to the day from when my sweet Emily and her husband Neil left California for the Washington DC area, we finally managed to visit. Long overdue! Why the delay in a visit is merely a matter of vast distances and busy schedules. Believe me, we tried to get together myriad times. Sadly loads of text messages, phone calls, and Skype talks were forced to suffice. It was a poor substitute for the real thing, so we were giddy with excitement.

greeting Emily — Emily and mom on the back deck, minutes after arriving in Kentucky

Emily teased me for stressing over the house being perfect – “Yeah, Neil and I aren’t coming if the guest bedroom isn’t set up,” said with heavy sarcasm! And of course I knew it didn’t matter. Still, Emily and Neil, and his family who live in Elizabethtown, were to be our first visitors. What kind of hostess does not properly entertain and provide comfort? LOL!

I returned from the JASNA AGM late Sunday night, and on Tuesday at 2pm they arrived at our door. Oh the joy! Emily was so anxious that she had Neil let her out of the car, Emily dashing up the lawn while he turned around to park. I was sitting in the dining room, watching, and flew to the door. Something out of a Hallmark commercial, isn’t it?

For nine whole days the Steiners visited. It was fantastic! Lots of time spent strolling around Bardstown, visiting the fun shops downtown and searching for treasures in antique stores. We took them to several of our already-favorite eating places. One day we enjoyed the stunning scenic wonder of Bernheim Forest and then the Old Kentucky Home State Park.

Neil’s family came to visit several times for dinner and other outings. Fortunately they are as lovely as Neil, so we genuinely enjoyed having them along. Neil is both an accomplished fisherman and singer/guitar player, both skills coming in very handy! The bass he caught while on a fishing excursion with his dad Larry were absolutely to-die-for, and that is coming from a person not too fond of fish. I was amazed!

With his frequent desire to entertain, we had little need to watch TV. I taped him a few times, the one below my favorite. The song, called “The Flood”, was written by Neil based on a true event that happened to a woman he worked with years ago. Very sad song, but played wonderfully and we loved the accompaniment from our daughter.

My previous efforts at compiling all our family photos and creating movies from our old Hi-8 video tapes was much appreciated. We watched almost all of them, laughing at the antics of our kids. So precious! And priceless, as those commercials say.

We managed to stuff our time with all sorts of great fun, as well as the quiet times of simply being together. Was it long enough? Not even close! Better than nothing, however. And, with us being roughly an 8-hour drive away, and with them planning to settle in the general area in about a year from now when Neil is out of the Navy, parting wasn’t as horrible as I thought it would be.