Moving Forward

Rachel and Drew are moving to Dallas! Yes, my youngest daughter and her husband are starting a new chapter in the book of their life. Some might say: They're too young! They're not wealthy! It's too far away! I say: I was younger. I was poorer. It's not the moon, people! When is the best time to start your life over? Today. Or tomorrow, at the very latest.

The kids have an opportunity to live in Dallas, where Drew will attend college. He is planning on becoming a physician in the Navy. I am impressed with his ambition and drive. It will take a lot of hard work and time, but he's young and energetic, and smart, to boot. I appreciate their enthusiasm to make this dream come true. That's what it takes.

To that end, I spent this afternoon in Rachel's bedroom, sorting through piles of clothes. My daughter is a bit of a clothes horse; she gets that from me. She has great taste, a keen eye for a bargain, and sews a lot of her own stuff. We made mountains. One mountain was "donate." Another was "sell." And, of course, "keep." I brought the "donate" mountain home to wash and donate to friends and Goodwill.

Funny thing, how clothes can evoke a memory. We found a sweater she had on in one of her senior pictures, long johns she took to New York one spring break, and lots of things we bought for college. We especially enjoyed looking at the gown and shoes she wore on her wedding day eight months ago. She won't need long johns in Texas!

Sorting through Rachel's wardrobe made me think of my own closet. I have shoes in there that may be older than my daughters! There's the black dress I wore to dinner on our 20th wedding anniversary, the crimson jacket I wore to my first writer's conference, even one of my grandfather's Standard Oil work shirts. Clothes can be talismans, in a way. Touch them, and the memory comes rushing back.

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Female in Motion Exercise Update: I did five, count them, five disco aerobic workouts last week, and managed to drop another pound. Look out, Paris Hilton!!!

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Notable Quote:

"People are always blaming their circumstances for what they are. I don't believe in circumstances. The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want, and, if they can't find them, make them." ~G.B. Shaw, Mrs. Warren's Profession, 1893

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