Thirty-Seven Years Ago
May. 27th, 2024 09:54 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
mallorys_cameraKatherine digitized some old VHS tapes she found when she was helping clear out the old house so they could sell it.
On one of those tapes, I made a visit with the infant Ichabod. Katherine sent the digital footage to me.
Thirty-seven years ago!
Very odd to see oneself as a 35-year-old woman, infant in tow.
I can see how uncomfortable I was. Not Happy. Though I was putting up a brave show.
Also, I had all these strange, almost Princess-Di-like mannerisms. A lot of flashing my eyes upwards! This was some years before Princess Di became an international icon, so possibly these are just the innate mannerisms that Very Tall Girls adapt??
Ichabod was such an adorable baby!
And Katherine was a really magical child.
###
Other than that, Iggy wanted to Meet the Kiskas as the next stage of the rental process.
It seemed a reasonable request—even though kiskas don’t really like going visiting.
So, I loaded them up in the car and brought them over.
The kiskas surprised me by being very, very good!
No kitty-Tosca on either the drive over or back; no hissing or clawing either, and by the end of the hour, they allowed Iggy’s angelic-looking 14-year-old son Gus to approach.
“Do you like cats?” I asked Gus.
“I love cats,” he said.
Other than that, Gus was completely silent. He is tall, lanky kid with great wings of hair that go down past his shoulders. I could sense Iggy’s parental despair, his yearning for the kid to allow him to connect. But the kid wasn’t having any part of it.
So, I will proceed now with the practical parts of the rental process—plus the Prius needs an oil change and an inspection, and I need to follow up with the insurance guy on Long Term Care options & I should probably start talking with one of those professional tax preparation outfits, see what work they have. And, of course, there is Remuneration!
The To Do List grows ever longer.
###
When I got back, I chatted with the adult Katherine via the Internet— she married a Brit mathematician & has lived in London for the past 20 years.
Also chatted with Ichabod who was very much in parental role reversal mode: “You know the thing about you, Mom, is that if something doesn’t work out the way you want it to work out, you just give up on it.”
“That’s very true,” I said. “I’ve never been big on picking myself up and trying again. I simply walk away.”
###
The bush peonies are in high bloom!
And the tree tulips!
On one of those tapes, I made a visit with the infant Ichabod. Katherine sent the digital footage to me.
Thirty-seven years ago!
Very odd to see oneself as a 35-year-old woman, infant in tow.
I can see how uncomfortable I was. Not Happy. Though I was putting up a brave show.
Also, I had all these strange, almost Princess-Di-like mannerisms. A lot of flashing my eyes upwards! This was some years before Princess Di became an international icon, so possibly these are just the innate mannerisms that Very Tall Girls adapt??
Ichabod was such an adorable baby!
And Katherine was a really magical child.
###
Other than that, Iggy wanted to Meet the Kiskas as the next stage of the rental process.
It seemed a reasonable request—even though kiskas don’t really like going visiting.
So, I loaded them up in the car and brought them over.
The kiskas surprised me by being very, very good!
No kitty-Tosca on either the drive over or back; no hissing or clawing either, and by the end of the hour, they allowed Iggy’s angelic-looking 14-year-old son Gus to approach.
“Do you like cats?” I asked Gus.
“I love cats,” he said.
Other than that, Gus was completely silent. He is tall, lanky kid with great wings of hair that go down past his shoulders. I could sense Iggy’s parental despair, his yearning for the kid to allow him to connect. But the kid wasn’t having any part of it.
So, I will proceed now with the practical parts of the rental process—plus the Prius needs an oil change and an inspection, and I need to follow up with the insurance guy on Long Term Care options & I should probably start talking with one of those professional tax preparation outfits, see what work they have. And, of course, there is Remuneration!
The To Do List grows ever longer.
###
When I got back, I chatted with the adult Katherine via the Internet— she married a Brit mathematician & has lived in London for the past 20 years.
Also chatted with Ichabod who was very much in parental role reversal mode: “You know the thing about you, Mom, is that if something doesn’t work out the way you want it to work out, you just give up on it.”
“That’s very true,” I said. “I’ve never been big on picking myself up and trying again. I simply walk away.”
###
The bush peonies are in high bloom!
And the tree tulips!
no subject
Date: 2024-05-27 02:48 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2024-05-27 02:56 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2024-05-27 03:06 pm (UTC)And you look like an Italian actress! Yes, I can see some kind of something--I wouldn't have guessed unhappiness, but discomfort with being filmed. But I mean, unless one's goofing around with a camera with friends, who wants to be filmed?
So you're pretty decided on the Iggy housing arrangement, yes? As a temporary measure while you tackle a California move, or in place of?
Kitty Tosca made me smile.
no subject
Date: 2024-05-27 03:13 pm (UTC)Yeah. I mean, it's just a matter of time before L leaves one of the stove burners on and starts a fire.
I do want to go back to California. Have put the word out to California pals: If you hear of anything...
If California is meant to be, it will be. But till then...
no subject
Date: 2024-05-27 04:28 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2024-05-27 03:32 pm (UTC)Also, the move. You and I share that trait of simply walking away. It has served me, for the most part, and I think it has served you. But there are missed opportunities...doesn't seem like Cali is going to be one of those, though. I agree that you have to remove yourself from this current situ.
no subject
Date: 2024-05-27 06:44 pm (UTC)But it's hard-wired.
Thus, when I do go back—like remember when you & I stopped talking to each other and then decided we liked each other too much not to be friends? 😀—it always feels really big.
no subject
Date: 2024-05-27 06:02 pm (UTC)It is painful, how uncomfortable you are in that video.
no subject
Date: 2024-05-27 06:41 pm (UTC)But 37 years later, I'm glad the tape exists. It's a window.
no subject
Date: 2024-05-28 11:44 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2024-05-29 11:35 am (UTC)