Oma, Anne Lamott, and Malibu

It's been an eventful week, at least by my standards.

Oma
My mom was here for a few days during her spring break! It was great. We discussed Pride and Prejudice ad nauseum, cooked, knitted, and all those things my mom and I like to do together. Daniel and Oma also got plenty of quality time together while I got some work done.
They played outside,



read books together,



and Daniel learned how to make cookies.



My mom had quite the adventure trying to get home, though. Word to the wise: if you ever fly into or out of Madison, avoid going through Chicago O'Hare if you possibly can. You're practically guaranteed to lose your luggage, have your flight canceled, or both. She was delayed an hour getting here, but that was small potatoes compared to the return trip. Here's what happened.
Wednesday
8:20a.m. - Daniel and I drop my mom off in front of the airport and head home.

9:15a.m. - Mom calls from the airport to tell me that an earlier flight to Chicago has been canceled, so everyone on that flight was put on her flight, so some people, including her, have been bumped to a later flight. She is certain she'll miss her connection in Chicago, and the only other flight from Chicago to her final destination in KY doesn't leave until the evening. The airline is asking people to volunteer to wait until the next day to leave. She ponders what to do.

9:30a.m. - After some deliberation and a consultation with my dad, mom calls again to say she has decided to stay an extra day. I'm secretly glad. She has booked a seat on the 8:15 flight the following morning.

10:00a.m. - Daniel and I once again are at the aiport, this time to take my mom home. We stop at a video store to rent Pride and Prejudice because, heck, we've been discussing it and re-enacting our favorite scenes, so we might as well watch it. I hand her my wallet so that I don't have to hold it in my lap as we drive. (This will be important later.)

The day passes without any other noteworthy incidents. Daniel naps, I teach a few piano lessons, we have dinner, finish watching the movie and stay up late talking.

Midnight - I finally go bed. These days, this is a very late bedtime for me.

Thursday (technically)
:
12:15a.m. - The phone rings. I panic. Mom answers. I hear bits of the conversation: "Oh, dear...Friday afternoon?...Do you have anything else?...Well, then I'll take the 6:20 flight." That's right. The 8:15 and the 9:20 flights have been canceled, and the next available seat is on Friday afternoon. Or six hours after the phone call has been made.

12:30a.m. - I ask Stuart to set the alarm for 4:45 and stumble into bed.

4:45a.m. - Mom and I get up, go to the airport in record time (no traffic issues at this hour), say good-bye, etc. It's still dark when I get home.

5:30a.m. - Stuart informs me that Daniel got up at 5:15 and we have a brief competition over who-got-less-sleep. I argue that I be the one to go back to bed because I actually had to get up and drive. I win, but feel slightly guilty about it.

9:00a.m. - Mom calls from the Chicago airport to tell me that she has my wallet in her bag. Remember when we rented the video and I handed my wallet to her? She put it in her bag and we both forgot it was there. Oops.

Fortunately, mom made it home without further incident and mailed my wallet here right away and everything's hunky-dory. I think for all that trouble, she got maybe a $250 voucher. I mean really. These airlines need to get their act together, don't you think?

Anne Lamott...
...was in Madison for talk/discussion and book-signing on Thursday night. The event was nearby my house, so I biked there (good thing, as parking was nil) and stood in the back of a room so packed I could barely see. She was completely political, very funny, inspiring and all the rest. I really can't tell you all the things she said because it wouldn't be nearly as interesting and engaging in my words as in hers, but I will tell you these three things: Her dredlocks are beautiful, her words give me hope, and I want to join her Revolution of Kindness. I also badly want to read her new book, but I have a feeling the waiting list at the library will take months and months.

Malibu
I'll be there for a couple weeks in June for an intensive professional training program in song accompanying. The piano faculty include Martin Katz and, my personal hero of song accompanying, Graham Johnson. A friend and I dared each other to apply, so we did, and we both got in, though it turns out she's not going. I got a hefty scholarship for the tuition, though I still have to pay for housing. I couldn't be without my Danimal for that long, so he's coming with me, as well as a couple family members willing to babysit (three cheers for Oma and Uncle Joe!). Not that I had to twist their arms too much - the program is held at Pepperdine University, which is not a few blocks from the coast, not a mile from the coast, but ON the coast. What a hardship, eh?

Comments

Pam said…
Congrats, Susan!!!!! I'm so excited for you that you're going to Song Fest!! Damn - now I really wish I had applied!
Animal said…
Nice post. I enjoy hanging out with my mom as well, and I look forward to her spending time with the baby. Good stuff.
Anonymous said…
You left Opa out of your story.

It is true Opa did not accompany Oma to Wisconsin, but he was home to receive the phone call from the airline at 1:00 am saying that Oma's flight had been canceled. And the home phone was the only number they had. But, Opa knew the correct phone number so that there was not another wasted trip to the airport, which would have been after the flight she actually took and would have caused even more delay.

-Opa
Pam said…
By the way, Suze, my mom LOVES her new scarf! You rock!!! :-)
ann said…
I love how big Daniel is smiling in all the pictures with his Oma. Also, congratulations on the second two sections! I'm jealous of the second!
Anonymous said…
You're going to have sooo much fun in Malibu!!! I wish I could go too, but we'll just have to get all of our singing/playing in before you leave :) The pics of Daniel and your mom are sooooo cute! And I seem to recognize that book... does it have anything to do with easter bugs?
Can't wait to see you in just a little over a week!!!
-Julia :)
Congratulations on all your good news and fun times!
Anonymous said…
This totally reminds me of a time when my Mom and I were both flying out of Detroit, heading back to our different homes in the SW after Christmas holiday. And she borrowed my cell-phone to make a call and put it in her purse. . She does this *every* time I let her borrow my cell phone!=) It's maddening! Especially when she flies across the country with it!

Absolute and total congrats on the Song Fest! Don't be afraid to pack a sweater or two for you and your boy. Even the California coast can get chilly (low 60’s) at night!
Anonymous said…
Actually, thinking about it. . the coastlines can stay pretty chilly even throughout the day. . relative to the rest of S. Cali. .
Becca said…
Completely off topic, but have you heard from Joe today? I've been thinking of him since this morning.
Gade said…
I was able to hear Anne Lamott speak at a fairly informal gathering one of the years I was at seminary and she was phenomenal. I also remember being captivated by her dreadlocks, and feeling very inspired...she gave a few people she knew in the audience backrubs before she talked (she lives just across the bay from where I used to live in CA), and I remember being very jealous. :)

Congrats on your training in Malibu! You would think living in FL, I'd get to the beach more often (it *is* 1 1/2 hrs away..), but staying on the beach sounds awesome!

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