Geeky Mom

New destination.

I’m back from India and have mostly slept and run errands as I’m leaving for a family reunion in Indiana today. India was quite an experience. I have mixed feelings about whether I’d go back, but I definitely think it was worth seeing, not just for the monuments and sites, but for the culture. Being an informed and educated person, I, of course, knew a little something about India and its politics and culture, but seeing it up close gave me a new appreciation for its potential and its challenges. I also have a new appreciation for what we have here in the US. The poorest of us is in better shape than the poorest of India’s citizens. We really have too little respect for how much we have. I felt, and feel, a little guilty about the amount of sheer crap I own. I also feel bad about how we have no sense of history, and the great things places like India and other parts of Asia accomplished long before we were even a concept. Honestly I’ve been in a little bit of reverse culture shock being here. Women in shorts and spaghetti straps? What? Men in t-shirts and not collared shirts? Weird. I think I have more to say, but instead I’ll resort to pictures. Here’s my Flickr set:

I am on spring break with the kids.  We headed down to Tennessee to visit with family.  The drive was mostly uneventful.  It rained and then cleared up and then got cloudy and cold again.  We spent the night on the road and fell asleep watching tv (or at least I did).

We arrived early-ish for us and since my dad was off at work, we decided to go entertain ourselves.  So I took the kids to the mall. To the arcade.  Because that’s basically what there is to do around here.  Which is exactly what there was to do around here when I was their age.  They’re tired of hearing me talk about that though.  I keep saying, “Wow. There was nothing here when I was a kid.  And that used to be . . .”  They’ve already told me to quit at least once.

Today, we’re planning to stop by my future sister-in-law’s house and help paint or clean and/or other manual labor.  She closed on it on Monday and they start the process of moving at the end of April.  She, too, is on spring break, spending her time scraping wallpaper.  She says she keeps seeing other things she wants to do.  I said that never ends.  We are also going to go play mini-golf while my dad plays real golf.  It’s supposed to be in the mid-70s this afternoon.  I also need to buy some shoes at some point and one nice thing about the development around here is there is at least some decent shopping.

Geeky Boy got a new phone just before our trip and it includes unlimited texting.  So guess what he’s been doing a lot of?  Last night, however, he was playing around with the security settings and locked himself out and now we have to go buy him a new sim card.  Sigh.  We don’t need to go to exotic places to have interesting adventures.  Not when you have a teenager with you.

More reports from the trip to follow.  If small town life doesn’t interest you, come back next week.

We spent the last couple of days meandering around DC with some old friends from grad school. Much fun was had by all. There was lots of walking, eating, and drinking. Now I need a nap. Here are the kids in front of the White House. Next time, they say they want to go inside.

Me at Indian restaurant, originally uploaded by lorda.

It’s been a long time. I’ve been in North Carolina, and then Paris, Indianapolis and now finally home again. The weather is beautiful here, making the transition back to real life a bit easier. I’m sitting now on my back deck with a beer, trying to recreate the Paris cafe atmosphere. It’s close, but not quite.

I had an absolutely fabulous time, but I am glad to be back home, not living out of suitcases. So, what’s everyone been up to?