Nine Days To Go

Guilt was a big factor in me going to school today. I tuned out a long time ago and haven’t learned many new things lately, but I have this problem of needing to complete things I commit to, even when it makes no sense. Also, My Pal Vestina sent me a text message saying she missed me yesterday and she really needed to talk to me. I have become her “second mother” she says and she has no one else to help solve her problems. She doesn’t really need any help, as she’s quite capable herself, she just likes confirmation she’s doing the right thing. The Good Teacher Inga wasn’t there today so I needed extra motivation to get out the door. Vestina had “news” to tell me, so I just had to go find out what it was.

Her “old” boyfriend was in town over the weekend. She didn’t come to our class party last Friday because she wanted to be with him. She thought she was done with him, but he poured out his heart and love for her and asked her to be with him again. He got a new job awhile ago about 15 hours drive from here and the separation has not been good for him. Vestina is still wanting a little more time apart before she decides if she should follow him and his new job. But that wasn’t the news. It seems for the third time in a two week span, yet another man has fallen for her. This time, it is her neighbor – a guy from Holland. Apparently, he couldn’t wait any longer and seeing that her “boyfriend” was once again out of the picture, he declared his undying love for her. He asked her to move in with him and promised her the moon – said he’d cook and clean and treat her like a queen. As he was going on and on about how he’d quit smoking if she wanted him to, or start working out if she wanted him to have a better body, or quit drinking if she didn’t like it, Vestina just looked at him and said rather rudely, “Blah, blah, blah.” I thought I’d bust a gut laughing when she told me that. Vestina said the guy said, “No, it’s not blah, blah, blah – I really mean those things!” Here is yet another guy whose heart has been broken by My Pal Vestina. She now wants me to meet the guy so I can tell her what I think of him. I told her I didn’t need to meet him – I’m certain she made the right choice. What’s with all these guys that haven’t even been on a date with this woman – and yet they want her to move in with them? It’s certain they are not Norwegians because Norwegians hold out the longest time before ever even saying they love someone, and then, maybe just saying it once in a lifetime. These other guys just slobber all over her, totally humiliating themselves. I just love how she sets them straight. I laughed for a good five minutes over that whole situation. What a hoot. It was worth the trip into town.

When I got home today I began another project I shouldn’t have, but I couldn’t help myself. Once I got all the best photos together from our trip last Fall up to the Lofoten Islands, I decided to order up one of those fancy self-published coffee table picture books. I checked all the places I knew I could order them over the internet, and found a place here in Norway that had the coolest software available, even if I couldn’t fully utilize it because I can’t read all those technical Norwegian terms. The book, hopefully, will look fabulous. I was able to spend every remaining minute of my day on that project and send it off for printing before midnight. Kaleb went home from school with his friends so he wasn’t around all afternoon and Kory was over at Odd’s putting new wood on the ceiling in his bedroom. I had the house to myself and it was raining and I needed no more excuse than that. Of course, I did have to take a four hour break to eat, as we were graciously invited over to Andre’s house for dinner. Andre is one of Kaleb’s good buddies and his parents attend Filadelfia Church so we’ve gotten to know them a little better these last few months. Andre’s mom, Janne, was at our house last night for the Bible study group so it was very cool to be invited over to their house for dinner tonight. And we had my favorite food – which is always any food I don’t have to cook. But actually, it was an incredibly yummy meal and we had a wonderful evening visiting with the adults while the kids ran around the house playing hide-n-seek (a favorite game in these parts). Kaleb will surely miss Andre. He even missed him today because Andre stayed home from school to recover from an injury. Yesterday, on his way home from school, Andre tripped and landed on a rock about the size of a football but shaped more like a wedge. He put one heck of a gash in his shin so deep it didn’t even bleed. He passed out from the pain however and needed eight stitches. When he thinks about it, he limps and needs sympathy, but when running around the house with Kaleb tonight, it would be hard to tell anything was wrong with him. Too funny. Janne and I talked about how much we do to protect our kids from harm, and then something like this happens. What’s a mother to do?