And now we are alone.

This morning at 7.30 we made our way to the bus stop on Burgess Road. Once arrived, Zsolt watched for the National Express while I leaned against a fence with Mom and put my arm around her shoulders. It was clear and cool and traffic whizzed past.

Saying goodbye has never been nice. Over the past five years I’ve been saying goodbye quite often; at first it can be devastating, but eventually the idea of leaving becomes normal. I keep waiting for Star Trek to kick in and transporters to be invented that can actually transport people, not just photons. (Zsolt is correcting me, he says this is called teleportation – but I keep waiting for STAR TREK to kick in, not this crazy ‘real science’ stuff, and in Star Trek they transport everywhere, no problem . . . except maybe once when people were stuck in transport limbo and Jordie LaForge had to figure out the problem with his visor thing). It’d be a true miracle to wake up in Canada, or in Hungary, or in England; just to go there with a thought.

But enough Star Trek side track.  (All day I’ve been side tracked, trying to avoid this post.)

Saying goodbye has never been easy, despite how often in happens, but I guess we learn to walk forward and move on. Though my poor Mom, well, she’s my mom – that sting doesn’t subside easily.

No more details, just want to say it wasn’t a fun morning.

Things will now be different. Mom knew all sorts of useful tricks; her being here was an incredible help in my mastectomy recovery and chemo preparation. When I was sick she was ready with a cold towel, cleaning out the bucket, and giving me drops. When I wasn’t sick we’d spend time together, going out for tea, watching films and having fun. I’ve spent more time with her in these past six weeks than in the past four years combined. How’s that for a realization?

Things will be different but they won’t be bad. The routine is established. We’ve survived the first treatment.

Anyhow, thanks mom. You also deserve a gold star, and triple points for love. Thanks very, very much. Plus, just so you know the whole day wasn’t terrible. Zsolt and I bought croissants on the way home, and the man at our fruit stand sliced a fresh watermelon in half for us. I hope your bus ride was okay, along with waiting for the flight. I’ve heard Dad might meet you with a cup of tea in hand, so hopefully he comes through. 😉

There you are. Now it’s Zsolt and I alone for a few days to rest and regroup. Zsoltster has been busy washing the sheets for his family. I have been busy eating watermelon. We are thinking of buying a car next week, but it’s still in the air.

Just the two of us again, for a little while. Nothing wrong with that.