Somerset

We had our wonderful get together out on Schaeffer Mountain today.  We were late because it was misty/rainy so we assumed it would be moved to the facility a mile from our house.  No, we went there and then had the drive 30 minutes away.  On top of all that, in the south when a get together starts at three o'clock, that means things start winding up.  Here it means the prayer is being said and line up to eat.  So we were late.  We thought nobody would eat till five.  Who is hungry at 3:00 p.m.?

But we had a great time.  The weather was not too hot (but humid) and there were bees everywhere which Carly is terrified of, but to her credit she was calm and only yelled twice.  I myself yelled once when first arriving upon discovering the goose statue was a living goose and it flapped and honked at me.  I've been chased by more geese out in service than dogs, so that spooked me but good.  I could feel my blood pressure spiking.

What a lovely spiritual united brotherhood.  I decided tonight I like "I" names, that maybe I am a vowel girl, because the spokesman for the group is a brother named Israel and he's bald, though his lovely wife is here with him.  Maybe I'm a vowel woman.  Of course Abel was there and wearing a white shirt and I almost wore white but at the last minute slid into a red T-shirt over jewelry and shoes matching.  I'm so glad.  I don't think I can handle matching him.  Funny, talking is fine.  Not matching.

I spent most of my time with Ann, some with another sister who had the same hairdo, and there was a Sonja who is adorable.  They are all wonderful, but the names were flying around my head and I can't hear to start with, there was music playing, conversations everywhere, and bees buzzing.  A football game in the clearing.  And can you believe it?  I had learned about five names at meeting Thursday night but they did not wear the same clothes so I got confused about who was who again.

There was another sister there who reminded me of my favorite author, Zora Neale Hurston.  She was slim with a little pixie haircut, maybe a little older than me, a bit short.  I mean, she was cute.  After a while, as things were winding down, I was introduced to yet someone else so I looked at "Zora" and said, "Couldn't ya'll bring some single brothers?"

She laughed and said she doesn't have one either.  Then she said there are advantages to that, and we agreed.  I told her about my shirt from Fashion Bug and how if a man had told me I couldn't buy it or he would kill me if I did, somebody would sure need burying, and it wouldn't be me.  I also told the table/group where we were about the brother in one of the camps during the Holocaust and he went to the fence everyday and prayed for Jehovah to get him out because he couldn't take it.  After about a month he figured out the answer to that prayer was go back to the bunker and help the brothers.  The first time I heard that experience, I realized that the answer to my prayers about a husband were getting answered the same way.  Go back to the bunker and get on with your life.  And I am trying.

As we were going to the car, they were laughing and calling goodnight to Carly and Sister Bunker.  I had to join their mirth.

We got turned around in Central City as it was dark and I missed the turn back onto 160 so we went around the scenic route, only took five minutes.  As we approached the highway in Windber at 21st Street, the light was backed up with about six vehicles, all like Chevy Traverse or Nissan Muranos.  Carly said, "I bet that is all Miami friends," and as we got closer and then passed them on the highway, she was right.  They rented a small fleet all with tags from other states.  We passed Kentucky, Ohio, New York, Rhode Island, and Delaware.  We paced them for a couple of miles and then we turned into Sheetz (I was thirsty and needed to use the restroom.  I tried not to drink and then have to go at the get together because I didn't want to track into the Gordon's house numerous times.)  As we pulled into the left lane, we watched the caravan of Miami friends go up to the exit for 219 to Somerset where they are staying.

No idea who all their names are, who was in Delaware or who was in New York, how many were behind or ahead of the six we were pacing, or when after the meeting tomorrow we will ever get to see them again.  It was a moment to be bittersweet, to know they are my family and I love them all, and to know thankfully we will have eternity to spend more time together then.

We watched in the darkness as six blinkers all signaled left and exited, fading from our line of sight, but not far from our hearts.  There is nothing in the world better than what we have.