“Goin’ to California…

…with an aching in my heart.” Robert Plant sang that in a song once. Of all the California songs running through my mind, that one rings most true right now. My heart aches. And nothing is wrong. All is well. Better than. But–purely physical–my heart hurts.

I haven’t seen my beloved baby boy (who is, um, 34) in too long. Hugging that ache (almost) away is a deep joy in knowing I will see him soon. Gratitude keeps the joy afloat. I hope my son is happy. That’s part of the ache. I talked to him on the phone yesterday and we’ve been emailing and I can’t tell. I’ll know when I see him.

So that’s the ache. The ordinary fact of a child growing up and away, building a life that has very little to do with me. Which is how it goes. But he’s so far away I can’t take his emotional temperature. So that’s a part of it.

The rest of it, the much bigger and better part is that I have a full and happy life of my own with my too-hardworking husband of 29 years, my adored Al. He needs a vacation. We both need this trip, for different reasons. But one reason we share is we need time together. Uninterrupted bliss just being us. Together. With the ocean and the mountains on either side and our son a short walk away.

Also, you might have guessed, I’m going on blog vacation for a week. Be back soon. Meanwhile, we’re making a playlist. What’s your favorite California song?