I had a pity party for myself Monday. Don’t ask me why! I’m totally not sure what was up with that. Let’s say it was a culmination of things hitting all at one time. It’s over but it was here and that has me a bit concerned.

First, Monday was my youngest’s birthday. He turned 22. Not a significant birthday. I was not with him for his 21st birthday. He was living in WV at the time. His sister went to WV to visit him shortly after so I know he had some family interaction. It is not like he is not an adult.

My problem with his birthday is it was the first major family event I was not in NY for and I hadn’t really given it much thought before Monday. I had not necessarily been around my children when they had birthdays previously. All six went away to college for some period of time. Some never came home after college. Others did for short periods of time. I have spent major events away from home before – whether to be in California with my mom and stepdad or to be at a race (Marine Corps Marathon on number 5’s birthday). I’m not sure what made this so different but it caused tears and a lot of tissue use.

Second, back on Saturday as I filled out paperwork for the restaurant I’m going to be working for, the HR person (a good friend of mine) told me my temporary NC license had expired.I should have known there was a problem somewhere. I had just had lunch with a friend and he had his hard copy and had applied for it after I did. This meant that Monday morning I had to call DMV. It was a much better experience than I’ve had with much smaller organizations. My license had been returned, “no such address.” This meant a trip to DMV here locally to get another temporary one and, even better, a trip to the post office to figure out why. Both places went above and beyond, being both helpful and pleasant. I think I have it all figured out.

Then, came my run. It ended up being midday again. UGH! Temp was 85F. Heat index was 90F. The humidity. OH MY! I had trouble breathing. I thought, for sure, I was going to vomit when I finished. I wasn’t totally sure I could walk up the hill to my house. No worries! I did not vomit and did make it home.

I talked to a friend locally and a friend from NY who also lives in NC now before the night was over. I feel much better today and am just chalking it up to homesickness. It will happen. I will survive.