"We go home now"

When we took Quincy on the historical trolley ride in our small town yesterday, he was enthralled by it all. He sat in the window seat next to Grandpa, taking in everything the guide said. I enjoyed watching him from the seat behind, his chubby cheeks pink and his red hair flying in the sun. It was a ninety minute tour of historical homes and landmarks and even I, the grown-up, was getting antsy, wishing I could put the pedal to the metal and get on with it. Quincy, however, was the dignified and polite three year old, occasionally commenting on cats or trucks he saw. He very much liked when the guide reached up to pull the trolley bell. He knew when that would happen and he reached up in imitation. He leaned over to Grandpa and said, "We go home now! Time for lunch!"
Yes! Time to go home. And what a home we have! This evening, the three teenagers and Quincy have gone to their real homes and I have a few hours all alone except for the small dog. The moon is almost full and the fireflies are out in full force. Coyotes are singing.
I am working on the last quilt of my project of four. I knew this last one would be the most challenging. For all these years my husband has dragged a large woodcut I made when I was very young from place to place as we moved. And now, I want to print it again on this quilt. It is the first stanza of Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass, and I was in love with it at the time. It is perfect, I think, for the young person who is to receive this quilt. The large wood block is old and dried up (as am I!), cantankerous and not wanting to receive the ink as I want it to. I am wetting it down constantly and pulling trial prints. I am not discouraged that the ink won't adhere as it should in my mind's eye. I am thinking of changing the fabric, maybe dyeing muslin and using that instead of the fabric I had originally planned. And there is plan B, and C, probably D too.
What is fun is to have the time to do this. Also fun is having a collaborator quilter nearby who will actually quilt the three pieces of the sandwich together on her long arm quilting machine. We spend hours deciding on the thread colors, the design of the quilting as it embraces my quilt tops.
I never thought I would be this happy as a retired person. I loved my work as a teacher and school director. But the time came when I knew I needed to get out of the way and let others do it. I was tired of telling kids what to do, and I still don't want to do this anymore.
Kids are still a large part of my life. I am loving the role of being the wildly idiosyncratic grandma person to many kids. I think of last night with my teenage grandson when we put in hours processing the amazing photos he made while he was here. It was just so easy and companionable being with this creative young person I was teaching in a low key way. No agenda beyond the task at hand. Fifty three years difference in age we are, but no matter! The students in the school where I volunteered today were the same: we had a project to do and we got right down to business. (After hugs, of course.)
The nagging little dog is warming my bed, waiting for me.