Summary: Angela reflects on spring and plans for summer.
Four weeks and counting until I'm reclining in a beach chair staring out at the Carribbean Sea, a pina colada in one hand and a pair of binoculars in the other. I don't know how I got lucky enough to land an account for a Jamiacan resort, but I'm far from lamenting the fringe benefits that accompany this campaign. And neither is the rest of the family, except maybe Sam who is torn between excitement about going to Jamiaca and mortification at the thought of a family vacation.
I signed the contract with the Preston Fletcher yesterday, and he said he'd let his son Kyle know to expect us. While the weekend will technically be a working vacation for me, I can hardly be expected to market the resort without experiencing first-hand all it has to offer, right? Now I just have to figure out how to keep Tony's excitement at bay for another month. He's been like a kid going to Disney World, asking me about the resort, the beaches, activities, restaurants, and anything else he can think of. I think I'm going to have to distract him with some project around the house and long drives in his new Jeep, or else he's going to drive me crazy by July.
On the subject of the Jeep, I still get goosebumps when I think about how happy he was when he saw it sitting in the driveway. And even if it took a few more days, some negotiation, and a tearful goodbye to the old van, I think the end result was well worth it. I know how proud Tony can be when it comes to money, and I knew I was taking a chance when I drove into the dealership to buy him a new car. But even the $15,000 the car cost is nowhere near enough to repay my gratitude for everything Tony has done. And even though I know he neither expects nor wants additional recognition for his invaluable role in my household, I can't help but want to express how much he means to me. I wanted to do something that would be practical but significant, that would convey how important he is to me and how much I've come to think of us almost as a unit, a pair, even if not a couple. Maybe it had something to do with my feelings of insignificance while we were in St. Louis or his feeling while Brian was here – but right or wrong, he is my family and best friend, and I wanted to do something for him to at least prove that much.
Not to mention, for the past year, that old van has begun to resemble a jigsaw puzzle more than an automobile. I think there is more duct tape holding it together than metal. But Tony is so intent on saving for Sam's college education and paying for classes that I knew it would be years before he'd ever treat himself to a new car. So I simply took the decision out of his hands, and maybe that was overstepping my bounds, but I just knew it was the right thing to do. He deserved it.
Otherwise, things are quite well in our household. Jonathan starts high school in the fall, and I can hardly believe it. My little boy is growing up so fast, and these pages are the only place I can still call him that. But even if I have to let him go to the mall alone, call girls, and act grown up, he's just going to have to get used to the fact that he'll always be my baby.
Sam and Tony are both finally done cramming for their finals, one in high school, the other in college. Tony has been pouncing on the mailman every day waiting for that tell-tale envelope with the Ridgemont seal that will carry his semester grades. But if last semester is any indication, he sailed through with high marks and will advance to sophomore status for the fall. Sam, on the other hand, learned a hard lesson, very likely the hardest of her life, when she helped a friend cheat and then paid dearly when her teacher discovered the evidence of said friend's appreciation – a cheat sheet – next to her desk. I hope she can manage to reverse the downward trend of her science grades to make them more accurately reflect the rest of her report card, which Tony said was much more impressive than the C- she got in Chemistry.
And so another school year is wrapped up, and Tony is already one year closer to that college diploma. I think we're all looking forward to a relaxing summer, highlighted by a few days in Jamaica as a family. I'm definitely feeling hot, hot, hot!