The test day and test drive

This summer is going to be a little bit different for us this year. My oldest has hir first job! It is a summer job, but it is still hir FIRST REAL JOB! Yay!

We are all really excited and happy for Trevor. And I am proud of Trev, too. This is an awesome thing to happen and I hope this will be a good experience for hir.

But one thing we learned about this first job is that it is actually not all that close to us. It’s actually in another city. It’s in Blue River – and that’s about an hourish away.

And because Trev needs to be there at a certain time Monday through Friday, we have been spending weeks deciding on a new schedule as well as planning out the route. I had some trouble figuring out the new schedule. I knew certain things had to happen at certain times, but couldn’t figure out the times for the other things.

Yesterday was the “test day” for the new schedule. And, since some things were not accounted for in my NOTES for this new schedule, I filled in the blanks as I went about the day. I went through the day as though I was on this new schedule – got up at 4:30, got Trev up at 5, was “away” from computer and unable to text on my phone at the times I’d be driving and not home, and leaving at certain times that I’d need to for certain things. Jesse got up earlier than I expected – and when I would not have been at home – so I reminded him that next week, we’ll be on a new schedule and sometimes when he wakes up in the morning, I might not be here. I explained to him if that happens, it means I’ll be either taking Trevor to work or on my way home. It was a good opportunity for us to go over this sort of scenario, so he knows what to expect. I made a mental note to leave a note on the table for him just in case he forgets. There is a 2-hour window of time set aside for “Jesse’s sports” (since he’ll be busy with gymnastics and swimming this summer at those times), but that day he was feeling too sick for it. No problem! I spent this time with him camped out on the couch, watching TV with him. I went through the rest of the day figuring out when other things will happen and, voila! I had my schedule all figured out.

Now we had the test drive to do. It was slated for this weekend. I was going to go by myself but my husband didn’t like that idea. So we all ended up going on the test drive! Good thing all of us went, too. Because we ended up being gone for 5 hours! The problem was, we got lost and, on top of that, could not get a signal, so we couldn’t use Google Maps. (And, no, we hadn’t printed out the mapped route before leaving. I guess we should have!) So at one point, my husband turned around and started driving back the other way to try and find a cell tower. But it was a very long drive. So, instead, he stopped at a store and asked for directions. He got the directions and we were on our way! On the way there, I saw that a city was named “Nimrod.” That made me laugh. Wow, that would be an interesting conversation!

“Where are ya from?”

“Nimrod.”

“What did you call me?”

Well, we did FINALLY get to Trevor’s work. It was closed but we got a good look at the place. I was glad it had a huge sign out front. It would be hard to miss!

We never did get a signal for our phones. And when we DID finally get somewhere where we could get a signal – when we were closer back to Eugene – my phone had died. So had the tablet (which has Twitter on there).  I made a mental note about this.

So I timed the drive back and it’s actually an hour and 15 minutes long. On our way back, we stopped for dinner at IHOP (it was almost 10 at this point!). At dinner, I talked with Trev about the length of the route and we decided to calculate an hour and a half drive instead. That would mean we would have to go to bed earlier because we’d have to get up earlier! I was also concerned about there being no signal there. Actually, we both were a little nervous. Trev assured me that they could call someone in the event of an emergency and ze let me know who were on hir emergency contacts list. That set me at ease but I’d want them to call my voicemail, too, and leave a message.

The drive to Trev’s job is a long one but, really, it’s easy to get there and back. Yes, I have to take two highways, but it’s an easy route. Not a lot of turns or anything like that. I am glad for that!

I’ll be driving Trev there to the job in the mornings, but Jesse comes along when I pick Trev up in the afternoon. Since he complained about being hungry on the trip, I made a mental note to pack snacks as well as bottled water. I’d also bring along his blanket and some books to make him more comfortable and entertained.

Another issue, though, is gas. I am hoping we can figure that out.

I am glad we were able to test out the new schedule and the drive to Trev’s place of employment. I may do one more test drive just to make sure I have the route down pat.

I do enjoy driving long distances, but wow! This one is pretty long. The route is also VERY scenic: We saw trees, mountains, forests, rivers and lakes. It was just BEAUTIFUL! I am glad to be driving this route because I love seeing all of that stuff!

And I’m looking forward to greeting the sun from the road, too. I’ll just have to be sure to have some extra coffee with me.