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.

Our trip to California for my sister's wedding

Last month – on the 22, actually – we did something we had been spending months and weeks preparing for: We traveled to the California desert to attend my youngest sister’s wedding. She and her longtime partner, Allison, finally tied the knot – after 20 years together! We were so excited and happy to see the two of them get married. Even before Millie married Allison, we knew her as Millie’s friend, and she’s been a part of my family for a long time. And even before it became legal last month, I considered Allison to be my sister-in-law and the kids considered her to be their aunt.

So on February 25, 2017, Millie Colclasure and Allison Warner were married. It was such a beautiful wedding. I got to be a part of the "bride tribe" – one of the maids-of-honor. And I’m a 42-year-old married woman! But I still got to be a part of her bridesmaids. Two of my other sisters were there, too, as bridesmaids: Jeanette and Elizabeth (Liz). Both of them are also married and a little older than a typical bridesmaid. But there we were, her sisters, a part of the ceremony to witness her marry the love of her life.

It was truly amazing and beautiful to witness the joining of the Warner and Colclasure families. We love everyone in the Warner family and I even call Allison’s grandmother “Nana” just like everyone else. (So does Millie.)

My son, Jesse, was the ringbearer for the wedding. It was the first time ever he has been a ringbearer! He was so adorable and it was so cute to watch him walk down the aisle carrying the rings. My daughter, Trevor, was also a part of the wedding: She got to be one of Allison’s bridemaids. I was very happy that I and my children got to be a part of the ceremony.

We had quite an adventure getting from Eugene, Oregon to Palm Springs, California. Before we left, though, there was all this drama going on about the arrangements we had made with some people to take care of Trevor’s animals while we were gone. The whole thing stressed me out. On the day of the trip, I freaked out so bad that I thought of not going. It was either not going or putting the animals into the back of the van and taking them with us!! Fortunately, family and friends calmed me down and I was able to think logically again. (I guess I don’t handle stress well!) We made new arrangements and I set up back-up people in the event that didn’t go as we planned. Then there was more drama and I had to deal with THAT and after everything got squared away in all of the arrangements we had made, we were FINALLY able to leave.

We had planned to be on the road all night but that didn’t happen. We had car trouble in Medford. We ended up having to get a motel room in Medford for the night and then getting the van fixed the next morning. We had to get a new part for the van (OF COURSE!) but after that was cleared up, THEN we were finally on our way! Again!

The rest of the trip was uneventful. I posted updates about it on my personal Twitter account. And I took A LOT of pictures – both on the trip there, while we were there, and on the way back home.

The kids LOVED California. Jesse had been in California before, when he was one (he was born here in Eugene), but I’m not sure if he remembered much of it. They really soaked up the sun and checked out the palm trees. They had fun walking in the sand and going hiking with their cousins in the Thousand Palms Canyon.

I was so happy to be back on my home turf. Seeing those beautiful mountains and those amazing palm trees again made me feel like I was in Heaven. I never realized just how much I missed all of it. And it was good to see family again, too. I hadn’t seen them for years! Kids had grown so big since I last saw them. I was sad I didn’t get to see everybody, but I was cherishing every minute I spent with the family I did get to see. There were lots of hugs, tears, laughter and we all took lots of pictures.

It was just an amazing and awesome experience. It created a lot of happy memories I will cherish for years. Same with the kids.

I have not yet downloaded all of the pictures from the trip (though you can see some of them on my personal Twitter account!) or pictures from the wedding but I will upload them all soon. Meanwhile, the picture shared here is one I got from my sister on FB. It was great to see family again, meet new family and make new friends. I was sad to leave but we all decided that we should make plans to go out and visit more often.

So we are back home in Eugene, Oregon. I have been spending the week getting EVERYTHING unpacked, sorted and put away. We ended up with a pair of shoes and a sweater that didn't belong to us and found out they belonged to other family members! Oops! I have also tackled a mountain of laundry, restocked the house with food, and got the kids back on schedule for school and sports. Jesse is happy to be back with his basketball team again! Trevor turned in all the homework done while we were away and the people who took care of our animals were thanked and paid. We have also enjoyed sharing and looking at all of the pictures taken from the trip and the wedding. I have also been taking a little time here and there to sort through the ton of email I had waiting for me.

Many thanks to the people who helped us out for this occasion: My sister, Millie, Allison, my other sister, Jeanette, and our friends Kim, Miette, Julie, Tim and Oscar.

I may have returned to Oregon, but I left my heart in California. I guess I’m a California girl for life, no matter how long I live in another state. I’ll be California dreaming for a very long time – at least, until I will get to go back again. I hope that will be soon.  

Into the Wild

The first book I have read in 2014 is the nonfiction book Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer. This copy I have is the second edition, published in 1997. I read this book because I read the article published all those years ago about the death of Chris McCandless. I never knew the author wrote a book, so when I saw it mentioned in a newspaper article, I definitely wanted to read this book. Chris’ story really stuck with me. Even now, all these years later, I could not stop thinking of how sad it was that he died. Here was a young man trying to do something – only God knows what – and he ended up dying. So I read the book because I wanted to know more about who Chris was and exactly what happened. I wanted to know his story. And I must admit that, after reading his story, I was deeply saddened and in tears – for what happened to him and for the pain his family has gone through because of it. I really felt for his parents.

But reading the book made me a little scared, too, because I have a child who wants to do the same thing that Chris did: Walk off into the wild. In fact, she is set on it, planning to depart on her travels after graduating from high school.

My daughter does not know about Chris McCandless or about what happened to him. Now that I have read this book, I want her to read it, too. Maybe it will be a wake-up call, or maybe she’ll come away from it a little wiser.

Part of me keeps hoping she will abandon this plan of hitting the road, but at the same time, I’m not surprised she has a strong sense of wanderlust. I come from a nomadic family. We were ALWAYS moving from one city to another, one state to another. My husband’s family moved a lot, too. Jennifer was born in California and we moved to Oregon when she was 3. We have driven out to the Oregon coast and traveled out to St. Louis. We have also visited family in California (where I was born, too). We have definitely moved around quite a bit. So I’m really not surprised she feels the call of the road. My mom had that stronger than anybody else in the family and Jennifer has got that, too. She is really set on these travels.

And after reading Into the Wild, I was a little frightened that Jen would meet the same fate as Chris McCandless. I know for a fact that my daughter is NOT prepared to live on the road or to ride the rails or live off the land. She does not know the necessary survival skills. I have tried to help in that regard, giving her books to read on those subjects, encouraging her to learn things like how to use a compass and read a map. That sort of thing. She will have to learn other things, too, like how to catch and cook her own food and how to use a flare gun.

I am just glad she is not planning on traveling alone. In fact, she has talked two of her best friends into hitting the road with her. That is one relief. I have come across too many stories of young women traveling alone getting raped and murdered. I have told Jen that she should NEVER travel alone. There is safety in numbers.

Of course I support my children’s dreams and the things they want to do in life. I just hope they will make the right choices and be smart. I have heard how Chris McCandless’ story has inspired others to do what he did (as well as the tragic end many of them met), but I also hope that Chris’ story will make people think, make smarter choices and learn from the mistakes that happened on his journey. 

NKOTB concert in November? We'll see

I have plans to attend the New Kids on the Block concert in November in Portland. I have the tickets and I've been saving money. I have been talking with my sister about it and we've been making plans to attend together (I have her a ticket and I'm paying for the transportation).

Thing of it is, I don't know if I'll even end up going! I mean, I want to go, because it'll be fun. But there are certain issues holding me back. That thing with that poser is one of those issues. I honestly don't know what I'm going to do with myself. I'm so emotionally conflicted because of what happened, and I really, really don't want that to be a chip on my shoulder when I attend and see them in person. See that certain someone another person on the Internet was pretending to be. (Sigh.)

I'm probably making this out to be something bigger than it really is. I bet I'll go there, have a great time, won't have to deal with that sadness/anger/heartbreak/regret/longing, and then me and my sister will leave. If we meet them, then we meet them and I WILL NOT mention what had happened. That is my plan, you know. So maybe I'm just making that out to be bigger than it really is. I tend to do that sometimes!

The other thing is, I don't know if the childcare arrangement will work out. At the time of the concert, my children will be 7 and 1. I've discussed this with my husband. He knows how important it is for me to go. He KNOWS I'll regret it if I don't go....because I really think seeing that certain someone with my own two eyes will bring me closure. But I don't know if he'll be okay with the kids. He's willing to be here for them so that my sister and I can stay the night in Portland, but he is the world's heaviest sleeper, and has a hard time getting up in the morning when the baby cries. Even with the older child shaking him awake. So I don't really know if I can rely on him to wake up with the kids in the morning!! (Sad, isn't it?) That is just...my only concern. Everything else, I KNOW I can rely on him with the kids. So, I have to figure out that problem, too.

As bad as I want to go, I have to accept that I might not. My children's care is DEFINITELY number one on my list. The most important thing to me in the world. (I really DO put my kids first. I'm pretty much used to putting my kids' needs above my own by now.) If this problem cannot be amended, well....I might not go. I mean, I doubt anyone else will be available to watch the children at the hotel room while we're all in Portland. Unless ANOTHER sister drives up out here, too. That is something to think about, and of course I will pay my sister if she agrees to watch my children if that happens.

The sister going to the concert with me is in the same situation. She has 3 kids, but two of them are still babies. She has expressed her concern to me about how to arrange for childcare so that we can attend the concert. (She is a single mom.) We'll have to talk more about this and see if we can come up with a solution.

I hope we find a solution. I hope things change for the better and we both can still go, because I know that I definitely want to go. It would be a dream come true to finally see any one of them in person, and not just that certain someone.