The Joy of Summer

We left on our long-awaited vacation on Thursday.  Three flights later, we arrived in Dallas before 6 AM.  Not much fun flying all night and not being able to rest very well, but I'm happy the trip was uneventful and we arrived safely at DFW.  It took us forever to find our rental car in a huge lot with a poorly marked signs and we headed out with the intention of going to Sarah and Miles' house for a shower and a nap before meeting our property manager at our new house (that we are presently renting out).  We were also going to meet up with my niece Alana and her son Oren because they were traveling through Dallas about the same time we'd be finished with our appointment.  However, after seeing the horrendous traffic at 7:30 AM (everyone on their way to work, I guess), we made a quick decision to change plans and drive directly to Susan and Corey's in Clyde.  I should say that Sarah and Miles and their kids had already left on their road trip to Jackson Hole, so we really were just going to be using their house, not ditching them!

Aidan and Ally on their trampoline

I texted the property manager that we needed to reschedule, texted my sis to get her to send apologies to my niece, checked with Rich to make sure he was up for the drive, then we turned around and set course for I-20.  About halfway into the trip, Rich was feeling the exhaustion so we pulled off into a truck stop, napped for about an hour, grabbed some breakfast, and then continued the drive.

We finally got to Susan and Corey's at noon time, so Susan came home from work for lunch and Corey was home at the time (since he works odd shifts).  It was great to see them and catch up on on the happenings!  Susan went back to work, we hung out for the afternoon, and then I rode with Susan to go pick up her kids who had been with Corey's grandmother in Brady.  We had fun chatting on the way and, of course, I was super excited to see Aidan and Ally at the pick-up point!  They have grown up since I last saw them, but are still my little sweeties!

We came home and played outside for awhile.  Oh, to be young and have this much energy!

Bike riding in the sunshine

We ordered pizza, played games, and stayed up way too late, but it's vacation, right?!  I slept really well last night after not much rest the day before.  Today we've been out shopping for some much needed summer clothes for Rich, a few more items for the kids, and a dress for me to wear to my niece's wedding.  We are about to meet some friends for dinner tonight.  We'll be here till the 14th, when we'll overnight in Dallas and then take the kids with us on a plane to Salt Lake City. From there, we're renting a car and driving to Jackson Hole for my niece's wedding and a bit of a family reunion.  A couple of days after the wedding, we're borrowing my brother and sister in law's RV and taking the kids on a little road trip to Yellowstone and environs.  We're looking forward to making lots of great memories!  I'm not sure how often I will be able to post but will try to keep up with it as best I can.  I don't think I ever even finished posting our last vacation so I am not making any promises. haha  Happy summer, everyone!  Now that I am finally back in the hot country, I feel like summer has begun in earnest!

A field of lupines and a field of crab pots

Summer Solstice and Rich's Birthday

The 21st was Rich's 60th birthday, the Summer Solstice, AND his day off for the week.  It was also the most gorgeous, sunny, warm day we've had all year so we decided to get out and enjoy it!  We drove part way around the pass, wandered around, soaked up the sun, and took a bunch of photos.  Above, a cute little weasel snout pokes up between the rocks.

May flowers are also in bloom.

We get lots of fog in the summer time.  I love the way it looks hovering over the hills and the water.

 Lupine

 There's so much tiny plant life that's easy to miss if you don't get right down on the tundra and look.

Rich capturing some great shots, I'm sure!

Usually it's a bit chilly up here even if the sun is out but we had absolutely no wind that day and it was nice and warm.

The birthday boy!  I am still finding it hard to believe that we are both now 60!  Rich is not big on making a fuss for his birthday but I think he enjoyed our outing, then out to dinner, and a relaxing night at home.  He had lots of birthday greetings on Facebook and a phone call from his sister.  We've decided 60 is not so bad and I'm happy we're traveling this path together.  Hopefully we will stay young at heart and continue to have many adventures!

 More interesting, tiny plants

Ahhh, what a day!

Climbing the hill to 60

I've never been too obsessed with age or worried much about birthdays but turning 60 has been a bit jarring to me.  I hate to admit it, but 60 sounds a little bit "old."  I don't feel old, and there's nothing wrong with being old, but when I say I am turning 60, it just feels shocking! I don't know where the years have gone, as cliche as that sounds.  I know I have daughters in their 30s and 6 grandkids, with two more on the way, but it doesn't seem possible that I have been on this Earth for 60 years.

Even though I hope to live a whole lot longer, turning this age certainly does make me think more about my mortality and that of my loved ones. With Rich's recent medical adventures (he's fine now, thankfully), friends having surgeries, medical issues, and taking care of ailing parents, plus the sudden death of someone we knew, there are a whole lot of thoughts to ponder.  Rich and I were talking about the fact that most people do not know which day is the last day of  life.  You don't usually get up in the morning and realize that this is it. I'm going to wash the dishes and then collapse on the floor.  I'm going to go to bed and never wake up. I'm going to get in my car and get killed in an accident.  And yet it is very hard to live each day as if it's the last. We get so caught up in the daily routine that we don't stop to appreciate all of the people in our lives and all of the experiences we could have if we got up from the computer or the TV or didn't spend so much time at work or whatever.  I'm definitely not a workaholic but I am a time-waster, which seems ironic when I feel that I am running out of time!

Hiking up Bunker Hill a few nights ago

 Rich asked me how I felt turning 60 and I said it's a little bit scary.  He assures me it's just a day, just a number and everything is going to be great, we have lots of years still ahead of us to do everything we want to do.  I want to feel that confidence but I do have some fear in me that maybe it won't turn out that way.  Perhaps that's because my father died at the very young age of 42 and never got to do the fun things he wanted to do in retirement.  He didn't have any grand plans, just the simple idea that he wanted to buy an RV and travel around the country visiting his old Air Force buddies.  When he had cancer, he was still going out looking at RVs.  To this day, it makes me sad that he never got to do that small thing that would have made him happy.  On the other hand, my mom is still going strong at 83 and her mom lived well and independently into her early 90s so I count on the idea that I have tough genes and longevity on my side.  :)

Because we don't need a thing and not everyone is so fortunate, we are asking family and friends to donate to a needy classroom on DonorsChoose instead of doing something for our birthdays (Rich's is the 21st).  I posted a link on Facebook about two weeks ago and I have been so honored and touched by those who have chosen to donate. To date, we've raised over $2600 for 24 classrooms, supporting over 900 students!  It has really renewed my faith in humanity that people have joined in this effort.  THANKS to my mom, Betty, my daughters and sons in law Sarah and Miles and Bonnie and David, cousins Kris and Susan, high school friends Anna and Hughe, Texas friends Karen and Casey, Alaska friends Tammy, Melanie, Sonia, Steve, Lynn and Lauren, Texas/Mississippi friend Susan, our Australian cruise friends Linda and Martin, Mary, Kandy, and Anne, and four anonymous donors whose names we know but we will respect their wish for privacy.  You are all amazingly wonderful humans and I love each and every one of you!

If you'd like to get in on the fun, click here for the link to Rich and Jane's Online Birthday Give-Back Bash on DonorsChoose.  There are several classrooms on our list still needing help.  One of my favorites only has one day left to meet its goal. :(   The teacher is trying to purchase graphic novels about Martin Luther King, Jr. and Mahatma Gandhi to engage some of her male students in reading.  I would love to see this project get finished, so if you are inclined, click here for the link.  And thanks!

While I am pondering the age of 60, our sweet grandson  Luke, is turning 2! Wishing the happiest of days to my little birthday buddy!  We love and miss you lots and can't wait to see you this summer!

I do kinda like it that my birthday is on Friday the 13th this year, AND it's a full moon, also called the Honey Moon.  The last time we had a full moon on a Friday the 13th in June was in 1919 and the next time it will all come together in June will be in 2098.  Hmmm, guess I will probably not be around for that one.  :)

Okay, friends, get out there and live your lives. Time's a-wastin'.

Your daily dose of inspiration

We finished another session of ESL classes recently.  Once again, I have been so fortunate to work with such a lovely group of students who are smart, diligent, dedicated,  and lots of fun.  My life has been truly enriched by knowing each of them.

 Arnold and Mohamed

 We celebrated birthdays for Juanita and Arnold and learned to say "Happy Birthday" in several languages.  Above: Russian, Vietnamese, Romanian, Spanish, Tagalog, Japanese, Arabic, and French

Back: Mohamed, Anna, Aliona, Iurie, Igor
Front: Moussa, Aldouma, Thao, Tuyet

Back: Aliona, Iurie, Igor, Juanita
Front: Thao, Tuyet, Yumiko, Othman

 Checking phones is the same in any language!  Baciliso, Aldouma and Othman

 Potluck with lots of great international food

 Certificates for another session completed

 Anna and Tuyet

 Happy early birthday, Othman

 Tuyet and Juanita give oral presentations

 Circle discussion time: talking about our hopes and dreams for the future

As the session winds down, some people have left till next fishing season so our class is a bit smaller at the end.  Here are the dedicated last few!

I often think how difficult it must be to leave your home and family to come to a country where the language is strange and the customs may be completely different, where people may not necessarily welcome you, and where just getting through the day can be a struggle.  Some of my students have college degrees from their home countries but have difficulty obtaining an equivalent job here. Others have hardly attended school at all but have an inherent intelligence and a desire to learn as much as they can possibly absorb.  Some cannot get a driver's license because they can't pass the test in English (not yet, anyway!); some speak three or four languages but English isn't one of them so they are treated as if they are stupid. Filling out job applications, attending interviews, making doctor's appointments, going grocery shopping, mailing a package...things we do so routinely....are all an ordeal.  I admire their spirit and their willingness to strive ever harder to make it in this country, to ask for help when they need it, to create a community of friends who support each other in navigating through the maze of life in America.  More than anything, I want to see them achieve their dreams.

Ups and Downs, but mostly Ups

There's been a lot happening here since I last wrote in March. Hard to believe it is now mid-April!

We had to make a second trip to Anchorage a couple of weeks ago. Rich had a scary incident in which he had a great deal of back pain, could hardly stand or walk, and was shaking uncontrollably.  I drove him to the clinic, where they rushed him back to the trauma room and hooked him up to all sorts of monitors. I think they were afraid he was having a heart attack and said his heart was beating very fast.  They stabilized him quickly and said it was not his heart, thankfully.  However, they wanted him to go back to Anchorage for further evaluation since his white cells were up again and obviously something was going on.  We again had bad weather and flew out the next day, back to Alaska Regional, where this time the diagnosis was "infectious colitis."  There's no way of knowing if it was related to the pancreatitis or just a nasty coincidence.  We were sent to a hotel for a few more days, he was put on a regimen of two heavy duty antibiotics and given a note to stay off work for 10 days.  We mostly laid around in the hotel but we did get out and walk a couple of times.  Here's something we saw on one of our strolls around downtown Anchorage.

So we came home and I went back to work and back to teaching classes while Rich had a little bit of a medically imposed vacation at the house.  Not that he was feeling all that great to call it a vacation. The bad thing about antibiotics (well, one of the bad things!) is that they can have lots of side effects and make you feel terrible, which is exactly what he went through for the next couple of weeks. Though he is back to work now and feeling much better, I wouldn't say he's 100% yet.  Hopefully this will all soon be well behind him.

Meanwhile, we bought a house in Dallas!  Our son in law Miles' parents live there and decided to design and build a new home for themselves. Back around the holidays, it was almost jokingly suggested that we buy their house. As they used to say on "Seinfeld," "yada, yada, yada, now we are homeowners."  The "yada, yada" allows me to skip over the months of frustration that we endured from mortgage companies, banks, retirement programs and the ridiculous requirements of the Patriot Act.  :)  Be thankful I am sparing you all the details!   But eventually it was all worked out, whew!  We are renting back to Miles' parents for a few months and then we will be renting it out till we are ready to settle down.  Still not sure when that will be, but I think we are more and more ready to consider moving after Rich's health episodes in remote Alaska with limited medical care.

And this sweet boy had his 11th birthday at the end of March.  He was the first to come into this world and make me a grandmother and what fun we have had with him ever since.  Happy belated birthday to our Aidan, who's great at riding dirt bikes, putting together Lego designs of all types and complexity, and putting up with Gigi hanging all over him. :)  We love you, Aidan, and miss you lots! Can't wait till our summer adventure!

 Speaking of grandkids, we're having TWO more!  Bonnie and David are expecting their third in August and Sarah and Miles are expecting their third in October!  We are very happy, especially since we thought we were finished having grandbabies.  So exciting!

Winter might have had its last stand, though we are never sure. It's sunny one day and snowing the next. But I've seen a few little flowers emerging in the yard, always a good sign.

And March marches in

Rich and I took an unexpected trip to Anchorage last Sunday and just returned home today.  He'd been feeling awful for several days last week; this is the guy who NEVER misses work and has hardly taken a sick day in 20 years so I knew something was terribly wrong when he called in sick. He could not eat, didn't even want to eat, and could not get comfortable enough to sleep at all. Friday he went to our local clinic where it was suspected that he had a gallstone and gall bladder issues and they wanted him to head to Anchorage immediately. Unfortunately, by that time of day, the last plane had already left here so we bought tickets for Saturday and he had to tough it out through another night of no sleep and nothing in his stomach, poor guy.  Saturday we got up early for what turned out to be no good reason because the weather was nasty and all flights were eventually cancelled.  Another day with not much to eat and another night with no sleep.  Sunday we managed to get out and had to go directly to the Emergency Room at Alaska Regional Hospital, where they were expecting us.  Our taxi driver was very interested in the situation in the Ukraine and told us if we had a different president: "Boom, Boom, Boom!"

After hours of lying in a hospital bed and having blood tests, an ultrasound and a CT scan, we were told it was not Rich's gall bladder but his pancreas which had become inflamed and was causing all his pain and discomfort.  He may have had a gallstone, which might have initiated everything, but it was not visible by the time we got to Anchorage.  Apparently the treatment for pancreatitis is to "rest the pancreas," which meant only liquids and food that will liquify at room temperature.  We were released to go to a hotel to "rest" his pancreas for a few days and then see a doctor for follow up lab work.  Imagine Rich's dismay after not having eaten for several days already to be told he had to do the same for 48 more hours.  The next day we took a taxi to Fred Meyer and stocked up on fun stuff like plain broth, jello, popsicles, and water.  Oh, I did get some good snacks for myself.  :)   

Basically we spent the week holed up in a hotel.  It was not all that much fun.  Our hotel did not even have Pay-Per-View or HBO so we couldn't rent a movie and we missed our new favorite show "True Detective."  Even Comedy Central was fuzzy and kept going off the air so we did not get our "Daily Show" and "Colbert Report" fixes.  We mostly laid around, read, watched TV, napped, ate our snacks, and got on the computer.  Toward the end of the week, we did walk to the mall where I got a new pair of jeans after noticing that mine were about to bust through at the knee and Rich got some tennis shoes. Other than doctor visits and grocery shopping, that was about the extent of our excursions.

One day we went to a family practice clinic where Rich signed on as a patient and had his repeat labwork done.  A young woman picked us up in her cab  to take us back to the hotel, asking "Are you using Medicaid to pay for this?"  She then launched into a discussion about environmental issues, which led us to believe we were mostly on the same page about such things, till she eventually looped back around to what appeared to be her primary complaint that women have too many babies in order to "get a check."  As a former social worker, I could not keep my mouth shut and told her that was just untrue. So then I got a lecture about how she sees this all the time in her cab and how many women have told her they are just having babies to get a check.  I said this is anecdotal but not supported by research and that her perspective is probably a little skewed due to her experiences on the job. She was not buying that at all. She seemed pretty ill-informed as she also noted that she did not understand why women in China want to have 11 children (we supposed she had never heard  of the one-child policy).  As we approached the hotel, she stated that she did not want to pay taxes to support other people and that "women having too many babies is the biggest evil in the world."  I mentioned a few other things that were taking a lot more of her tax money and that there were probably a few more evil things to be concerned about, we gave her a nice tip, and wished her a good day. I am sure she was happy to get us out of her cab.

Rich's lab work was better, thankfully, but he still did not feel great the rest of the week.  We cabbed it back to Freddy's another day and replenished our food supply.  We made the mistake of going to the store around 4 PM and when I called to get a cab to take us back, I was told it would be 45 minutes to an hour.  "Is that okay?"  I said, "No!  Thanks anyway!" and called another cab company (by then we'd learned several taxi phone numbers by heart) only to be told it could be just as long.  When I lamented the wait, the dispatcher curtly told me "It's rush hour! It's always like this!" as if I should have known.  Thank goodness a cab showed up fairly quickly. When I told the guy how happy I was, we talked about the traffic and rush hour briefly and then he said he tries not to complain because it really does not do any good. I told him he was a wise man and I needed to hear that.  :)

On our last day we moved to a different hotel closer to the airport so we'd have a shuttle ride in the morning.  In the "small world" department, the cab driver who took us from one hotel to the other was good friends with a guy we know in Unalaska.   I ditched Rich that night and went out with our friends Jeanette and Paul--it was great to see them and we had a fun time at "First Friday" downtown, where different bars, restaurants and shops display various artists' work.  At the first place we stopped, one of their friends was the featured artist with beautiful photos from Israel and Jordan--all of colorful, interesting, and unusual doors.  We made several stops, had drinks, dinner and good conversation. I was glad to get out for awhile, though we were all sorry Rich did not feel up to it.

This morning we caught our plane back home. The flight left on time, the bumps weren't too bad, and we even landed a few minutes early.   *Red letter day!*   After taking a nap, we went to the store and stocked up on low fat/no fat food items so Rich can take good care of his pancreas.  He does NOT want to have another flare up, that's for certain!

And on a happier note, it was our sweet granddaughter Ally's  7th birthday today.  She's smart and funny and cute as a bug, a girly-girl with a big personality and a mind of her own! We love her and miss her lots!