Stewart and I have moved a lot…no seriously…..a lot. In the almost 18 years we’ve been together (What? 18 years? Seriously? No way! Those years zipped by), we’ve moved thirteen times. We’ve lived in four major urban areas including Denver, Tucson, Portland, and Seattle and in one rural area on the Olympic Peninsula (outside Port Townsend). Trust me…we know how to sort, pack and move. We got this.
But, this sorting/packing experience is totally different from the others. An extremely small amount of our ‘stuff’ is going with us, a max of 100 lbs. each, to be exact. This time when we hold an item in our hand before sorting it into a toss/sell/keep category, we must determine 1. Will we need it in Nepal?, 2. Is it something that we cannot take with us, but cannot bear to let go of? (mostly family heirlooms) and 3. If we keep it, where will it stay until we return to the States?(no moving van or storage rental involved on this one…very very few items will be kept in nooks and crannies of family members’ homes)
Stew said it feels as if we are preparing for death. Kinda gruesome…but, a true description of the emotions involved in this experience.
Yesterday was spent celebrating our favorite holiday tradition…..Fourth of July family time, a huge dose of people watching, topped off with awesome fireworks. The night was poignant because never far from our mind was the realization that our next Fourth of July celebration in the States will not occur until July 4th, 2017.
I’ll miss Log Boom Park, where the Seattle family celebrates the Fourth. The park is on Lake Washington and has a great playground for the kiddos to expend energy, while waiting for the fireworks show to begin after dark…..(which, this far North, happens close to 10 pm). The corporate sponsors of the event make sure there are several craft making booths available in the park, a variety of food (for those not bringing a picnic from home), a DJ playing all types of music (Grandson Edgar requested “Let It Go” from Frozen, which was…..based on the reaction when played over the loud speaker, a favorite of the crowd), and a giant bouncy house (there were huge kids in that blow up toy….didn’t there used to be a height limit?). It’s a wonderful place to sit back and see the ethnic diversity of Americans and the joyful interaction between them. Everyone seemed happy (singing and dancing), respectful of each other (“sure….you are welcome to pull up a blanket and sit right beside us”), and…..I dunno….proud to be American (lots of red…white…and blue).
We managed to take tons of pictures of strangers celebrating yesterday, which we’ll share. Over the next two years we plan on taking thousands of pictures documenting holidays and celebrations of cultures outside the U.S. It seems fitting for us to begin our documentation with the celebration of American culture. Yes? God Bless America, Stars and Stripes Forever, Our Home Sweet Home.
Back from two weeks in Nashville. A good time spent in the company of my (Vee’s) family. My brothers and I are all direct communicators with a love of debate, competitive personalities and a huge amount of respect for each other. Add a skill for story-telling and just the perfect touch of insanity and those around us are in for some entertaining evenings. We stayed with my Mom and under the tutelage of my Step-father and Mother, Stewart learned the correct mixture of soil needed to grow tasty vegetables and how to fry up a mean mess of fried green tomatoes. We both attempted to eat a bit of meat, but our vegetarian stomachs were not happy with it and our vegetarian taste buds were shocked to realize that the flavor of today’s meat didn’t come close to the memory of meats eaten in bygone days. This experience led to the joint decision that we shall remain vegetarians during our stay in Nepal, unless abstaining from meat-eating causes our host family to be offended in some way. A leg of our flight home was delayed in Denver, resulting in a Sea-Tac arrival time later than the last bus between the airport and our apartment. So, Tues. night/Wed. morning, we had an interesting, very complicated trip through Seattle, by train, shuttle bus, and taxi cab…rubbing shoulders with the ‘night-walkers’ of the city. We got home around 2am. Interesting how…no matter where you’ve been or how long the trip….it is always wonderful to get home.
We now move on to clearing our lives of material items. By the end of July, everything we still own will be very important to us and also be able to fit in a corner of Daughter Liz and her family’s garage.
Peace Corps has implemented our Pre-Departure Plan. This week, we have received several e-mails from Washington DC and Nepal containing assignments with due dates. Nepali language skills must show some progress before September.
The soft heat and humid South inundate Mt. Juliet, TN, where Vee’s family lives. Upon arrival, the words coming from my accent-conscientious wife began stretching to meet her mother’s long vowels and soft consonants, stopping just shy of settling into a typical Southern drawl.
Both of our families’ ancestors passed through this region a number of times. Vee’s family stayed mostly on the Southern side of the state while mine slowly migrated across the Northern half before dropping down South to LA. Both of us have very strong Southern roots.
The last time we came through we rented a car, driving through the back-country to looking for relatives’ graves. We found many generations, some lying in small back-wood, back yard family plots and some in large community cemeteries, but all of them surrounded by the gentle rolling Tennessee hills and huge oak trees. It is a beautiful land for graveyards, increasingly so from the gravitas lent by dappled sunlight, humidity, and threats of heavy rains.
This time around, we have stayed close to home, enjoying the company of Vee’s mother Sue, step-father James, brother Michael and his wife, Renee. Next week we will be joined by Vee’s other brothers, completing the pack of siblings, but for now, I’m loving the time we are spending with these great, gentle people.
Although I would have a difficult time living here, I enjoy this state. Tennessee is a thriving land filled with life. Sue and James live in a rural region filled with stray cats, raccoons, coyotes, and tons of other wildlife. They keep a good sized yard, but the surrounding forest lends the idea that any taming is temporary at best. Tall trees loom everywhere with many broken branches, shattered or torn from their trunks from strong winds, and scrub and vines line any area of the yard unchecked for very long.
One of James’ cats enjoying life
James provides food and some shelter for some of the local feral cats and kittens, and in return they provide entertainment. We are often pointing out the window at some antic or cuteness being displayed in large quantity, and it has been fun walking around the darting creatures.
So now I’ve been out a few times, wandering around to inspect James’ garden or the strange limestone bedrock cracking out from the ground. This last time I was out, I picked up a few hitch-hikers. I can’t see them, but I know they’re there. You see, I itch. A lot. I have around 25 welts (now 26) from what we think are chiggers.
Chiggers are relatives of ticks and mites. They are very small and hard to see, but can cause huge damage for their size. It used to be thought that they burrowed into your skin and lived there, but more recent discoveries show that they ‘just’ inject an enzyme into skin for easier munchings, and then drop soon after. The ‘host’ often doesn’t realize they’ve been eaten until a few hours or days after the insect has gone.
Wherever they are, here or there, I’m itchy and cannot sleep.
Transitions, even good transitions are difficult. You’re floating in that limbo between what was and what will be for a while…..your conscious and subconscious tripping over each other at odd moments.
The last few mornings, I’ve slowly eased into consciousness without an alarm, realizing that my unconscious self was hard at work…on some school project that’s finished, submitted and requires no further thought. “Let it go, already! My god, if you aren’t going to come up with some amazing intuitive brilliance to contribute toward the future, you could at least relax and think about lollipops and rainbows or some such shit.”
Then the unknown future will hit me at strange times in peculiar ways, like when I’m reading the blog of one of my ‘University student Peace Corps’ compatriots, as she describes getting rid of everything she owns in anticipation of leaving the country next week…..and I realize I’m hyperventilating. “What the Hell? Get a grip! Pull yourself together!”
Even the present is attacking me in this limbo land…..last night after giving the grandsons hugs and heading toward the car, my eyes started watering. “Oh fer Pete’s sake…..are ya gonna cry the rest of the summer? Man up! You got shit to get done!”
We do have a lot to do……and very little time for whining and moping and daydreaming. The list is long and everything falls under four headings:
1. To be done before our Nashville trip: Two weeks spent in Nashville with my Mom, during which Stew and I will also see my three brothers. All four of us live in different states, so it’s been…..I don’t know how long…..since we’ve all been in the same place at the same time.
2. To be done before our lease is up: Our apartment lease is up July 31st. Everything we plan on keeping must be accounted for at that time (all else will be gone). We will be homeless between that date and September 5th when we fly to ‘Peace Corps Staging’.
3. To be done before our coast to coast to coast trip: While we are homeless, we will be making the trek cross country to Boston and back. Our kittens will be living near Boston during the two years we are out of the country…..but, Peace Corps will be flying us out of Seattle in September. So, we will make a road trip to the East Coast and back to the West Coast in August……stopping along the way for photo ops of our favorite U.S. places…and favorite U.S. people (let us know if you’ve got time and would like us to stop by to see you, your location may be near our cross country path).
4. To be done before staging: Peace Corps staging happens on September 5th, 2014. That is the day we meet(at an undisclosed location) with the rest of our group heading to Nepal…get a few extra immunizations…fill out forms….and all board a plane to Asia. All ‘I’s must be dotted and all‘t’s crossed. School stuff…..legal stuff….informational stuff….(all the stuff needed to be completed before we head into the wild blue yonder)
Yeah…zero hour is fast approaching. Tons to get done! Focus!
We don’t live in Beverly Hills of Seattle, but when 7 police cars pulled a truck over (“Driver… place your hands where we can see them”), it piqued the neighborhood’s curiosity. Nary an empty balcony in the complex.
A bit far off for clarity, but at least we have a good solid on Dick’s Deluxe.
“How’d you get so many cats? Aren’t you afraid of turning into one of those crazy cat people?”
Desmond as a Kitten
We’ve never actually sought out a feline child. But, if a kitten in need has shown up on our door step and there was ‘room at the inn’, we’ve done what we could to give them a hand.
Our past is filled with animal antidotes … the emaciated campground cat we canceled our vacation for…in order to get to the veterinary urgent care; the two feral cats who welcomed our food and make-shift shelters during their twilight years, but never allowed us to touch them; and the many cats we fostered (often during brutal winter weather) until a permanent home could be found for them. Although no longer with us, I miss every one of those feline friends. But, we’ve never taken in more than we could care for … so, no … not crazy. Well … not crazy in that manner.
HarLee as a Kitten
Our current furry kids all came to us while we were farming in Port Townsend. Desmond and Harlee were siblings we took in as part of a deal with our neighbors. If they would spay and neuter their farm cats, then we would take in their last litter. Gus, on the other hand, was already a young adult when he began appearing around our farmland. We assumed he was a ‘boarder’ at one of the neighbor’s homes. Whenever we saw him from afar, we’d talk to him and he would meow in response, but he kept his distance until one day when he showed up wounded on our door step, all skin and bones and unable to walk on one foot.
We asked around the neighborhood searching for his human family, but no one claimed the little guy, so we took him to the pet doctor for treatment and a ‘microchip check’(none found). In the weeks following, as we nursed him to health, Gus quickly let us know he was a domesticated cat, who expected to be allowed an indoor sleeping room at night. He has been with us since.
“Maybe you shouldn’t be leaving the country, if you have feline responsibilities.”
A Young Gus
Well…ouch…that one hurt. But, we totally get it. And we do see them as our responsibility. They are important to us. We love them. And please trust me when I say we are struggling with the thought of leaving our small companions in the care of others for over two years….especially when we know there is no way to explain to them that we are coming back for them. We are not ‘dumping’ or ‘abandoning’ them. We are trying to find another responsible person to care for them while we are out of the country.
Both Stew and I let intuition guide us. When we do so, things work out right and blocked paths become cleared. I have no explanation for it….but, it happens. The decision to go into Peace Corps came from nowhere and hit both of us at the same time. It was actually a little shocking to bring the subject up and find our partner having the same thoughts. Since that decision, we have been propelled quickly down a path that should have held multiple ‘stoppers’ and taken longer…..but didn’t. It is happening so fast, we can only feel it is the right direction for us to take. We are both extremely anxiety ridden about how we can make sure our babies will remain safe, while we are out of the country. But, I can’t help but believe someone out there is going to shelter our children. I know we have adjusted our lives to make room for furry kids in the past….and will most likely do it in the future. We are certainly nothing special….so, it stands to reason there are others out there willing to help us out for a couple years.
Bela, Desmond, Boo, HarLee, and Finn wondering what’s going on outside the window…
School has entered its final phase, and everyone is pushing themselves to maniacal distraction. We’re on the Nyquil-Coffee diet, similar to others, but I’ve even heard a “Mountain Dew-Weed” mix going on. Not my cuppa, but… whatever works for those in need.
Vee is up to her eyebrows in group projects, where this quarter I seem to be flying solo, which is a relief. It has been interesting attending a few of her classes and one of her professor’s lectures, especially when most of them have a lot to do with my studies and interests. I wish that I was able to attend more of the PCMI focused stuff earlier, but schedules conflicted. Still, what a great last year to have. Amazing classes and professors! UW is a great school. Compared with my previous colleges, UW is amazing. Tell all your friends, etc.
Three more weeks!
from Vee…..this is photographic evidence of Stew’s studying. My studying is stacked in much neater piles. It takes up half of the living room floor…but, its neater. No….I won’t post a picture. I do concur with Stew about UW. Amazing professors and amazing classes. Evans attempts to cram a bit too much in the brain at once, but wow….the stuff that’s getting crammed. And the mixture of international development, global health, and policy analysis classes do offer some information that will probably come in handy while overseas. Current Peace Corps Masters International (PCMI) requirements have me focusing on doing all the necessary paper work to allow me to continue to be a UW student during our time in Nepal……and to allow me to do research on humans, get my school loans deferred…..etc…tons o’ paperwork. Three more weeks? Ugh!
When I was struggling last fall with ‘less than stellar’…to say the least…grades in ‘Economics for Policy Analysis’, one of my professors put things in perspective for me by saying, “If you are achieving constant perfection throughout a process of any sort, that process is not a true challenge for you. Life is so much more rewarding, if there are true challenges. You’ve hit a true challenge at this time. During a true challenge, perfection along the way is the not goal. The goal is steady improvement with each step of the process. You are ‘trending upward’. Don’t waste time and emotion in worrying about the lack of perfection you are seeing. You need that energy to methodically trend upward through the process.”
I’m amazed by how many times this comment has popped into my head since I first heard it. I believe those few sentences are doing more to ‘rewire’ my brain than all of the time and effort I’ve expended in struggling with my ‘perfectionism’ throughout the years. What a major impact…and the professor probably doesn’t even remember the incident. You never know how deep a footprint you leave as you walk along your path.
We’re trying WordPress out. It seems to have the features that both of us are looking for and is expandable if we suddenly feel the need to post our full picture size and sets (ha… that would take up most the web!).
Here’s some shoes to make your feet comfortable, and provide a good frame for what we expect our upcoming life to be like very soon…
