My daughter Marni gave me a journal to enter stories and memories from our cabin visits. Writing with pen and paper lacks clarity when no one can read your writing, and there are other places to visit besides the cabin. Ergo this blog journal.
The blog name honors my Norwegian immigrant Great Grandfathers - Ole Leidal (1870) and Joe Holstad (1866). It's all about the journey, long underway.
It probably isn't really Day One since we drove to Owatonna last night, checking in about 11 PM, but we were up early today, at 8 AM, and Dana took the wheel. For 300+ miles.
I snapped this photo not long after we left Owatonna, perhaps bout 9 AM. The sun rays were bleaching through but you can see the clouds in the sky through the sun roof. Nothing of significance happened other than Dana driving for so many miles. And she's a very good driver, holding the steering wheel properly, as taught in Drivers Ed.
Tonight we are in Andover, near Wichita, and the thunderstorms are wafting through the area, although they said it would be minimal here in this area, thank goodness. Tomorrow we leave at 8 AM again, with Albuquerque the destination.
Maybe I've been jaded by all the nonsense that goes with preparing for the move including all the arrangements, cleaning things out, over-seeing (or not) the packing process, and getting bored while waiting for the van to be loaded. Maybe I've let myself get out of touch or something, I don't know.
When the van pulled up all we could do was point the driver in the right direction and watch as they began loading. They were just "things" having nothing to do with what we had put together here.
As much as we've enjoyed the decorating and building we have done, by the time the house was empty yesterday I was just kind of numb. I had wondered how it would feel to walk into an empty great room and remember all the great times we had there, the sound system, looking out the high windows at the sky and the ducks flying by, and even watching the shade sails flap violently in a thunderstorm.
When the moment came there was nothing. I could only feel the satisfaction that it was empty, the job was done, and we were ready to move on. I sat on the aggregate bench by the pond for a while to listen to it splash; given the very light winds the bubbling was not overtaken by the highway noise, so there was some satisfaction to that.
But the net net is that I guess I was jaded.
We had an enjoyable dinner with the family at the Phoenix. Then it was time to head south, and we all walked out the door. I said goodbye to Leigh, and I still didn't get it, that this was a major separation for them, until I hugged Jana and realized she was crying just like Leigh had been. And the reality was setting in.
For years they had been able to pop in at will, Leigh especially, since she was working right in town, but Jana because she might just buzz through. Going forward they will really have to go out of their way to make that happen, and I h ope they do. Jana already mentioned coming to STV in August, when the pool will hopefully be in the ground and operational. But the easy access? Gone forever. Bittersweet.
