You've Come a Long Way, Baby!

When I first met Tess, she was bald.

However, I knew her long before I met her.  My first inkling of her existence arrived in southern Spain at the local pharmacy.  It turns out Tess and I had hitchhiked to Spain together from the Netherlands.  I was on my way around the world.  But, although I did weigh the option of giving birth in Kenya, my smaller, rational side won out and we retreated back to the USA.

Despite her lack of hair for the first TWO YEARS of her life, Tess enjoyed a pleasant childhood surrounded by lots of adults and few children.  This helped her mature more quickly than the average rugrat, I think.  We lived on the campus of UNC-CH while I went to grad school.  She helped me alphabetize and grade papers as part of my TA duties for undergraduate classes before she went to kindergarten.  From this early career she spawned a love of clerical work.  She retains that love to this day.  Need a desk or file drawer organized?  She’s your girl!  (No wait… she’s MY girl.  Never mind.)

We were like 2 peas in a pod for the first 7 years of her life.  We traveled a lot…  Ecuador, Puerto Rico, Europe, the Bahamas, a pioneer road trip to Laura Ingalls Wilder sites around the US (she’s still featured prominently on www.ingallshomestead.com).  When we were at home, she joined Girl Scouts, the swim team, soccer (aka dandelion gardening), and was the only member of her 1^st grade class who could read well enough to narrate the class play. 

We were busy.  But, we were happy.

Then we met the other half of our family.  Tess acquired a dad and an older brother in one fell swoop.  We sealed the deal when she was 8 years old.  And, Tess, being Tess, went with the flow.  Always easy-going, and slightly devious.  She discovered early on how much fun it could be to get your brother in trouble.  Good sibling fun.

A few years later she became the middle child when her baby sister joined the family.  Tess was a wonderful older sister/babysitter/buddy.  She still is actually. The girls have always been very close.  The age difference may have tempted Tess to behave more like a second mother on occasion.  Luckily, her early maturing process seems to have stalled and she’s too ridiculous to be mistaken for her sister’s motherly role model.

Tess has always been pretty easy to please.  She doesn’t have a lot of material needs.  I trained her to prefer vanilla so I could have all the chocolate if we bought a neopolitan carton of ice cream.  She’s always been able to entertain herself or play well with others, whichever the circumstances required.  She enjoys the path of least resistance, but is not afraid to cause some resistance when warranted.  She was raised with the ability to be independent, yet willing and able to love and be loved.  She cherishes good friends and family.  But, I have no doubt she can take care of herself when she needs to.

Case in point:  Today she graduates from the University of Alaska-Anchorage with a BS in Nursing.  She’s paid her own way through school working 2, sometimes 3, jobs at a time.  She is preparing to move from Alaska to Virginia where she will take her certifying exam and embark on her career as an RN.

You hear about “empty nest” syndrome when your kids leave home.  (I know our nest is still occupied by one more chick.)  But, I don’t feel sad that Tess is entering the world and leaving home.  Instead, I am excited for her to begin her life’s adventure!  I look forward to following her growth as a nurse, and as a content adult leading a life still unfolding.  I have complete confidence that she will be okay. 

As long as I live, Tess will always be my baby.  Little, bald, and beautiful.  She molded me as I was molding her.  Together we became who we are today.  She taught me how to put the needs of someone else before my own.  And she taught me how wonderful that could feel. 

My wish for Tess on this special day is that she keeps her heart and her mind open to the world of opportunity in front of her.  Even blindsides that seem to derail your well-laid plans can turn into something more beautiful than you could have ever dreamed for yourself.  Be ready… and enjoy the ride!

Love,

Mom 

 

April Amusements

Tess and I are both training to become motorcoach drivers for the major cruise lines serving Alaska.  This is taking up A LOT of our time.  Especially considering we will only be driving part-time and seasonally. 

But it is a lot of fun.  A new adventure!  Tourism is big business in Alaska.  And "the season" is solidly linked to the cruise industry.  Basically, the state of Alaska rolls out the welcome mat in mid-May and rolls it back up in mid-September.  During that window of time, thousands of people will visit Alaska.  And, for many it is their "trip of a lifetime".  We're looking forward to sharing Alaska with these people.  It should be a fun summer!

In other news, we are having hardwood floors installed.  It's taking quite a while.  But, once their done, they should look great!  We had originally planned to have new carpet installed when we were thinking of selling the house and moving out of Alaska.  But, once we decided to stay put, we figured we'd rather have hardwood instead...  Since we changed plans midstream, we've been living on bare subfloors for nearly 2 months while we waited for the wood to be shipped from the Lower 48. 

April is typically a pretty ugly month in Alaska.  The snow is still melting and the whole place starts to smell like last year's dog poop.  It's amusing that there is a Febreze scent called "Alaska Spring".  Clearly the folks who named that have never been to Alaska in the spring. 

In general, we've had a very mild winter (unlike most of the rest of the country).  So, our snow cover is relatively light this year.  But, it's still there, still brown, and still blooming piles of poop everywhere you turn.  The good news is, in about 3 weeks, we should be done with snow and moving forward to lovely summertime!  The days are already pretty long.  So, the promise of summer is very close by. 

Bursting into Sunlight

We're headed straight for the Spring Equinox.  Daylight is getting longer every day by leaps and bounds.  Hooray!

I'm hopeful for an early greening this year.  The snow has been minimal this winter.  And the temps have been pretty mild.  It hit 40 degrees today and is supposed to remain that way through the week. 

We had another great trip to Hawaii this winter.  And, this time, none of us were sick!  Even better!  We spent 3 days on Oahu for the sole purpose of visiting Pearl Harbor. 

Then, we spent a glorious week on the Big Island near Kona.  Our rental condo was perfect.  It was just across the street from a great snorkeling beach.  And there was a pool just off our lanai (patio). 

We went to a nice luau, visited Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, and Stephen rented a Harley for a day.  He managed to get a massive sunburn on his head.  But, he did enjoy cruising around the island.  We saw lots of sea turtles and tropical fish.  It was a very nice trip.  Here's a link to some pics.
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10152059047188159.1073741835.523908158&type=1&l=cfa0d77bfd

While we were in Hawaii, we spent some time weighing the pros and cons of moving out of Alaska.  We had been planning for a year to move to NC this coming summer.  But, we realized, we're better off staying in Alaska for the foreseeable future.  Alicia is very relieved as she has spent her entire memory in Alaska. 

We are okay with the decision as well.  We'd done several things to the house to prep it for the market.  So, now we just get to enjoy those upgrades.  We installed a nice backsplash, improved both bathrooms, repainted most rooms, redid the kitchen ceiling/lighting, and are having hardwood installed.  Woot woot! 

We should've fooled ourselves into thinking we were moving years ago! 

Ah, well.  Better late than never.

Whirlwind Recap

Geez!  Who's the slacker that writes this blog?? 

Oh, right.  That'd be me.  Sorry!

So, let's recap the past 8 months in brief....

February: After returning from the warmth of the Hawaiian Islands in late-January, I immediately set out for the less-than-balmy Pribilof Islands sitting amidst a windswept ice cap in the middle of the Bering Sea. Let's just say, I didn't improve my tan.

March: Girl Scout cookies and Easter fun.  Alicia met her goal of selling 250 boxes of Girl Scout cookies so she could earn a free camp session.  And, we had our umpteenth Easter Picnic/Sledding Party, once again in the deep snow of an Alaskan "spring". 

April: More snow... sigh.  The brownie troop spent the night at the Alaska Zoo.  We hung out with the wolves, even hiding nifty "meat balls" we'd made for them in their enclosure.  We also toured the polar bear quarters and got to meet a red fox and an owl.  The girls thoroughly enjoyed their Zoo Snooze experience! 

May: More snow.  We broke the record for the longest winter ever.  "hooray"... NOT.  Over Memorial Day Weekend, Alicia and I took a little trip over to Valdez on the north end of Prince William Sound.  We drove the 6 hours over there and then took the ferry back across the sound.  The scenery is just gorgeous.  A fun weekend getaway!

June: We hosted a family of moose (mama and twins) and a Scottish soccer coach for 2 weeks.  We enjoyed both!  Despite the coach in-house, Alicia decided to transition from soccer to gymnastics.  It's been a good decision thus far.  After our 2nd record-breaking winter in a row, we finally set a record for a beautiful, sunny, warm summer with the longest stint of 70+ degree days in a row.  HOORAY!  That's what I'm talking about!!

July: Nana came for a visit (along with Tess's OH college buddy) for the first 2 weeks of July.  We had a wonderful visit.  We were able to spend a few days in Homer which is one of our favorite Alaska spots.  We all enjoyed the beautiful big log cabin we rented there. (Homer photos: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151602425053159.1073741828.523908158&type=1&l=ac0c14cfb7.)
We all got to enjoy the Bear Paw Festival in Eagle River as well, where Nana and Alicia got matching tats...  (temporary as they were...).

August: We ventured southeast to Virginia and North Carolina.  We spent a day working at our property in VA.  And then we spent over a week enjoying the Charlotte area and, most importantly, the western NC mountain region.  We met up with lots of family and for the first time in a long time, actually enjoyed a "family vacation" together!  Must be the mountain air....  ;o)
Alicia started 3rd grade at the end of August.  She is still enthralled by the Spanish immersion program.

September: Tess has started her Nursing curriculum full-time.  It's been a busy month for her.  She turned 21 and is currently hosting her boyfriend for a couple weeks.  He PCS'ed to Virginia earlier in the summer, but is up for a visit.  She's also maintaining her employment at a military child development center and hopes to acquire a nursing externship position soon. 
Alicia is in full swing with school and her 3 extracurriculars: gymnastics, brownies, and ballet.  The whirlwind has begun....

Okay, phew!  There you have it, in a nutshell.

Catching Up!

Geez, what a blogging slacker I've been!  I'm going to chalk it up to the marathon illness that has swept through our household these past many weeks....  Really dreadful.  I hope all have you haven't had the pleasure...

Anywho....  Despite being sick, life must go on.  While the preference would be to curl up in a ball in bed until we're feeling better again, the Hawaii trip was already paid for.  So, off to Maui we went!

Here are some photos from that trip. 
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151291669343159.479004.523908158&type=1&l=39521e72cc

We spent 10 days on Maui.  We'd rented a 2 BR/2 BA condo in Kihei, just steps from the beach.  Stephen was only with us for 5 days as he had to get back to work.  But the girls and I were there for 10 days total.  Stephen was getting over the illness (weeks of coughing, congestion, respiratory distress, headaches, fevers, chills, etc), but Alicia and I were feeling pretty poorly.  Tess, living in her own place, hadn't gotten it... yet. 

Even though we were ill, we still were able to enjoy lots of what Hawaii has to offer.  We spent lots of time on the beach, Alicia building sand castles, Stephen and Tess snorkeling, and me just trying to breathe and remain lucid.  The girls went ziplining, and we took a snorkel boat trip to see dolphins and whales.  That same night (our last on the island) we went to the Drums of the Pacific Luau.  We had planned to do the boat trip and luau a few days earlier on Alicia's 8th birthday, but we spent that day having her seen at a walk-in clinic instead.

To say the least, our Hawaii Adventure wasn't at all what we'd dreamed of, but it was still wonderful to get away from Alaska in the winter time!

Two days after we returned from the islands, we held Alicia's birthday party.  She'd completed her Z-pack prescription and was feeling mostly better by then. 

Her party was a winter campout with her Brownie Girl Scout troop.  This was so far to the other end of the spectrum from lounging on the beach in Hawaii, that it was almost painful!  But, we survived it and everyone had a pretty fun time...  ;o)

Here are some photos from that:
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151326228078159.480833.523908158&type=1&l=4522cca671

Speaking of Brownies, we just had a fun Brownie meeting this week.  The girls have been working so hard at different patches and projects, that I thought it'd be fun to just let them have a Spa Day for this meeting.  So, we did their nails, gave them a foot soak, and a facial.  They really enjoyed it as you can see from the photos located here:
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151363111323159.483708.523908158&type=1&l=c1c33a364a

I'll try to be a more diligent blogger.  But, no guarantees!

Under the Weather

Well, it's been a rough week.  First, Stephen was sick.  Then, we all were sick.  We are all still sick, which is distressing as we're supposed to leave for Maui in 2 days. 

For quite a while we have been without much snow on the ground.  Last week the temps warmed up so much that it rained and created an ice rink on the roads, driveways, and parking lots.  This week we got over a foot of snow which successfully trapped us at the house for a couple of days.  But that was okay as we were too sick to go anyplace anyway.

Alicia was trying her darndest to feel better by yesterday (Friday), so she and Stephen could attend the "Me & My Guy Dance" being held by the Girl Scouts.  Unfortunately, Stephen was unable to fake being well enough to attend.  So, Donald stepped in and acted as her escort.  They had an enjoyable time, but I think it wore poor Alicia out.  She's resting on the couch today.

Hopefully my next post will report a better health outlook!

Happy New Year 2013

We have plunged our way into the New Year... 

Alicia went back to school this week.  I am back to my regular work routine.  Which is to say, I spend several mornings each week sitting at a corner table of the coffee shop using their free WiFi and abundant heat. 

Our family makeup has changed a little since my last post, at least in the canine department.  We tried our darndest to get Buster, the blue heeler, to get over his fear of men.  But, the high levels of stress it was creating in our house wasn't doing anyone any good.  So, we ended up rehoming him to a single woman who lives nearby in Eagle River.  She'd had a heeler for 12 years and had just had to put her down last year.  So, not only is she familiar with Buster's breed, she's also the right gender for his comfort zone.  Win win!

After Christmas, we adopted a new little lightening bolt named Sunny.  She's a mutt, but appears to be a papillon mix of some sort.  According to the adoption group, she's about a year old.  And, she's very friendly.  She adores everyone and zips around the house like a streak when she's not curled up in a ball, fast asleep. 

In November, we spent 10 days traveling between Ohio and Virginia.  It was great to get away from Alaska and spend some time with family for Thanksgiving.  We haven't spent a holiday with family for years!

Around that time, we had a little snow and then our temperatures took a steep dive and stayed well below zero for several weeks.  Temps that low mean no snow.  No snow means Alicia's ski lessons got off to a really slow start!  She's doing the Jr. Nordic Ski program this year.  They meet two evenings a week to learn how to cross-country ski.  But if there's not enough snow on the trail or the temps drop below zero, the session is cancelled.  She's only had 4 sessions since the season began in late November. 

I'll try to post a little more regularly.  Now that the holidays are behind us, I should have a little more time to keep up with my high priority tasks such as writing this blog!