Wassup!

Hey, Peeps!

And I say that because Easter is only a week away.

Who doesn't love Peeps?

(Well, okay, I don't. But I love the idea of them! I think they're cute! And colorful!)

So, what's up these days?

Plenty, I tell you!

(1)
Flynn started a new job in a new state. It's actually closer to Zion, where we live now.
About 100 miles closer.

But there are no interstates to get there, two large mountain passes to cross and hundreds, 

I say HUNDREDS of deer and antelope to get past safely.

I don't care what the song says, conjuring up all that Wild West romantic imagery:

♫ "Where the Deer and Antelope play" ♫  

Oh please!! Deer and antelope playing on the road isn't cool at all. 

It's dangerous and scary!

So far, we have been fairly lucky. (Knock on wood)

We've not hit any big game with our vehicles as we travel back and forth.

Flynn has hit a small something (it was dark and he didn't see what it was. But it knocked something loose on the bottom of the car).

And I hit an already dead skunk... which was just as terrible as if I'd hit an alive skunk.
The residual smell left on the bottom of the car was pretty terrible!
Thank heavens for automatic car washes with HOT water.
No tomato juice was needed to rid my car of the nasty smell.
Not that tomato juice works anyway.

That's an old wives tale. 

Silly old wives. Didn't know what they were talking about.

Holy cow!

I digress.

Now that we're past winter, Flynn is able to fly back and forth more frequently, which is
a whole different set of worries.

Too bad you can't see the top of my head and all the new gray hair that has sprouted out.

But, he loves it.

He can fly here in 2 hours

vs.

driving for 6.

That's a no brainer for him!

But what about us moving to the other state to live with him to stop all this dangerous traveling back and forth?!?!

Good question!

(2)

A long, long time ago,in a galaxy far away....

Okay.

Well, in January, which seems like a long, long time ago we were in that galaxy far away

(where Flynn is working now),

and we got together with a real estate agent and a builder.

We picked out a lot. And we picked out some house plans.

We put some earnest money down on the lot and house plans.

And then we noticed something.

Remember when gas prices started to drop? 

Remember when they were almost $4/gallon and all of a sudden they were below $2/gallon?

Yeah.

It was pretty amazing, since we're people who spend a lot of time in cars driving down roads,
using that gasoline.

Those low prices, however, STINK for the people who are working in oil fields.

Flynn's new employment is near a lot of oil fields. A lot of people in his town work out in those oil fields.

A lot of the oil rigs are being shut down, and workers are losing their jobs.

Very sad.

But, for us, that meant that the housing boom that has been going on in this town will probably slow down. 

Which also means the prices of houses will drop.

At least, we hope they will.

So we walked away from our lot, our house plans and our builder
(still trying to get our earnest money back).

For 6 months, that is.

And we cross our fingers that the prices will continue to drop and that we will be able to find a house that is not only great but more affordable!

Three months have passed since we made that decision.

And we've noticed that prices are indeed dropping.

It hasn't been as dramatic as we'd hoped, but it's happening.

Here's the plan...

(3)

 * Scooter and I finish out the school year here in Zion.

* We are committed to helping out/performing in our local community theatre production of
"Little Mermaid, Jr." (children's theatre) during the month of June.

(I will probably need to be committed when it's over. I'm "assistant director"!)

* I am NOT registering Scooter for school here next fall.

* We begin looking, in earnest, for a home for us all to live in.

* We will be living together, UNDER ONE ROOF, by the end of summer/beginning of the school year.

Holy cow!

It's been 4 years of living like this! 

It's dang exciting to think of seeing Flynn every day.

Hope he can handle us!

(4)

I am still a grandma to the most amazing little guy ever born, in the existence of the world.

Some might say I'm being dramatic.

I say I'm just being truthful.

Squirt just turned two years old and he calls me or FaceTimes me almost every day.
Sometimes he doesn't say a word, but that's okay.
I just talk and talk and talk to him. I think he just likes hearing my voice.

We have a connection you know.
Last week, when they were leaving our house after a visit, I heard him say to me, 

"I love you!"

I'm the first person he has said that to.

Brings tears to my eyes.

He always kisses the phone or iPad when he hangs up after our conversations.
Love my guy.

I'm going to miss him horribly when we move.

(5) 

Scooter is doing well in school.

He's no longer in his "nerd herd" classes and that's been a tough adjustment.

He has no patience for naughty children or mean teachers. 

And when you're shoved back into the general population of the school, that's what you get.

My boy is turning into an activist. He can't sit quietly when he sees injustice being done.
He told off a student teacher who he felt wasn't teaching the subject

(she was supposed to be teaching geography, but was teaching "what do you want to be when you grow up?" or "what piece of the playground do you identify most with?" or "don't judge other people by their outside appearances").

(Those are honest-to-goodness subjects that were taught during Geography hour.)

He reaches out to help the autistic child in homeroom that he feels is being bullied by the teacher.

He looks for ways that he can help his homeroom teacher who is obviously stressed and acting out against the children (she sends kids to the office every day!). He tries to find ways to make her burden a little lighter.

He's a good kid.

(6)

I started working.

I work at an assisted living home. 

I am working in the kitchen as a cook, server and dishwasher.

The cooking and serving is fine and fun!

I love this profession (chef) I have chosen!

I love working with the residents. And I have to say the residents with dementia and/or Alzheimer's are my favorite. But that's another story for another day.

It's the dishes that kill me.

Imagine with me, if you will, your kitchen on Thanksgiving.

You have just cooked the biggest meal possible. You have fed your family.

Everyone is fat and sassy and comfortably resting in the living room.

You return to the kitchen to clean up the dishes that have created this culinary masterpiece.

You are shocked when you realized that every dish from your cupboard has been used and is dirty on the counter. Just waiting to be cleaned and put back in its proper place.

Can you see it?
It's overwhelming, isn't it? 

It's exhausting, isn't it?

Okay, now times that by

x10!! 

I was shocked the first week I worked and I saw the amount of dishes we have to wash/clean.

And it's not just once a day!

Nope.
On my shift, I have to wash the same amount of dishes

twice a day!!

(breakfast and lunch)

With three of us working on clean-up, it can take 1.5 hours just to wash and put away the dishes. 

That's straight work time.
No breaks.

No stopping.

It's hell.

Not gonna sugarcoat that one!

But, these wonderful people have to eat. And they deserve to eat the best food we can provide.

This is their home, and who wants to eat hospital food three meals of every day?

It takes a lot of dishes to make good food.

So, we keep on cooking, serving and washing.

And washing.

And washing.

And washing.

(I did give my notice, however. I need to focus on getting our house packed up and ready to rent.
My last day of work will be May 18.
My fingernails are grateful.)

And that, my friends, is

WASSUP!

XOXOXOXO