I Miss My Son

I miss my son.  I miss him so much my heart hurts.

I wonder if it is different when the child leaves instead of the mother leaving.  I wonder if there are times when he needs me and I am not there. I wonder if this is a natural process that all mothers go through when their children become adults and lead independent lives.  I wonder if I would feel less guilt if he were the one that came back home to visit instead of me traveling the roads back to Oregon.  I wonder how a divorced mother and father will affect his life.  I wonder what the world will hold for him and what it will offer in the way of sadness and happiness.  I wonder if some day he will find a woman to share his life with and if someday he too will have a son that he will miss.

All I know is that today, I miss my son.

Maps

I spent some time with a fellow workamper last night.  He was already starting to plan his route after his stint here is over and wanted to show me the route.  My first instinct was "please, DON'T bring out the map!",  but his enthusiasm was catching and I relented.  I knew it was waaaay too soon for me to think about the next journey.

There is nothing like a road atlas.  The thrill of all the unexplored states, roads and scenery gets to me every time.  And it did this time as well.  I started to share his route with him, where will the road take him, what roads have I already traveled and what information can I share.  He and his wife are heading for Mississippi and Florida and I have sent him to Peg Leg Pete's in Pensacola, FL for oysters and Navarre Beach, FL for a great RV park, remembering the wonderful time I had my first winter on the road.

It was then that I started to look at the map for my own route come September.  It will be a route I have traveled before but not with Minnie.  The route takes me to Boise, ID, Cheyenne, WY and down through Colorado and into New Mexico.  My heart starts to beat a little faster with excitement.

It is too soon, too soon and I have to reel myself back in to stay in the present moment.  I knew I shouldn't have looked at that map!

Blistering Heat Wave

No, there is no blistering heat wave up in the Oregon mountains, I merely use it to remind myself that things could be worse, so much worse.

Yesterday I drove to Sandy and for a brief moment all I could think of was driving until I met with the Sun.  I had to remind myself that I did not have my water or sewer hose with me and I had no clue as to which direction the elusive Sun was hiding.  It is now the middle of July and it remains cool and rainy.

The pattern has been that on the weekends it turns warm and sunny, just in time for me to go to work, and as soon as my work week ends, the clouds and cool weather returns.  Good for the weekend campers, not so good for me.

T-shirt

Ok, here is the t-shirt, although I am not wearing it.  Couldn't quite figure out how to take a picture of myself wearing the tee, but thought the tree might look good:).  Bear in mind there are few of these in existence.

Wish I could wear this during my shift instead of the gawd awful polo shirt.

Wild Wild West

I have tried to enjoy myself as much as possible the last two weekends.  There is an activities' theme each weekend and last weekend was Wild Wild West.  The weekend before was Hawaiian.  I wore flowers in my hair and adorned myself with shells for Hawaiian weekend and wore denim and a cowboy hat for Wild Wild West.  Add some karaoke music into the mix and I danced and sang my way through my Saturday shifts.  It was great entertainment for everyone who came into the office.  The good thing about having these themes is that if I wear some type of costume it gets me out of  my dreaded polo shirt.

I also entered a coloring contest and won the T-shirt I have coveted since last year.  This T-shirt is not for sale and no matter how much I tried to woo the manager into giving me one, the only way to score one of these T-shirts is through a "win".  Every time I would see someone wearing this T-shirt I would go green with envy.  Jean, my co-worker, also coveted one of these shirts and when she wore her Native American wardrobe she finally won one for best costume. 

It was a Yippee Ka Yea kind of weekend and it finally feels like I am working at a resort instead of the Hood.

Fooled Again

I was fooled again.  I thought summer had arrived with the 1st of July, but once again the rain and cool weather has returned.  I am glad I am not suffering through the heat wave of the Plains or the humidity of the South, but I am rethinking my love of Oregon summers.

I try to keep myself busy with reading, sewing and mahjong but today was bad enough that I finally went to the fitness center to get some much needed physical exercise.  A couple of miles on the bike and a mile on the treadmill showed me just how out of shape I have become.  How did this happen!??  Not that long ago 25 miles on my bike was nothing more than a pleasant experience.  Is it age or this particular life style?

Tomorrow it is back to the fitness center.

Repairs

The light over my vanity sink went out.  Seemed like an easy fix, just put in a new bulb.   That didn't work even though I tried two different bulbs so it looked like I might need a new light switch.  I needed some other work done as well so I called in the mobile repair service.

I am embarrassed to say that it actually was just a new light bulb that was needed but who whoulda thought there were two nipple and one nipple bulbs that look exactly alike??  Looks like I have a supply of incorrect bulbs so that is now on my list of things to buy.  Even though I felt like a fool when the light came on with a new bulb, it was good to learn something new.

He also replaced the electric board in my heater and put in a new thermostat so I am ready for winter when it rolls around again.  The last thing on my list was to re-caulk around my kitchen sink where the caulking had started to peel away.

He was here for an hour, completed my list of repairs and charged me less than $200.  The heater board was used, not new, but I am still thinking it was not a bad deal.  After all, gaining new knowledge is priceless.

4th of July

Donna with her July 4th Hair

Summer finally arrived with the first of July.  It is warm with a cool breeze and the skies are a brilliant blue.  There is nothing like an Oregon summer and it feels wonderful to at long last sleep with the windows open and be able to sit outside to blog.

Along with the warm weather and holiday weekend came kids, kids and more kids to the park.  And there is nothing kids love more than candy!  Between selling ice, firewood and candy, I barely had a moments rest the three days I worked.  All the workers felt the strain of our busiest weekend this summer and we breathed a sigh of relief when the park thinned out and we could once again enjoy some peace.  But, I must say, it was one of my more enjoyable 4ths.  Because no fireworks are allowed in the park, I did not have to suffer the usual war noises that make me cringe when this particular holiday passes my way.  The worst of it was the smoke that permeated the air due to fires built with wet wood.

Neighbor Jeff always makes sure he has dry wood and because he does love his fires, another load was delivered.  The entertainment for the adults was watching the younger men split large rounds of wood until their young bodies had enough.  It didn't take too long:).

Lots Of Splitting Left To Do

Nothing Like A Bark Fire

 

My other entertainment was live music on Saturday evening and karaoke on Sunday.  There is not enough alcohol in the world to make me take up the microphone but I finally understand its appeal.  It is the thrill of never knowing what voice will come out of the person taking the stand and the joy of listening to someone who can really sing after so many who can't.  And I caught a brief glimpse of why people do this.  After listening for awhile, even I thought I could sing better:).