Lord of the Flies.....

     

A mini version of Lord of the Flies is playing out on the playground. While unnerving to me, it isn’t going unnoticed as a ring of parents nonchalantly stroll around the perimeter. It feels like a 1960’s spy movie. We are lurking, I am pretending to walk the dog, that one “looks” like he’s taking out the trash. Another parent seems to be intently inspecting the tailgate of his truck. A mom pushes her daughter on the swing but all of us are really just observing the unfolding mele. Why is this noteworthy? Because none of these parents are rushing in to stop it. No one is calling anyone else’s mom because someone made fun of their child’s hair. No one is calling the teacher because their daughter was pushed over during tag. No principals are being involved because they are pointing nerf guns at each other. It is unmitigated, childhood bliss, with all the dirt that accompanies it. Skinned knees because someone didn’t use the slide appropriately, 3 seconds of a hurt feeling because someone experienced defeat. Stained t-shirts from falling down “dead” on the grass over and over, no adults needed to call fair or unfair.
             

    My heart skips a beat as my son points a gun at another kid, pulls the trigger and yells BANG! This is exactly the behavior we have been trained, and in turn, trained kids not to do. I wait for the other child to scream and run home, instead he falls down “dead”.  Just as the unspoken rules dictate, a pow or a bang and your dead. You have to lie down for 1 minute. No adult told them that, they worked it out on their own, just as they picked sides, and boundaries and created the intricate plot to go along. Kids from 6 to 13 are playing together harmoniously. No one telling them they can’t play, it’s not right, or it’s inappropriate. I am torn between what is “right” and what is healthy. 

     I call Jacob over and ask about the game. "It's great, one kid didn't want to be a zombie, so we told him he could watch or be some other thing. He sat down with a gun for a minute and the next he was up playing. Now he's a Zombie too." Totally self regulating. 

     Don’t misunderstand me, I am still your good ‘ol bleeding heart girl. Gun control, anti-bullying, don’t hurt each other’s feelings girl. But, having spent the last 13 years writing up reports for the most asinine childhood offenses has made scenes like this a bit refreshing. Where is the line, have we crossed it? How far back? When do kids get to be kids?

And then, Aiden comes over.

“Mom, we are playing cowboys and Native American’s! I got to be a Navajo, I got em all!”  The paradigm has shifted. They have found a way to make the inappropriate appropriate. Until tomorrow anyway.  

     

You tube movie from Fulltime Nomads

We had an amazing time at home in Castle Rock! So much fun, we made a little movie of our adventures! 
Enjoy...
Castle Rock Movie

Hummttling

     We have lost three tires and two rims in less than two weeks. The problem with a flat tire on a full time rig is that we have big old honkin’ 10 ply tires. A blowout is ugly and the ten ply tend to give us a slow leak rather than the explosion mid highway. That is the theory anyway, didn’t really happen that way the last two times.  But, as you saw from our last post, we worked through it. It was, to say the least, expensive.

     If I haven’t said it before, it’s important to know that the average, (aka in our price range) fifth-wheel isn’t intended for full timing. It’s meant to hold up to the kind of abuse that “normal” people give it. Every other weekend, three months a year is pushing it. So, things break. A lot. Like, EVERYTIME WE STOP. Here is our average accident report.

Monday: Slide went in, weather stripping did not.

Tuesday: Tried to drain the blacktank, there was a clog of toilet paper.

Wednesday: Left the Vent cover open, mechanism got stripped.

Thursday: Crushed my favorite hat in the bedroom slide…again….

Friday: Boys left a drawer open a crack, bounced and wiggled and broke off it’s track.

Saturday: The steps finally gave way and we need a welder.

Sunday: Sink handle breaks off in Aiden’s hand….mysteriously

     That’s one week. We are on week 53! So you can understand why Alan and I are on high alert when something sounds a bit off from the normal routine. And today, at 5:43 a.m. we heard a strange humming. Or was it rattling?  We’ll call it Hummttling.

     It was in my bathroom, (yes, we have two bathrooms, it’s my one indulgence, don’t judge me. Did I mention it’s the size of a phone booth?). At first I thought it must have to do with the Fonzie lighting. We “lovingly” call it Fonzie lighting because after you turn on the switch, you have to give it a loving punch on the wall just below the mirror, followed up with the iconic, “heyyyyy” to make it turn on. Yes, I am certain the Heyyyy is necessary, I’ve tested the theory. At any rate, I Fonzie-ed the light switch but the hummttling didn’t stop. I climbed up on the toilet and turned off the vent fan, (it’s REALLY HIGH!!!) but the noise continued. Alan raced around half awake trying the fan from the stove, flicking on and off light switches. Finally he shut down every port from the breaker and still the noise persisted. I had a brief flashback to the tell tale heart but then realized it’s been years since I had anyone hidden beneath the floorboards.  We both simultaneously realized it had to be something that was run on our battery, as the sound continued without shore power. Hmmmm, we returned to the bedroom banging on walls, flicking switches and still the Hummttling continued. I was filled with images of multi-thousand dollar bill repair bills, a faulty slide that wouldn’t retract or, even worse, an electrical fire when Alan started laughing like a madman. He opened up the medicine cabinet and pulled out his hummulting “electric” toothbrush. (Umm, isn’t that a misnomer?).  We both collapsed back into bed laughing hysterically, relief rushing over us that maybe this week it could only be a weld job on the steps, not a tear down behind the wall. Just as we started to drift back to sleep, the car alarm of the site next to us went off.

“I’ll fonzie the light and we can brush our teeth.” Ok, I’ll rig the coffee maker to reach the outlet, we’ll pack up and head out.” “Don’t forget, the bottom step is off, watch out.” “Don’t turn on the Microwave if the air is on.” “Got It”.

And we are off.

     (No, none of these pictures are from the BearMouth Chalet here in Rock Creek where we are staying, but they are lovely!)

Blow outs...Not blow ups...

     The first blow out last week we were all shaken, pulling over into the high weeds, wondering how far away the next town was, grateful to have our crappy spare, even if there was a bubble on it. I worried about having to stay for hours on the hot road keeping the kids occupied. Not being within cell range is disconcerting. Alan lay down on a tarp and fixed the flat, assuring me that the damage to fender was cosmetic and we would replace it when we got a chance. We re-routed and ended up in Rawlins, a far cry from our destination but somewhere with a laundry mat and a tire store. Always looking for the silver lining!

  This week, we are waiting for Good Sam to come, the boys are using the light saber app on my phone to have an epic battle roadside. Alan is hanging halfway out of the truck singing.., ”It’s getting hot out here, I’m taking off all my clothes..” and Bridgeeta is happily pooping on the asphalt, not even bothering to look for a grassy spot. We are quick learners. We can fix what breaks, even if it feels like an unending and budget killing process. We can find a place to stop just about everywhere and we can persevere as a family instead of going to pieces. Damn, the bottom step just broke. Now where did the duct tape go?

Home again....For now....

     This morning GramCyn  is re-training Whiskey, the horse. He has begun overstepping the boundaries. She tears over on the quad like a bat outta hell, red hair streaming behind her as she chases Whiskey away from the fence line. Jacob meets her halfway, jumps on the back of the quad and they both race back and forth to deter him. She teaches Jacob to crack the bull whip to keep the horses from the fence line. It’s important and enduring learning, and it’s soul-nourishing for Jacob.

     In the meantime Aiden and Barney cuddle, watching the coming and goings. They seem absolutely content to watch the cumulus clouds pile up on the horizon.

A family of foxes have built a den beneath the tack room and they roll about, lazy in the mid summer sun. All is right with the world.

   We spent time tearing out the couch and dinette, painting the interior, building in shelves and putting in a new desk for Alan, as he is working nights and the couch wasn't really working for him.    

Alan's new desk...

Before....

Aiden learning to drive the Quad, our evening ride..

  

Tomorrow we leave the ranch and head out for the next phase of our adventure. We have had a month to process what being gone meant and what it means to be home again. We have loved seeing everyone. Obviously. And, perhaps most surprisingly, we have decided as a unit that we aren’t quite finished with our explorations. More than anything else, we achieved a sense of clarity upon coming back and trying to fit ourselves back into our previous shoes. All of us expressed, at some point of another, that our tastes have changed.  We know longer crave what we once wanted, it doesn’t work for us. At the same time, we are so happy to see that our friends and family continue to be joyful in their lives here, and happy to welcome us home again.

     Things at home have changed, we have changed, our friends have changed but our affection and joy with and for them have not. We heard over and over, “It’s like you never left, we just picked right back up where we left off.”     

    Our visit home clarified for us that Colorado really is where we intend to come back to. As Jacob says, seeing the Aspens is like a welcome home sign. We know this is where are hearts belong even when our feet wander. We are incredibly blessed to have a community here that loves us, supports us and welcomes us home with open arms, as well as stands tearfully in the drive waving goodbye until we see them again. It also clarified that as a family, we have goals still to fulfill and experiences to share before the kids get too much older. So we hit the road once more, new paint, new couch, no dinette. Slight modifications and a renewed sense of peace and purpose. Off to Wyoming, Montana, Idaho and Washington, some of our favorite places to be. See you down the road friends!
(We are making a movie of our trip home, any pictures of our visit with you would be greatly appreciated!!!)

Year Two begins!

The Grand Canyon

Our Friend Jema talks about our lives as a tapestry. StudioJemma
 I love that idea! It has never been as evident to me as it was this week, here in Williams AZ at the Grand Canyon. Who could have guessed meeting the Temme family in 2010 would result in our riding a train at the Grand Canyon? Permit me if you will, to do a bit of time traveling. A few years ago, I received a new student when I was teaching second grade. Ella came in and never left! I was lucky enough to have her again in fourth grade. The thing is, Ella and her family have been woven throughout the tapestry of my life in such unexpected ways. Soon her mother and I were teaching together and our kids had sleep overs. We shared ideas when troubleshooting my son’s learning issues, and oddly enough, during my travels, as I opened up any magazine article about the Grand Canyon, there would be… ELLA! Her father Scott works for the Grand Canyon railroad. So, as we approached the Grand Canyon this month we were delighted when Scott invited us to be filmed on the Grand Canyon Railroad. Scott took amazing care of us, setting us up in the fantastic campground near the station, and putting us on the train all the way up to the Grand Canyon and back! (First class and Dome car!) We had dinner and lunch and treated all around like celebrities! (Yes, deep down Aiden and I were fairly certain this was the only life we were meant to live. Jacob and Alan weren’t so sure about that part! ) It was one of those once in a lifetime experiences made even sweeter by the fact that we were able to spend time with Ella’s Grandparents, Aunt and Uncle and cousins along the way.

We had a camera crew with us the whole way and they were fantastic guys, very kind. The train is THE MOST CIVILIZED WAY TO TRAVEL! For the life of me I cannot understand why this isn’t the way we all travel all the time. Even if you are not being served drinks, and snacks and have a private car, (Oh no? You aren’t traveling that way, hmmmm) it is so relaxing, so meditative, so soothing! I just can’t say enough about the Grand Canyon Railroad.

The customer service was fantastic, the people kind and caring. The actors that “robbed” the train and the musicians that strolled around were all top notch. It was an amazing experience.

For me one of the most inspiring pieces was standing on the back platform and watching the tracks speed away behind me. I hope when I finally die it’s just like that. Smooth, calm, letting the past slip quietly away, no struggling to hold on. It is something I will meditate on for years to come. Hard to describe but one of the most soothing experiences of my life.

OH! The Grand Canyon! I almost forgot! Yep, it was amazing too! I was a bit sad. I think as a product of my desensitized generation it was hard to interpret what I was seeing. It seemed like a movie or a setting and though I was sure I should be feeling some deep connection to all things, all I could think was, “is the camera getting my crows feet?” Ah, vanity! It seemed unreal! I think I need to spend some time at the bottom of the canyon to appreciate it.  Alan and the boys however were clearly able to incorporate what they were seeing as they were awestruck by the sheer magnitude of the Canyon. The colors, the contrast in the landforms, the levels of  rocks, were extraordinary.

There was an AMAZING Hopi group dancing there and some wonderful architecture by Mary Colvert. That was awe inspiring as well! She was a woman who made all these amazing buildings in a time when women were not supposed to work, in a place that was only attempted by the most hardy of our citizens. This woman, these Hopi Natives, The Temme family, people from all over the world coming together to see a giant crack in the earth, all weaving in and out of a bigger tapestry. We are profoundly grateful for all of you being a part of our tapestry!

Off to stand on a corner in Winslow Arizona, and see the petrified forest!!