This winter is going to be a decidedly different pace from
past snowbird RV park winters. That much is quite clear. We settled into our nice corner site at
Wilderness Lakes and have met up with old acquaintances and met some new
ones. We are fortunate that the pool is open,
and the weather so far has been staying consistently in the lower 80’s. Great
poolside weather!
2020 is resulting in closed clubhouses, no indoor activities
and of course no potlucks for the holiday meals. To people who don’t leave
their families to escape the cold weather, it may not seem like a big deal, but
the holiday potlucks are more than a huge communal meal. It is a place of
fellowship and sharing and knowing that we are not alone in our mixed emotions
of choosing warm weather over family for the holidays. Misery does indeed love
company and the potlucks are soothing in that aspect. The stark reality of our
choice flashes like an obnoxious neon sign in a hotel window when it is just two
two of you trying to pretend Thanksgiving is special. This year that feeling was felt by most everyone with the times dictating distance. We will all carry on
and do what is needed to get through this trying time with as little adverse
effect as possible.
We had originally planned to drive back to Iowa Thanksgiving
weekend and surprise one of the grandkids by showing up for his birthday. As
the time drew near and cases spiked in our home state, we all made the decision
not to travel and were glad we had intended it for a surprise, so we didn’t
have to let him down. Then the real surprise came. Schools closed and with no notice parents all
over were faced with trying to facilitate home based education with their own
jobs and obligations. After a few conversations with our daughter, we decided
to send me back to Iowa to help. Before I knew it, I had a flight booked for early
morning the day after Thanksgiving. Flying was uneventful and I was impressed
with the measures American Airlines had in place to make the trip a sanitary as
possible. Champ dropped me at the curbside at the Corpus Christie Airport at
6am and we said our goodbyes for will be the longest separation on our nearly
20 years together. Up to now 4 days has
been the longest we have been apart.
This morning I am starting the second school week with the
boys. It is a brave new world, this online learning. The school day is a six-hour
blur of Zoom meetings, for everything from CORE learning to PE and Art. Using
school provided Chromebooks to take pictures of paper-based assignments and post
them to the online learning portal and of course keeping the kids engaged with
all the distractions of home that don’t exist in the classroom. Cat’s jumping in their lap, being within
earshot of each other as they do different work on overlapping schedules. We
have worked it out and all things considered it is going well. As a grandparent I shudder when I think too
hard about what all young parents are dealing with and get angry at the thought
that daycare centers are aloud to be open, ignore mask recommendations and blatantly
tell parents they may or may not see to it that the kids do their schoolwork,
all the while charging a premium because they know parents are stuck. If a
petri-dish, disgusting daycare center can get away with all that, why the hell
can’t they hold classes at school? Like many things this year it makes
absolutely no sense. In a selfish way though, I have thoroughly enjoyed my time
here. It has been a once in a lifetime experience to be here and engage with
the boys on the level I have. We are making memories and I know my presence here
is helping, despite my heart that aches to be with Champ in Texas and knowing
he is missing me as much as I miss him. I feel fortunate that we were able to offer
the help.
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| Art Class on Zoom |
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| In their home work stations |
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| Birthday boy! |
I have taken advantage of my sequestered time here at my daughters
to break away and spend a safe evening with my good friend Joyce and will get to spend
my son’s birthday with his family later this week. I’ll see our oldest son as
well before I head back to Texas in a few days. Each morning I walk the sidewalks in the neighborhood getting in
my morning 5000 steps, I am bundled up against the mid 20-degree temps in one
of my son-in-law’s coats that he is letting me wear during my stay. It’s a far
cry from early morning 60’s in Texas, but invigorating!
What will undeniably be the most memorable moment of the trip was when I climbed into my daughter’s car at the airport. She had purposely not told the boys I was
coming. Both were sleeping when she arrived at the curbside pickup lane. Isaac, the six-year-old
woke up as I was getting in the car and asked how I got here. As we were
talking about my trip on the plane, the birthday boy Hunter who is nine, woke
up from a deep sleep and was clearly bewildered at my presence. He stared at me closed his eyes and reopened them as if to try to figure out if it was a dream. Then he asked, "Did we drive all the way to Texas?" My daughter chuckled and said ‘no’, and I watched him try to process it with his
sleepy eyes and his curled brow. I finally
told him I had flown to Iowa and was staying for a couple of weeks. I laughed and he sat in the backseat trying
to wake up and process the fact that Grandma had come to visit! As long as I live, I’ll never forget the look
on his face when he woke up and saw me in the front seat of the car. Those are
good memories.
Champ is spending his days working on projects like
modernizing his outdoor stereo. The cabinet is now home to a soundbar that is
wired into the motorhome dash stereo that pipes Sirius XM outside. The
antiquated Radio/CD player is in the dumpster.
He piddles as he calls it and I sit in Iowa wondering what little
improvements he will have made in my absence. He tells me the cats are in mourning,
not understanding where I went or that I will return. It’s a weird feeling to
process that I am ‘home’ because I am currently in Iowa. But I am looking forward
to going back ‘home’ meaning the motorhome where Champ is in Texas. In this
life, Home is a very fluid concept!
Until Next Time…
