Sentimental Journey

We are marking the end of the school year by leaving town in the only way we know how—noisily, with a lot of fanfare, and overpacked. We are going to Grand Junction, Colorado. It is my hometown, my parent’s home, the place where hubby and I met, got married, had two of the kids, and also the home of a very strong Native American curse I am waiting to kick in. Ask a local—they’ll fill you in and they can also tell you where the swan and St. Bernard live too.

We get to careen through some of the most magnificent parts of Colorado, with a few less-than-stellar miles around a town called Silt. I can hardly wait to sleep under the same roof where I grew, played, talked on my beloved pink telephone, fought with my siblings (especially you, sister-of-mopsy), ate Swiss Steak weekly, devoured locally grown peaches, and grew.

Just like my kids, who are presently growing under this roof.

We are taking a physical journey to sentimental places, but events of this week, with school drawing to a close, have taken me on an emotional sentimental journey. Here’s a list of the things I have added to my already-bulging suitcases and trunks:

1. Today, I picked up Sammy from his last day of preschool. We spent four years there. The three oldest kids each attended. We were very active in the life of the school. Theoretically we are moving this summer, likely far away from the school so we can’t attend. I didn’t anticipate how teary I got when I realized I was cleaning out Sammy’s cubby for the last time, signing him out for the last time, exiting the yard for the last time, driving away for the last time. You know a mommy is weepy when she cries on the last day of school.

When we arrived home, I said “Wow! You are all done with preschool! You’re going to be a kindergartner!”

Sammy looked at me and said “I am a kindergartner now.” I guess so.

2. Ryley had his kindergarten graduation this past Tuesday. During the ceremony each child stated their name and what they want to be when they grow up. Ryley said he wants to be a railroad engineer.

On the way home I said “so, you want to be a railroad engineer?”

Ryley said “yeah, but first I have to get married. There are so many beautiful girls, I don’t know how I will pick one!”

Does the mother of the groom traditionally wear blue, or does she take her cue from the mother of the bride and choose accordingly? Chicken or beef for the rehearsal dinner? I wonder if we should do a buffet? It is so much easier.

3. Aidan’s Brownie troop had its badge and recognition ceremony. Over pizza and root bear we celebrated the accomplishments of these bright and earnest little girls, who spent their school year learning about everything from taking care of pets to environmental restoration. I hope it doesn’t take me 9 months to sew the badges on her vest like it did with last years batch of badges. Yes. Nine. Months.

4. Aidan’s art was on display at Barnes and Noble last night. This is the same piece that was on display at the school district’s elementary school art show. Her school later bought it from her for $10. So much fuss over a really awesome (priceless, to me) picture of an elephant she made using grey and white construction paper cut into basic shapes and brilliantly arranged in a whimsical manner…

One more thing about this weekend…we have decided after 8pm tonight the words “house”, “hunting”, “looking”, “Aurora”, “master suite”, “north-facing driveway”, “ugly yard”, “refrigerator”, “not”, “included” are all banned from our lexicon. We want some temporary distance from the moving and house hunting process.