Tales of the Ordinary Days

Day 8 | 30 Days of Writing Day One of the Summer Road Trip of 2009 (our launch lunch in LV before Mom, Dad and I headed north - note atlas in the background) A week from today, we will be taking off for a two-week road trip. With our dog, Zeke, and my father-in-law, Larry, in tow, we will start a two-week adventure. I couldn't be more excited. My last true road trips, taking in the beauty of the US for an extended period, was in the summers of 2009 and 2010. And they were glorious. The circumstances were completely different, but I am hopeful that the outcome will be the same; enjoying the company of the ones I love while taking in the precious moments in life that collectively make the best memories. 2009 was a rough year for me. Technically divorced in all ways except the paperwork wasn't completed. There was a parenting plan dictated by the same courts in charge of the pending paperwork that including a month in the summer that the boys stayed with their dad rath...

Grant and I...Easter dinner at the Outback This morning I vividly remembered back to an Easter six years ago. I hadn't thought about this for some time. But somehow this seemingly forgotten memory resurrected itself.  Easter weekend was tough that year. Thus why I have likely tried to forget. But with each passing year, I see this journey as a lesson and the tough times, ultimately a blessing. My finding a family video labeled "Christmas 2008" probably stirred this memory. Christmas Day of 2008 was just two weeks after our filing for divorce. The news was an unpleasant surprise to our three boys. Still in shock, this was our first post-divorce holiday with my attempting to create normalcy as a 'new kind of family'. Their dad and I were continuing holiday traditions; trying to keep intact our cherished Christmas morning of opening gifts. As I viewed the abandoned video footage on my computer, Garrett watched over my shoulder. What I thought w...