What a summer! Where to begin…? I guess the summer officially kicked off with my graduation from EOU in early June. Rachael, Josef, Gramheart and I piled in the car and made the trek way out to La Grande to attend my commencement. It was a fun little journey–we stopped in Pendleton to explore, visited a spooky old sanitarium in the middle of the desert which has been restored to a B&B, and hiked around at an Oregon Trail site where you could still see wagon ruts through the sage. Everyone was extra nice to me as I celebrated my big day and I really felt very loved. Gramheart treated me to a fancy steak dinner, and Josef ordered the kids prime rib which I found quite adorable.
After working just over 5 years at Joey’s List, I bid farewell to the incredible job that gave me the chance to work from home, move back to Corvallis, study in my downtime, and still make a couple trips back to LA every year. I feel so fortunate to have had that opportunity and was sad to say adios. But the one thing that job did not have was any sense of security or opportunity for the future. I feel very pleased that I was able to ride the wave as far as I did, and relief that I had the sense to gracefully exit before it crashed on the shore.
Knowing that I have many years of toil and labor lying before me on the path to getting my CPA license, I decided to take the summer off and try and cram every nook and cranny with as much fun and adventure as I could find. It kind of felt like being 17 again–done with high school and on the cusp of huge responsibility, trying to make the most of my last gasps of freedom. Except now I have a three-year-old. Josef has always been an excellent companion and travel partner, so I knew we would have ourselves and incredible summer.
And incredible it was indeed! For posterity (and my own dwindling memory banks) I will give a quick recap of the timeline of splendors:
- Camping for 3 nights with family and friends at our annual group camp
- A train ride to LA to visit old friends and family and show Josef the old stomping grounds
- 2 days at the Oregon Country Fair
- Camping on the Siletz with 7 other families from Josef’s preschool
- Camping with Gramheart and Aunties Nin and Sarah, at House Rock
- Camping at Donner Lake with a huge group to celebrate the marriage and new baby of my oldest friend.
- Backpacking trip in the Siuslaw Nat’l Forest (Josef skipped this one)
- 2 nights living it up with my best friends at a cabin on the McKenzie River (Josef missed that one too)
- A trip up to Vancouver BC for our annual visit with the Norwiss family
Among these set pieces were many fine backyard BBQs with family and trips to play at the park. Josef had two cousins visiting from Spokane–both BIG boys!–and a whole passel more who just moved here from Boise. It was a treat for him to have them all around, and he is quickly learning that nothing is more fun than cousins!
It has been so wonderful to watch him blossom into a little boy this summer. Gramheart got him a Big Wheel, and after a rocky and frustrating start he suddenly got the hang of it and wanted to ride the mile down to the covered bridge all the time. He outgrew the bike seat so I got him a tag-along attachment and now he follows behind me all over town on his “tandem.”
On our trip to House Rock he really proved his mettle as a hearty adventurer. I had wandered upstream to explore the waterfall and when I came back he was adamant that he see it too. So we braved a swim through freezing water, climbing up a pile of mossy boulders, and crossed the river on a fallen log so that he could lay eyes on the natural wonder. It was quite exciting for me, because those sorts of outdoor adventures are so important to me but I’ve really had to curtail them as I waited for my little friend to catch up. But now I see that he will soon be right there with me.
As the summer progressed we got in more activities like this. One day we rode the tandem up to Bald Hill and then hiked all the way to the top. At Donner Lake, he accompanied my best childhood friend and me on a long romp through the woods and along a creek, bushwhacking our way stealthily through the forest to ambush a picnic. Seth and I spent about 80% of our free time playing army as boys, so it was really fun to take a trip back in time, the three of us creeping through the brush together.
Josef is completely fascinated by construction these days. He will happily spend and hour just watching men at work, as long as giant machinery is involved. I got him a set of 5 little plastic construction vehicles, and they are his constant companions. He took them almost everywhere, would often disappear for 30 minutes in the yard doing a little project, and would make sure they were all lined up in a tidy row at night when the day’s work was done.
He is becoming more and more able to amuse himself–playing in the yard alone, thumbing through a book, or listening to music. For our train ride to LA I got him a few books on tape of “The Boxcar Children” and he became immediately obsessed. I will frequently turn on one of the stories for him and he will sit there listen for hours. Really, any kind of stories seem to be completely fascinating to him. I think he would happily drive all the way across the country with me, provided I was willing to keep up a continual stream of storytelling! (Which I am not. Sadly, I am pretty weak in the story department, but fortunately Rachael and Gramheart are experts)
He has a wonderful sense of humor and is especially fond of wordplay. He still loves music and will play air drums or air guitar to any rockin’ tune that he hears. When he gets excited he will frequently break out into a rhythm guitar groove, and he accompanies most of his activities with a steady stream of rhythm or melody that absentmindedly issues from his mouth. He has a VERY clear sense of the way things should be and will make sure you know it. It is very hard for him sometimes when things aren’t conforming to his exacting specifications. Yet I find he also is able to handle the vagaries of existence rather gracefully, and to smoothly transition to something new when I explain things to him in ways he can understand.
One day while Gramheart was away, he went upstairs all by himself and made himself a lunch of bread and yogurt. He was careful not to make a mess, put his dishes in the sink, and did he best to twist and tie the bread bag shut. I was very proud of him. He told me he was just going to take care of himself, and that’s just what he did!
I got to spend almost every single day of the summer with him, and the good times we shared I will carry in my heart for the rest of my days. It really has been the best summer of my life, and I’ve had some pretty good ones! I’m feeling all warm and happy just remembering it all right now…
But now summer is over, and my new job has begun. It is quite a transition; having spent almost every day of his life at home with him, I am now working in Eugene and am gone for about 11 hours a day–and it’s not even tax season yet! But I am so filled up with good feelings and fulfillment from this summer, and so energized and excited to be starting a new career, that I am in fine spirits. Life is going to be quite different for me these next few years, but the happy memories from this most excellent summer will not soon fade.
Due to the new constraints placed on my time, this already meager trickle of information on Josef’s happening might all but dry up. I will do my best to update a couple times a year, but it might be heavy on the photos and lean on the commentary. Perhaps that will be a welcome change!
