The Great Migration: Day 3 and 4

Yesterday, December 19th and day 3 of our drive, my computer died in the car, and I was too busy visiting to write where we stopped. We drove from Lincoln, NE to Laramie, WY. I don’t ever want to drive across Nebraska ever again. There was absolutely nothing besides more and more flatness, no towns to even look at, and it smelt bad the entire way (manure). Kansas and Missouri were far more interesting. But! We made it Laramie, WY to stay with the Berry clan. Mike was our campus pastor in Marietta and relocated to WY with his wife, Amber, and two kids, Eli (9) and Savannah (6). We love those guys so much, and Eli and Savannah are the best kids.

If our kids are half as wonderful as Savannah and Eli are, I’m excited to have kids. Eli is the kindest boy, and at 9, without being told, asked if there was anything he could help me with when I was loading up the trunk this morning and enthusiastically carried out lots of stuff for me. Only 9 and is wanting to help and serve others. And he is so smart! His little mind is so curious about the world and it’s fun listening to him talk about all the different interests he has as he gets older. Maybe this is a strange thing to say about a 9-year-old boy, but he is going to be the greatest husband to the luckiest lady someday. Savannah is just the cutest girl, so sweet and cuddly but sassy and funny. She was snuggling with me on the couch but throwing out old jokes at her mom at the same time. Ha! I also love that they are both really tech savvy, knowing how to use any and all Apple products, but yet last night they still asked to play cards and a board game. I think that is a great attestation to how great their parents are. Sorry to get all sappy, but just what a relief to see a healthy family together amidst the craziness of this world. Seth and I listen to a news podcast (most) every morning by a guy named Al Mohler, and he often talks about the latest dismal statistics and studies of broken homes and the demise of families in this era. Sometimes after listening I just feel hopeless, but spending time with the Berry family reminds me that God is redeeming families.

So anyways, it was a great visit yesterday. Today, day 4, we are headed west on I-80 through the rest of Wyoming, swinging down by Salt Lake City, and then up to Boise as the final destination today!!!! My big sis and brother-in-law are in Boise, and I am so thankful to have a solid break from long driving days to spend Christmas with them. Between finishing up school, studying, taking boards, packing, and moving, Seth and I haven't had a little break for months and months, every weekend occupied with something so this is long overdue staycation and family time. Just 471 more miles to go today…

PS. 60 miles outside of Boise it started POURING down rain, where the straps that hold the car top carrier enter the car started leaking profusely all over me, Seth, and the animals, and we got delayed behind 2 wrecks. Today we experience 50+ mph winds, fog, snow, sleet, and rain. A perfectly sunny morning in Wyoming turned into road trip from hell an hour from our destination. However, I am very happy to be sitting on Rach and Nic’s couch, eating all their food, and snuggling their dog.

Coop being extra cute in our hotel in Lincoln, NE, ready to go the following morning.

The only interesting thing to see the entire trek across Nebraska.

Animal cuteness.

Welcome to Wyoming!

Sophie helping Seth navigate.

SAFEWAY!!!!! :D Now we are getting close to the west coast!

More animal cuteness.

Pit stop in Wyoming.

Geology in Utah.

Utah is beautiful. I-80 West.

Idaho.

Finally made it to Boise and Coop met his fur-cousin, Griffey, for the first time.

The Great Migration: Day 2

So we drove from Kentucky to Nebraska today. 14 hours of travel. After getting the car all repacked, animals situated, and breakfast and caffeine purchased, we were on the road west bound at 7:30AM Eastern Standard Time, and here we are in Lincoln, Nebraska at 9:20PM Central Time. I. Am. Tired. But! The key to success? As Seth says: “Very regimented breaks.” We stop every 2.5 hours whether we need to or not, 15 minutes for small breaks, 30 minutes for lunch. Get out, potty breaks for everyone, and snacks are bought or retrieved from the trunk.  This really has helped me actually. It’s kind of how I run long distances. When you break it up into chunks with smaller individual goals, whether it be sit for 2.5 more hours until I get to get out or run at X pace until I get to mile marker Y, it makes it much more manageable. However, no matter how many regimented breaks you have, driving in the dark sucks. The last few hours were BRUTAL.

So thoughts for today: if anyone ever wishes pain and suffering on me, make me live in the middle of the United States. We have driven through the rest of Kentucky, southern Indiana, southern Illinois, across Missouri, up through Kansas, and landed in Nebraska, and there is one unifying theme: flat. FLAT FLAT FLAT and small shrubby bushes of trees. This topography does not sustain happiness for Monica. Nope. No way jose. But! There is snow on the ground! It’s getting colder as we get farther west, and I do like that.

So Day 2. Lexington, Kentucky to Lincoln, Nebraska. Animals are still coping well. Our hotel is pretty clean for being an animal friendly hotel. Glad to be done with the mid-west. Onward to Laramie, WY tomorrow to see the Berry family!

Coop doing what Coop does best.

Sophie finally realizing the most stable, comfortable place for her is in her carrier.

 Coop ready for a break!

Illinois border!

 Long walk at lunch time.

Arches in St. Louis, MO

Whew. Look at all that distance traveled today!

The Great Migration: Day 1

I haven’t written in a long time, because life has been crazy. So basically here’s a summary of life: I finished PA school on December 12^th, we packed up our car and the animals, and I am writing as we are literally driving on I-64 East on our way across the country. We’ve just finished up having lunch in Charleston, WV, with some friends from Marietta (Ohio, where Seth and I went to undergrad), and our first stop is Lexington, KY to see more Marietta friends. The goal is to get to Boise in a few days to spend Christmas with my big sister, Rach, and brother-in-law, Nic. However, driving away from Appalachia, our home for the past 6 years, I am feeling like I need to say a few things to the places we have loved and left.

To Marietta,

Driving through Charleston, WV, I am reminded of you. Grey overcast winter skies, rolling Appalachian foothills covered with leafless trees, big steel bridges, and old OLD houses, some well cared for and some decaying and boarded. Many people I love, more then words can possibly express, I met there and/or continue to live there. Thank you for being my home while I found and began those friendships, and I hope that you continue to be a place that people love and adore because you remind them of those friendships.

To Roanoke,

You are beautiful, southern charming, and just so ‘cool.’ An upcoming craft brewery hot spot of the south with some of the best outdoors the east coast could imagine. I also did a lot of growing (up) with you. I learned the power of quiet. I learned what it really means to be loved and cared for by a church. I learned how much location does not matter when the people you love are not there. Although some hard lessons, I am thankful for every one. There are people we love there too, and I hope you care for them and make their lives better as you did for us for 2.5 years. Oh, and you were the place Seth and I got our first dog and cat, and for me, that is infinitely special.

Dear Seattle,

I don’t know you yet, but I am excited to know you. I am a little intimidated of your size. We ‘ve never lived in a truly large city, but you are among mountains, lakes, and the oceans, so I think will adjust just fine. I am also thankful for your large international airport that people can come see us through and we can get to Alaska quickly and (sometimes) cheaply.

Many people have asked how I am feeling, and I am reminded of this quote that I have shared before.

“You will never be completely at home again, because part of your heart will always be elsewhere. That is the price you pay for the richness of loving and knowing people in more then one place.” Miriam Adeney

But even in the midst of this sadness, I also feel this:

“The mountains are calling, and we must go.” 

John Muir

Day 1. Roanoke à Lexington. Dog and cat are riding surprisingly well, and both are in the back seat asleep at this very moment. The suitcases we have tied to the top of the car haven’t flown off either. So overall, successful first day of the great migration west.

Our last moments in Roanoke! Car is loaded and ready!

 Sophie the cutest co-pilot. She has been doing great. Only meowed for the first 45 minutes.

Napping in the back seat.

Our host in Lexington, Ernie the 20 lb Tabby. 

Homeless

So I haven’t written in awhile. Much has happened, but not sure how to best articulate everything. I’ve decided to write about something sad, but because I think it’s important.

Seth and I recently got some beautiful fall pictures done by Good Company Photography (shameless plug. They are beautiful, and Seth and I love the family behind the business), and I have two thoughts when I look at them:

1) I am so lucky, and I can’t believe this is my life.

2) I am such an over privileged, Caucasian, middle-class, female, Christian-American.

I also just read an article by Dr. Josephine Ensign, Nurse Practitioner and Public Health Professor at the University of Washington. She wrote an article about a period in her life that she was homeless. This very esteemed nurse practioner, Johns Hopkins trained doctor of public health, professor at the University of Washington…was once homeless. Please read her article entitled “No Place Like Home(less)” here. http://pulsevoices.org/archive/stories/379-there-s-no-place-like-home-less

And after reading it, all I could think was how good I have it right now. Makes me read my last post and just shake my head at how ridiculously unjustified my feelings were. But after reading her article, I also reflected on a period in my life that my sister and I were pseudo-homeless. Are there different degrees of homelessness? I’m not sure. I think there are, and I think this counts as homeless even though we weren’t ‘living under a bridge’ homeless. I won’t go into the sob-story details, but the basic premise is our parents had a yucky divorce, there was a month long period when I was in 7^th grade, my sister 9^th, that we weren’t allowed to see our dad (for bogus reasons) and it wasn’t healthy/safe for us to stay with our mother. So we left, and we couch surfed on our own. Thankfully, I was able to stay with one particular friend almost the entire month. My sister, though, did a little more couch hopping. Regardless, we had to separate in order to find places to stay. The middle school I was at is separated from the high school just by a football field, and she would sneak out at lunch and come over to the middle school to check on me most days she could. Some days she would bring lunch money for me. Sometimes I wondered where it came from, but it didn't matter because we were just trying to survive. 

So anyways, the purpose of this is not to make anyone feel pitty on me, because lets face it. Look at the pictures posted below. I am blessed beyond measure. My life is wonderful, full of so much love I could just explode.

But here is my ending note. Everyone has a story. Even perfectly behaved little straight-A student, student counsel president, sports stars 13-year-old Monica and 15-year-old Racheal had a story. Create an environment of safety where people can share these stories and not feel embarrassed or ashamed as Dr. Ensign describes in her article. She says it this way: “Homelessness is chaotic, exhausting and soul-sucking.” Although it was a brief period in my life, and I don’t remember much of my life as a 13-year-old, but I do remember that month. It was, in fact, chaotic, exhausting, and soul-sucking. That could have been a very pivitol moment in my life, and instead of getting ready to graduate with a masters degree that allows me to practice medicine at 23 years old with a wonderful, healthy marriage and great relationships with my family, I could easily be addicted to XYZ and perhaps have a few kids from a few different men by now. But you know what made the difference? A few kind people who had no idea what was going on but provided glimmers of encouragement and stability. So be kind and encouraging. Only good and grace can come from it, and although generic to say, you never know what somebody else is going through. 

Ensign, J. (May 2014). No Place Like Home(less). Pulse: Voices From the Heart of Medicine/ Albert Einstein College of Medicine/Montefiore Medical Center.