The Events of Monday, February 28, 2011

                My body, still on Central or Mountain Time, first woke at 5:30 am. Way too early! Not inclined to follow my husband’s example as he was already up, I tried to go back to sleep. No such luck. Resigned to being awake, I spent some time praying and then began organizing and moving boxes out of the closet where they had been stored. Then it was time for a luxurious bath. Warm, blubbly bliss has definitely been missed these past eight months. Soon the rest of the house began to stir, and it was time for breakfast.

                The agenda for the day was fairly simple. Spend the morning cleaning the inside of the RV, swing by the high school to pick up the kids’ course registration packets, have lunch provided by Jim’s mom who would be dropping by on her way to San Francisco from Tahoe, then spend the afternoon wading through accumulated mail, complete the registration packets, return the RV and then enjoy dinner with my parents.

                We were busy working on the RV by 8:30, but I soon realized our progress would be slow. It seems, in my desire to teach my children to always do their best, I forgot to account for their internal drive and desire for perfection. When one of the girls asked for Q-tips, I knew we were really in trouble. The interior of the RV was cleaned, inch by inch with utmost care. The hours passed, and still the kids tirelessly continued to work. At 11:30, leaving Jim and Abby to continue working, the older kids and I headed over to Franklin High School to pick up the course registration packets for next year. It was a trip to drive the Toyota again. It is so tiny, and I can see all around the vehicle. Upon our return, we changed back into our work clothes, and soon were hard at work again. At 12:30, Jim and I had a quick conference. If his mom wasn’t there by 1:00, we’d stop for lunch. At 12:50 she pulled up and after a little clean-up, we all trooped inside for lunch. And what a lunch it was: chicken salad, potato salad, apples, oranges, spanakopita and wontons; eclectic, but delicious. Just as we were finishing, Jim’s dad drove up and joined the party.

                After lunch, Gayle, perhaps looking for an excuse to visit longer, offered to wash the floor in the RV. For those who don’t know my mother-in-law, washing floors is her forte. The day after we brought Caitlin home from the hospital, she appeared on my front step and asked, “Can I wash your floors for you?” Floored by her very kind offer, I said yes. For a long time, she has coupled washing my floors with visiting her grandchildren. Now she was offering to wash another floor and Caitlin, whose assigned job it was, was eager for the help. Finally, around 4 pm, the RV was clean. Gayle gathered her dog and headed home, while Jim gathered some paperwork and prepared to return the RV to its owner. While he was gone, the kids worked on folding the loads of laundry that have been going non-stop since we arrived home. This gave me the opportunity to meet individually with each high school student and select their courses for the upcoming school year.

                By the time Jim returned, it was time to get ready for dinner with my folks. And what a yummy dinner it was‼ Tri-tip, mashed potatoes and gravy, cooked carrots and bread, not the monotonous dinners we had become accustomed to fixing ourselves on the road. Dessert was a delicious chocolate ice cream cake to celebrate my birthday. We sat at the table for a long time, sharing stories of our adventures and hearing of their travels. Finally, it was time to draw the evening to a close, as our bodies are still several time zones behind. Upon our return, the kids headed to bed, while Jim and I made plans for our day tomorrow and each did some computer work on separate computers. After sharing one computer for the past eight months, this was a different experience. Heading to bed, we felt tired but accomplished. With the RV cleaned and returned, the U.S. portion of our trip was completed. Now, it was time to turn our full attention to preparing for Europe.