Traveling with Parents

I've recently returned from a vacation with my parents. They have a house in Scottsdale, AZ and a couple months ago, after I got my Christmas bonus from work, I decided that I was not going to pay off ALL my bills, I was going to get my ass into the sun to refill my vitamin D levels (you know how gray it gets in the PNW this time of year?) and relax because I've been so stressed out.

It was a wonderful trip, and coming home was bittersweet. My mom didn't want me to leave. She was staying there another week. I could have stayed there with her, the weather having been in the upper 70s the entire time I was there, but I had children, a job and a boyfriend I wanted to get back to.

Being on vacation alone with my parents, I learned a few things about myself and them that I thought I would share with you.

My parents:

~ They've turned into the Bickersons i.e. my grandparents, but only where two things are concerned, driving and cooking.

When they picked me up from the airport, traffic was heavy, as I came in during rush hour. They decided to take an alternate route. As I sat in the backseat, I listened to them squabble about which street would take them which way, which went through, etc, etc,. I felt like I was a kid again on a cross country road trip. I wondered where my barf bag was and why my brother wasn't slapping me in the head.

My dad and I put together Bracioles for the football games on Sunday, and there were a few debates when it came time to cook them. My dad didn't heat the oil first. I told him to, but he didn't listen. When my mom saw this...then it was too much oil, then not enough sauce...you get my drift.

Other than those two things, my parents are a loving couple who take care of each other well.

~ I'm not sure what's going on with my mom's hearing, but it's a little contradictory. I'll be sitting there right next to her talking to her and have to repeat everything I say. But if I'm sitting at my computer and I say something inadvertently to myself, she could be in the other room and hear me. Mind you, she will still say, "What?" but she still hears me.
~House cams are cool...and creepy. My dad has one at his home here and one

down in AZ. He says it's for safety, I think it's so he can check on his cat, Maxx and make sure he's being properly taken care of. And he can talk to you through the camera. He did it to me in AZ and it scared me to death at first.
~ They have a set routine. This may just be the vacation routine, but here it is.

• Dad up, coffee, breakfast, newspaper.
• He gets mom up to take pills, makes her breakfast, she drinks coffee, reads the paper, watches TV.
• He takes a walk (which I did with him).
• Mom and I would sit outside while my dad tooled around the house. I have no idea what he was doing. I know part of the time he was on his computer, but he wears a pedometer and has to get his 10k steps in, so I know he's also doing other things like taking out the garbage, probably changing light bulbs and stuff, because he always gets his 10k in.
• Lunch is somewhere in there.
•  Errand running (this is sometimes done after the walk, but many times we did it in the afternoon).
•  Down time. Mom would nap, I would write or play on the computer, my dad would do his tooling around again.
• Dinner.
• TV, which consisted of three game shows, Let's Ask America, Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy, then many episodes of some type of Law & Order show. I didn't even know they watched Law & Order.
• Bed.

Drinks were spread sporadically between  down time and bed. We threw in a couple other things, went to the neighbors to visit during the 'Down Time' one evening. Mom and I went shopping  one morning after I walked with my dad, must most the time, the above was the schedule. And I could only stomach one or two L&O episodes then would adjourn to my room for Damages, reading or sleeping.

~ My parents are still two of the smartest people I know. Seriously, just watch Jeopardy with them.

Me:

~ I'm not too shabby myself, when it comes to Jeopardy.
~ Replacing a heat pump is expensive and loud. Avoid it at all costs.

~ I can still read a book in days if I set my mind to it. I read Insurgent by Veronica Roth in 5 days, and that was only at a couple hours a day. Do you know how thick that book is? I even bought Allegiant for my Kindle while I was there (I never read on my Kindle, of course I ordered the hardback as soon as I got home. It should be here today). I'm going to try to make more time to read more books this year.
~ I have no will power when it comes to Italian bread. I can resist any kind of sweets you throw at me, but throw a loaf of Italian bread in my direction, and it's all over.
~ I need to take some time to recharge. I just normally don't know how to do it. On vacation with my parents, I'm forced to do it. I'm forced to sit and do nothing but take walks, read or write. I have to find a way to balance everything I have at home, but to squeeze that time in too. It may be a matter of giving on some other things. Social life, Netflix...but I know it will be worth it. I feel so good after a long weekend of doing nothing.
~  Avoiding becoming a Bickerson, I want the same kind of lasting and loving relationship my parents have.  My mom has had some health issues this year, and I see how my dad has lovingly cared for her. This June they will celebrate their 50th Anniversary. I know I will not have a relationship that lasts that long; if I found someone right now and lived another 50 years I'd be 95 (okay it's possible, but probably not plausible). But seriously, all kidding about their bickering aside, they have a love that has endured hardships and pain, good times and bad, and I hope I find one even half as binding as theirs.

Next trip: Weekend road trip with 8 teenagers. Oy. Wish me luck.

F³A: Everything Under the Sun

Well since it's the Friday Free For All and I have nothing really to talk about I'm just going to talk about everything. :)

We had a day of sunshine yesterday.  Yay us!!!!  And we're back to rain and gray.  And yes, I know I live in the rainiest place on the planet, but I always have and always will.  There is much to admire about the Pacific NW, it's green and clean.  I'm a car drive away from lakes, mountains, oceans, rivers, waterfalls, and a couple national parks. 

Thing One's school soccer season ended yesterday with a 6-0 win.  They only lost one game, 1-0 which was a bunch of crap because our goalie had the ball and a girl on the other team basically shoved her into the goal.  I think Thing One score 4 or 5 goals during the season, and she had a bunch of assists.  Awesome.

Thing Two's arms is healing well, she seems to have full mobility now.  We're trying to get her into contacts for the upcoming soccer season, but she's not taking to it well.  Anyone have any tricks for getting contacts in your kid's eye?

Finally got a book review out yesterday, I seem to have lost the ability to put videos on my blog, as the video button appears to be gone.  Anyone have a solution for that?  Can I embed a code or something?

This cool cat Amy Munday does what she calls  Writer's Scribbles on her Unabashed Impropriety blog, and this weeks featured author is yours truly, check it out here, leave a comment.  Also, she's looking for other authors to feature, if you're interested, let her know.  Tell her Megan sent you.

Also, I am embarking on a new blog venture.  More later on that, though I can tell  you, it's going to be awesome.

Here's a little snippet from the dystopian I'm working on, just to tease you. ;)

     Exiting, I strolled down the hall to another door and opened it, a linen closet.  The next door led to a bathroom.  It was filthy, caked thick with grime and mold.  Mystery fluids, more than likely blood and vomit were splashed across the walls, and the floor.  I opened the cabinet below the sink and found Lysol, disinfectant wipes, glass cleaner, tile cleaner, a sponge, and paper towels.  I wiped everything down, spotless, threw the garbage on the floor, and walked across to the last room.  The girl’s room.

     I approached the soiled bed and removed the rest of the bedding.  I went downstairs, through the mudroom, and the back door, I dropped the sheets to the ground.  Entering the barn, I looked around for something to put water in.  Most of the tools were old, and peeling.  After scouring shelves, and bins, I found a bucket.  One of the old metal kind, with a rusted and squeaky handle.  It was quite a walk down to the pond, and having to navigate through the overgrown grass and brush made it no easier.  Once at the pond, I stopped and admired the scenery.  It was quite beautiful country.  Tall cedars surrounded the property, standing guard like wooden sentries, blue sky hanging over like a canopy.      

     Squatting down, I filled the bucket.  Staring into the murky brown mass, I wondered if we’d ever have running water again.  I missed running water, doing dishes in them, showering.  I was tired of pool water, and pond water, and rainwater.  Tired of boiling it until it was okay to wash in, to drink.  I rose and carried the bucket to the house, it sloshed and splashed all the way, sprinkling my legs, my shoes.

     I put the bucket down outside the back door, went in and retrieved the propane stove, a stockpot, and boiled the water.  I had some cleaning to do.  Once the water boiled and cooled, I poured half of it back in the bucket followed with some laundry detergent, grabbed the sponge from the bathroom, and went into the little girl’s room.  I poured a generous amount of water onto the mattress and began scrubbing.  I don’t know how long I scrubbed, it could have been five minutes, an hour, but the stains persisted, lingering like a scar in the flesh.  A reminder of what once used to be, a family, a life, and now death.

That's all you get.  You can let me know what you think if you like.

Current song on my iPod: Winter by Joshua Radin

Book currently on my nightstand: Charlaine Harris, Dead Until Dark, though still reading Alchemy by my friend and total hottie (he loves it when I say that), Mike Wood

Current Watch: A Serious Man, started it last night.  Will finish it tonight.  Loves me some Joel Coen.

Quotes of the week: 

"The Sun is nature's Prozac" ~ Astrid Alauda

"In the sun I feel as one" ~ Kurt Cobain

"I am solar powered" ~ Megan Bostic ;)

Ciao,

Megan

The Sun

I know I blog about the sun way too much, but I'm solar powered.  Without it, I'm fairly useless.  Yes, I have my happy pills, yes I take vitamin D, but it's not the same.  A pill cannot compete with the big ball of fire in the sky, it's rays beating down on the pavement, filtering through my window, and hitting my face.

Yes, I understand I live in the Pacific Northwest, but we are normally allotted three months of almost uninterrupted sun. 

The picture you see here, I took from my living room window this morning.  It's what I've seen, not for days, but for months.  Rain streaked windows, wet sidewalks.  I thought last year was bad, the skies were gray from October until March.  Um, it's June people.  June when summer begins.  June when the sun is supposed to start shining.  June when I can sit outside under the sun and read a book, where I can start walking outside, when I take my laptop out to the backyard and write in the heat.

Yet, it's still pouring down rain and the sky is still gray. 

Leaving you with a poem I wrote about the sun.

White hot heat

Shimmering brilliance

Humid and inviting.

Filling vacuous voids,

The sinister chasms that

cause eternal downpours

and bone chilling rime.

Perpetual motion

Not to think or cast shadows

No moss collected

merely flow like the current.

Vivid hues, downy clouds,

fluid and weightless

blissful and tranquil

I wait for the dark to subside.

Ciao,

Megan

The elements: Rain

Rain, I understand the earth needs you.  Plants, trees, and flowers need you to grow.

I understand that I would die without you.

But usually gray skies follow you and I can't stand gray skies.

And you kept me up all night with your pounding and storming and while I usually like that sound, I don't like it when I'm trying to sleep.

Okay, yes, I know I live in the Pacific Northwest, but this is ridiculous.  It's May and you could share a little more time with the sun.

Solar Powered

My friend Gae wrote a great blog this morning on creative flow and where it finds you. Gae is my little mermaid friend. When she's struggling to write, she can always find clarity under water. On her blog, she posed the question, where does your creativity flow? I had to stop and think about this. Mostly I'm just sitting at me laptop writing and it comes, but not always.

And then it came to me.

The sun.

The giant blazing orb in the sky.

I used to be a slave to my computer room. My old laptop battery never worked, so I was always plugged in. Or on the desktop. And no matter if I had the light on (I have one of those natural light bulbs in there) and both shades open, I wasn't happy in there.

When I bought my new laptop, I transitioned to my dining table. It was an organic shift. But why? It's because of the sun. I have a large picture window with a southern exposure, and as the sun slowly moves from east to west throughout the day, it casts rays of light through that window continuously. And those rays of light shine across my floor and "shadow" me.

I have another window at my back. It faces east. As the sun rises up into the sky it warms my back, brings me comfort, like the arm of an old friend wrapped around me.

When I need clarity, I go walk out in the sunshine. Feeling the sun on my face always makes me feel better.

What about the not so sunny days? I do live in Washington, where it's gray more than anything. I flip on all the lights, open the curtains and put a photograph next to me that my beautiful friend Lori gave me of a blue sky (she is an incredible artist and photographer) until the sun shines for me again.