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I need a family to drive me crazy, Call me out when I’m low and lazy It won’t be perfect, but we’ll be fine, ‘Cause I’ve got your back, and you’ve got mine You got mine from Boxes, Goo Goo Dolls I keep thinking that one of these […]

via Christmas in Arizona — Updates from Home

I turned 40 back in 2004. My anticipation of August 21st that year was only matched by the let down when the date actually came. 40 felt an awful lot like 39. I had anticipated something life-changing from 40 and it hadn’t happened. Life on the other side of 40 actually felt a little better…a little more relaxed.

I’ve felt that same dread that I felt back in 2004 for the last year or so. It started back in July 2017 when my professional world was upended and I moved from “the best job I’ve ever had” to a job that was brand new at Microsoft.  Everything since then just added to my unease.  I finally noticed the new source of my latest “life-changing” date… July 20th, my 25th anniversary in Michigan.

July 8, 2018I arrived in Michigan…permanently?…on July 20, 1993. Major League Baseball’s All-Star game was on TV when I walked in the door of Melissa’s mom’s condo. My 1991 Nissan Sentra had brought me 2,000 miles from Mesa, Arizona to Northville, Michigan. In my head and in my heart, I felt like this was the right move and that it wouldn’t be permanent.  I planned to go home to Arizona even if I didn’t know when that would happen…

Lizette turned 26 this year. She got into Medical School this year.  She’ll move to Tennessee this year to chase (and realize) her dream.  She’s tying up the loose end that is her thesis defense and then it’s off to Harrogate, Tennessee and Lincoln Memorial’s DeBusk School of Osteopathic Medicine.

Cecile comes back from her trip to Sweden (and other parts of Europe) on Tuesday, July 10. She’s been gone since May 2. I’m not turning around looking for her any more since I finally got used to her not being just a text message away. I’m looking forward to the family being complete again…at least on the same continent and time zone.

Alexander’s been home for a few months. He works at Steve & Rocky’s. He seems to like it but food service always has a darker side.  Not dark as in evil (at least I hope not) but dark as in “Are you kidding me?”  As we plan the days between now and July 21 (when we take Lizette to Harrogate), we’ve got dinner plans for his place of work.  The food he’s brought home has been “to die for” (what an awful phrase) so we’re looking forward to getting it fresh out of the kitchen.

Phil is living with Sam in Holt. He’s between classes and research in his quest to become Dr. Phil of Finance. Sam’s working on her master’s degree and working at a school in Holt. Phil gets home every week to play soccer with his former teammates. This afforded us the opportunity to have dinner with parents and kids and Coaches Mike Ciolfi and Jim Taylor on June 27 after one of their games.  Two days later, Nick Lesnau (also a soccer teammate) got married.  I’d dreaded the ceremony and reception because I didn’t think we’d know anybody. It ended up being another reunion with parents and “kids” that we hadn’t seen in a long time. I actually dreaded leaving the reception.

Melissa finished work at the middle school. She is the heart of the kitchen there. They keep the kids fed while being consistently short-handed and micro-managed by a company that would like to make a profit from a perennially underfunded school system.  Welcome to education in today’s United States! Novi actually has a great school system but “we the people” are still struggling with how to pay for it in a way that is fair to everyone. She works with people who are dedicated to their jobs as well as people who aren’t. She might not go back next fall. The upsides to her job are considerable though.  It’s 2 miles away. She’s done by 2:30 pm (although she starts at 6:00 am).  She has 2 1/2 months and Christmas off.  She makes decent money but the work is hard.

I’m finishing up my first year as a Customer Success Manager at Microsoft. It was a good year. I’m working with a great team. It’s work therefore it can’t be perfect and it isn’t.  Regardless of any complaints that I have, it is a pretty good job and Microsoft is still treating us well.

I’m still taking pictures but not at the rate that I used to.  It will change next weekend as we make our annual trek to Traverse City.  We’re heading to Harrogate shortly after that.  Change is coming…

 

 

I need a family to drive me crazy, Call me out when I’m low and lazy
It won’t be perfect, but we’ll be fine, ‘Cause I’ve got your back, and you’ve got mine
You got mine

from Boxes, Goo Goo Dolls

 

 

 

 

 

 

I keep thinking that one of these Christmas trips to Arizona will the one.  Like a Friends episode, it will be the one titled “The One Where We All Didn’t Go.” In my blessed life, this wasn’t that episode. Instead, it was “The One Where Sam Came With Us.”

The pleasant surprises didn’t stop there. Of the stops on our standard visit itinerary… Sierra Vista, Miami, and Phoenix… Miami has always had more attraction for me than anyone else… at least that’s how I thought about it. It’s the place that has a lifetime of memories for me, so if the younger crowd found it less interesting, who could blame them?  As we decided where we’d go after Sierra Vista, Miami was at the top of that list.

 

 

The trip out…

The flight out was mostly boring. It was a bit bumpy (an “after the fact” description…because I never enjoy bumpy flights). The landing was a bit rough and fast. The contrast in the weather compared to what we left in Detroit was immediately evident and much appreciated.

Sam and Phil had left on Friday, December 22. Their arrival was planned for, and happened on, Sunday, December 24.  I miss the drive myself…especially when the plane is bouncing around…but I love getting there in 4 hours.

The 5 of us followed the usual process of deplaning…baggage claim, ride to the car rental place, and then the exercise of waiting in line so that the agent could convince me that we needed something more expensive than what I’d already paid for.

He succeeded.

Dinner at Red Robin (Tempe Marketplace) was delicious after a long plane ride.  The wings were so damn good that I considered declaring them “the best that we’ll have while we’re out here.”  I would have been wrong.

Christmas Eve

Presents… fireplace… family… GREAT food!  Perfect.

Christmas Day

The family that plays together…

The blue thing at the top of every picture is the sky…a brilliant blue.  The white thing is a cloud…it went away after it was shamed out of being there.

Tombstone

I’ve been to Tombstone twice in the 41 years since we moved to Sierra Vista. I remember that after the first time I went, I was unimpressed.  Interested and intrigued but not so much so that I intended to go back anytime soon.  Tombstone has changed since then. The courthouse was very interesting.  Downtown was a small scale reproduction of Old Town Scottsdale (or is that the other way around?).  I’m still not impressed but now I can say that I’ve been there…again.

Bisbee

I’ve been to Bisbee a few times. I don’t remember stopping there or doing more than staring out the window to wonder why Bisbee is better known that Sierra Vista.  After walking around a bit, noticing the “hipster” culture, eating at a quirky restaurant that played “Head and the Heart” music, and sharing it with my parents and kids… I’d like to go back to Bisbee the next time we’re all there.

Our Lady of the Sierras

http://www.ourladyofthesierras.org/

I’d like to be closer to God and His works. This place made me feel that. The view across the valley reminded me how much I miss the mountains.  We’ve been here several times. After the Monument Fire in 2011, the shrine was damaged but has since been rebuilt. We were there in the early afternoon. Serene is the best word that I can use.

Ramsey Canyon Preserve

My parents love going here with us. We love the hike and the view from everywhere along the trail. We enjoyed another beautiful sunny day although we actually had sweaters and hoodies on for a short while.

Miami

No, not that Miami…

My parents grew up in this small mining town about 80 miles east of Phoenix. Our first trip as a family to Miami was back in 1992 when Lizette was born. A whole host of Baeza’s and Tavares’ were around back then.  Most of my grandparents’ generation has passed on with a few notable (and lovable) exceptions.  The town itself has grown smaller and… different… over the years. I can still see the town it used to be underneath the town it is.

Our family still wanted to go there so we did.  It may not be the center of our larger family’s universe anymore (and it was for a long time!) but it is still important.  Most important are the people… it’s always the people.

Phoenix

For whatever reason, when we got to Phoenix, the camera didn’t fit in as well. We went to Fashion Square Mall (a big wonderful mall with a whole lot of people in it), the Rules (a big wonderful family who always takes great care of us), Manuel’s Mexican restaurant (with my Tio Ramon and some excellent food), and ate some fabulous wings from ATL’s in Mesa.  We stayed in Scottsdale right next to Old Town Scottsdale and just relaxed.

The Wings:

The grandkids and their grandparents:

A Look Back…

Back in 2007, Melissa took a picture of 4 young brilliant people. She’s wanted to recreate that picture ever since. They’re still brilliant and still young.

This wasn’t that trip where we were missing someone.  I know that trip will come and that’s ok.  This was that trip where we had a great time, had Sam come along with us, experienced some absolutely beautiful weather, ate a ton of wonderful food (Thanks, Mom!), and I got to share my old home state with the people who mean the most to me.

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The Song

Here’s the video for the song that I pulled the lyrics from at the beginning of the post:

I slept so long and so hard on Monday night.  After a 4 hour flight (3 hours and 44 minutes, actually), I had a 90 minute drive to Miami (after Der Wiernerschnitzel and Caribou!) and then another 3+ hour drive to Sierra Vista.  Needless to say, I was very tired.

Tuesday was fun.  My dad barbecued ribs that Maria and Derek had marinated.  They were delicious.

We took lots of pictures.  Here are a few of them:

I got 4.3 miles in (after a spicy breakfast) the 85 degree very humid (not Michigan humid but definitely muggy) afternoon. It was heaven! Guilt-free after my run!

Wednesday was more of the same except this time we ordered wings from Vinny’s.  They were very tasty. Early in the afternoon, the storms rolled in and we got a soaking. The lightning strikes were bright and loud and the desert rain smelled wonderful.  We say on the back porch and when it started to really pour we got a little wet.  Just plain fun.

After the rain, I got 4.5 miles in (after the spicy wings…are you detecting a pattern here?).  It was warm and muggy and I probably smelled pretty bad afterwards.  Nonetheless, 4.5 more miles for July.  I’m sitting at 48.75 miles so far.  My June and July totals have historically been the highest of the summer for me.  My record is 77 miles (June 2016).

I miss you all! Love you!

Swather

 

Yesterday morning we woke up in Traverse City. We were all together (after we went and got Cecile) and I loved it.

This morning, Phil and Mom took me to the airport at 6:30 AM.  I got on a plane at 8:36 AM and landed in Phoenix about 4 hours later.

It was 57 on Saturday morning when we ran in TC.  Today it was 107 in Phoenix.

Here’s the graphic version:

 

I am about as tired as I can be. I miss you all terribly.  I’m staying at the Fairfield Inn in Sierra Vista and I feel like you should be here with me.

Love you!

Swather

 

Please pardon the fixation with “The Head and the Heart”. We just saw them in concert and I was blown away. I think the title fits though…

For whatever reason, we decided to watch “Country Bears” last night. It’s impossible for me to think of this movie without remembering the trips to Arizona, Mackinaw City, Traverse City, and endless (well, not “endless”…well, maybe…) skating, soccer, track, and vacation destinations.

These trips were a big part of our family life as they (and we) grew up. Michigan is an amazing state and we wanted to experience it together.  The Arizona trips happened as a result of Northwest Airlines messing up our tickets (so that we weren’t sitting together), a serious lack of sleep on my part, and a ticket agent who made a comment that I couldn’t let go of.  3 days there and 3 days back gave us a rich full experience (good and bad) of traveling the interstate highway system.  Hotel stops included a swimming pool, adjoining rooms, and sharing beds with young people who may or may not move a lot when they sleep. 🙂

Our adventures included:

• Swimming in a pool that was half indoors and half outdoors. A cold front had just passed through western Missouri and the outdoor temperature was in the 30’s. It didn’t stop the kids from swimming in the outside part. It absolutely stopped me.
• “Guard kitties” – Somewhere in the Southwest, there was a KFC with a lot (dozens if not hundreds) of cats pouring over the dumpster in the back. They owned the parking lot. It makes sense but it was still a little strange to see.
• Rest stops signs like this:
• The world’s biggest McDonalds (according to the folks who own it) in Vinita, OK:

 

 

 

 

 

 

These trips also included “Country Bears” and a lot of other movies (VHS and DVD) courtesy of my laptop and a precariously configured set of audio and video connections.  This hodgepodge of a movie-watching system was later replaced by a built-in system that included wireless headphones and separate controls in case Melissa and I wanted to listen to the radio.

Then there was this poor guy:

I’ve heard it said that it’s not about the destination, it’s about the journey.  The journey was incredible but these trips have always been about the destination.

The journey is a bonus.

Love you.

Dad