transition: the trip from south to north

I really like change (aside from death and disease), but I need good transitions. And, moving from Texas to our temporary home again in Montana, we got a good transition. The advanced start on packing and cleaning helped, but also, the trip itself wound up taking about three days, even though we flew. This was an unexpected benefit, the downside being that my sister had gone to MT to see us and was hum-drumming her fingers on the table while we turtle-crawled our way there. For those three days of being between houses, we had only a single carry-on bag with a couple of outfits and a few choice toys. This really freed us up to relax, to cuddle and play more, to take in our surroundings, and (for me) to think about our stint in Texas.

As an aside, we had Jason bring us only two suitcases of clothes for the 8-12 weeks we'll be in MT, and it is SO WONDERFUL to not have stuff to tend to. (Most of it is either already in North Dakota with Jason or sitting in our big blue van in the yard.) I hate stuff! By some standards, we may not have much, but it's definitely more than three or four humans need. When we unpack each box in North Dakota, we are specifically aiming to stock our tiny town's thrift store (if they have one...hm). "Get rid of!" is our forever motto that is easier to fantasize about than to live by. We'd like to be able to pack up our entire life in a single day if need be, leaving furniture behind, of course. Is that possible? I already feel like the world is my closet as long as there's a thrift store, but I need that sentiment to extend to kitchen supplies, trinkets and gadgets, books, projects, sewing material, and and and and....

So, the trip - -

I had purchased mine and Zoralee's plane tickets about six weeks in advance to leave the same day as Jason. His plan was to drive to ND, drop off our crud, and take the train to MT to spend a week with us. I would've loved to have taken the road trip with him, but our Zoralee is just not ready; two hours in the car is her max, the pickle. Anyway, shortly after I bought tickets, Jason's last day of work was moved up; so, Z and I ended up hanging around a hotel in Texas for an extra day. Plus, to get decent fares in and out of small towns at spring break time, our trip was broken up by a night in Las Vegas.

All of that meant a surprise slumber party with the friends who'd given us their prepaid motel room and driven northward only to be forced to return with a broken down vehicle (and two dogs and cat!), one more lunch date with some stay-behind friends, a last carousel ride at the mall for Zoralee, several hours on the airport lawn in the Texas pre-summer heat, and a night and morning in Vegas, where we happened upon a parade of racing dunebuggies. In Vegas, I had forewarned Zoralee that she'd see a lot of people playing giant games in the hotel. When we saw them, she said something really funny. I can't remember what.


Lada, just being the highlight of Zoralee's week



airplane play

morning walk in Vegas

eery scene from an ancient time - an old payphone booth without the phone

- dunebuggy parade -
You can't see her in this pic, but one of the girls in this booth was wearing a crown.
Last year's Dunebuggy Parade Princess?

man's and nature's ideas of Tall, Skinny Things With Puffs on Top

I felt so much love for Zoralee and our growing family on that trip, so much appreciation for Jason and for our life together. And Zoralee grew up a little, as she always seems to do on trips. I don't know if it was stepping outside of our routine, or the joy in knowing we were on to the next thing, or having time to just be, but it was a special time for me, a good transition.