Anderson Island 2008

This needs a little bit of some background.

I grew up in what was what I would call pretty rural America now. Small, unincorporated University Place. My mom was the second grade teacher at the grade school across the street from my house and I started Kindergarten there with a lot of kids I did not know. After thirteen years of education in the University Place School District, UP Elementary, Curtis Junior and Senior High School, I knew just about every kid in my class. I had gone from Kindergarten through 12th grade with many of them and a few of them were special.

Pam.
My mom was in the hospital with her mom when we were born. We like to say we have been friends since birth. That is pretty much true. There have been extended periods of time when we were out of touch with each other but we are bound by a past too extensive to detail here but one that will never allow us to stay out of touch forever. She has lived a very different life from me. Some of it has been tragic and somehow, she has remained a positive person. I have always said she should write a book about her life so that the rest of us understand what it is to be positive in the face of adversity. I admire her.

Susie
Her middle name is Q, really! She has been there also from start to finish of school. We went different ways when we went to college but amazingly enough, without knowing it, our paths crossed again when we moved to Conconully, Washington and found she lived there already with her husband Troy. Now, this was a town of 189 people at the time, most of them elderly just awaiting their final resting place in the local cemetary. How did we both end up there? And even more amazingly, she had known my husband before I did when they both attended Western while I was at WSU. Susie and Troy now live in Tonasket, they have two grown kids who are absoulutely wonderful and I am very glad to be able to remain friends with her.

Wendy
She lived next door to Scott and I was at Scott's house alot. As a matter of fact, we were all at each other's houses alot. That was just what we did. We could ride bikes just about anywhere and there was always something to eat and drink at anyone's house, especially when Vernetta was home at Wendy's. Wendy was everyone's friend all throughout school. Now, she is everyone's mother. It is her cabin we stay in at Anderson Island and she always has everything we need and takes care to make it a very special weekend. She has three grown children and is the only one of us who is already a grandmother, three times! She will be able to give us advice in that area also when the time comes.

Monica couldn't make it this year due to sad circumstances and we hope she will be able to return next year. I haven't seen her in a very long time but I live in the same town and have been able to read about her amazing kids in the local paper from time to time.

There are so many more with whom we have lost contact. It was a special way to grow up and getting together, even if it is only once a year, brings us back to those times, places and feelings when life was simple and good times prevailed.

Thanks to Pam, Susie, Wendy and Leslie for a great weekend!

Weekends

So, it is the season for Cougar Football Saturdays. The only problem is that the Cougars aren't good this year. Of all the years for us to have tickets to all the games, we had to choose this one. Oh well, just being able to go to Pullman is good enough. And as a true Cougar, there is always the hope of the big upset!

Of course we went to the WSU vs Cal game in Pullman. Unfortunately I don't remember much of the game for some reason. Somehow Pullman brings out the worst in me. However, there were some highlights. The weather was beautiful! Waking up on Sunday to a great day we could do nothing but hike Kamiak Butte. It was such a good time! I was able to get some great photos of the day on top. It is a beautiful view from there.

Now I am heading out to Anderson Island for a weekend with highschool girlfriends. This should be another weekend for memories and laughing, not to mention the wine! More to come.

By the way, I hiked Kamiak with very little problem thanks to my new healthy life! I need to get back to working out but I feel great!

Realizations of Hawaii

Wow! It's been over a month since I posted. I guess that is because it has been a month jam packed with activity, the best of which was the old Iverson family vacation to Hawaii. What a trip. I won't say that it was without drama but then, what Iverson family vacation would be complete without it.
I could fill this post with stories of the beautiful beaches, sun, snorkling etc and I will post some pictures of all that but in keeping with the "Empty Nester Survival" theme, I want to explain how it felt to have 8 days with my boys.

They are both great men.

In a way, that realization makes me sad. But mostly, it makes me so happy and proud. Sad because I had to realize they truly are men. They are not children, they are not even young adults. They are men who, thanks to their Dad and me, are ready for life, whatever it has to offer. They are dealing with young love lost and possibly true love found. They are dealing with "Oh my God, what do I do now" kinds of moments in every day of their lives. And I realized that whatever we did, we prepared them to deal with these moments.

I was so proud when they met Dad's highschool friend who had to acknowledge that these were exceptional, smart, witty, interesting sons we had. So, empty nest or not, I have to consider this a job well done. I love my boys!

So, other than the mere fact that I had 8 days with my boys, what was the highlight of Hawaii? Well, I can think of many but three stand out.

First, we were fortunate to have the island knowledge of a high school friend of Hal's who lives in Hilo. She took us to a beach, the name of which I can't recall and even if I could, I couldn't pronounce it. It was a state park. She is a surfer so she carried her surfboard in a bag and we hiked to the beach. That's okay until you realize that the hike was a very steep hike down and seemed even steeper up. It was so beautiful and the fact that I was 40 pounds less than I was before it was not even that hard for me to come back up. Yes, I was breathing hard but I wasn't crying or pissed off but I was really able to enjoy the beauty that I would never have seen if I had not been in better shape.








The second highlight would have to be Hilo. We went to Hilo and experienced the Hippie Farmer's Market and then were fortunate enough to be shown the best Thai food on the island. It was incredibly fresh, organic and delicious. Our plan was to head out to see the volcano that evening and either stay in a hotel or head back to our condo. Fortunately, our sons had different plans and fortunately, after much debating, we were open to them. We stayed in Hilo, ate sushi rolled by Hal's friend, did Saki bombs and then headed out to the a very unusual Karioki bar. Even though I did not get to sing Karioki becaue the machine broke or something, it was an evening to remember and we ended up in the VW van sleeping overnight. I felt young again actually and it was a pretty good feeling.

The third highlight had to be a secluded beach we found. We had to walk over lava rock "ah ha" for about a half hour, (after trying to drive in our rented 4WD Chevy Blazer down a path that we finally had to give up on). We arrived at a beach on which there was one couple, way far away and no one else. The snorkling was exceptional and it was the beach I always pictured in my mind as perfect.

All in all, this was a vacation to remember for many reasons. I am so glad to have been able to share it with my boys.

July 23, 2004

No. It's not a typo. That's the day my mom passed away. I miss her still.