SAHWAHD On The Road: Day Two

Somewhere in eastern Kansas, Jordan shot this group of cattle on a hillside. He's been doing very well with his Kodak P&S, taking lots of pictures, getting his photo mojo down. Back in my day, we didn't have these fancy digital cameras. We had to work for a week to enough money to get a roll of film and it had to do us for a whole year.


We're still in the mostly flatlands of the prairies. Imagine taking a wagon train being pulled by oxen. Wow. In the pickup with the GPS telling me which turn to take, the cell phone keeping me in touch nearly every mile along the way, I almost feel like I've not left the comfort of the living room.

I'm amazed a little at how easy it is to get online. At the Hays, Kansas Best Western, I had four wi-fi signals to choose from. The motel's was the strongest and fastest, thankfully. Here in Missouri, I have three, with the motel's being strongest and the nearby truckstop's a close second. It's just a couple hundred yards away. I figure the extra ones must be internet thieves trying to get me to sign on and give up some personal information. Guess even thieves gotta make a living.

Have been able to work both nights of the trip, at least enough to put files in order for our upload lady. If someone had told me 15 years ago that I'd be working online while I drove cross-country, I would have called them crazy.

The dogs have been pretty good for the trip. They slept most of the day yesterday while I drove. I'd made their "bed" a little more comfortable. Both dogs have been able to do onesies, but only Fluffy has made twosies both days. Missy always gets a little constipated when she has to move.

The only real difficulty in traveling with two dogs and a child is during trips into restaurants or rest stop restrooms. I don't like leaving the dogs alone in the vehicle, but there's not a lot of choice sometimes. It's not a comfortable feeling not being able to see the truck, not only an expensive item in itself, but also loaded with a few irreplaceable goods, while I wait in line for food or for Jordan to wash his hands after using the potty. He's very meticulous.

So far, however, our journey has been very blessed and we thank God for that and for the road ahead. Tonight, we've got a Holiday Inn set up in Richmond, Indiana, since the BW in that town is one that doesn't allow pets. Of all the nerve. If the schedule holds today, we should be in our new apartment early Friday morning.

SAHWAHD On The Road

It's an hour later than I feel like it is, but I was able to get my work done from a Best Western in Hays (can't recommend it) with decent Internet. The area is creepy scary, though, and I don't know if I'll be able to sleep as well as I'd like. Too many thuggish looking people watching our Nissan Titan roll in and park. Too much cracked street material. Too many bottles and cans on the sidewalk. The picture on the webpage definitely makes it look like a nicer place than it is. The virtual tours were a giveaway, too, as they showed none of the surrounding area. The other two BW's I've logged into have much nicer surroundings in their virtual tours. The trials of riding with dogs, kids, and a hermit crab.

It rained heavily last night, causing Missy some consternation. I didn't noticie it so much until I woke sometime in the night and looked outside to make sure thieves weren't making off with the truck tires. The rain probably kept them from doing that.

Missy walked out from the far corner of the room, behind a bed. I'd wondered for a moment if she'd disappeared in the night when she didn't rouse herself on my waking and walking. Both dogs did a number one, and I found their leashes in their dog food bag. Still using the quickly fashioned blue cords still, though. Kind of like them.

Sleeping was okay. Jordan slept in the bed with me, as did Fluffy. Jordan must have been doing karate battle with something during the night, waking me a couple of times with kicks and punches, first to his pillow and then to me. He's sleeping pretty good, though, still. I woke up at my usual 4 a.m., wondering if I should try to fall back to sleep or get up and start the day. I chose the latter.

The weak coffee they provide here is not too bad if you double up the packets of coffee. I like the single cup brewer. Will have to look into one when we get to our "destination," as Jordan calls it.

Instructions

When Jordan and his friends finally got me in gear to schedule a play date for them, I had to face the task of letting the unsuspecting mother know how to control Mr. Rambunctious. Since I have noticed a decided difference in the way that moms and dads allow and disallow activities, I came up with a few good ideas that I will share:

I. Have these phrases ready to speak:
    A. Jordan, slow down.
    B. Jordan, get down off there.
    C. Jordan, stop that. (This one can be used in place of A or B.)
    D. I don't care what your father lets you do; he's not here, is he?
        1. Each of the above can be prefaced or concluded with either:
            a. I mean it
            b. I'm serious

If it becomes necessary, always have the middle name of the child handy. The use of it may shock the child into behaving for a few minutes, but be careful not to overuse this one.

The family that kung-fu's together...

From the age of 4 1/2 to 5 1/2, Jordan took karate lessons from Universal Kempo Karate in Colorado Springs. I managed to do enough to get the great uniform pictured left, along with the great picture, pictured left. I wish the photographer had told me to drop my left hand a little, so it'd line up with the right. But that purple belt I'm wearing didn't exactly come after years of intensive training from blind masters of the martial arts in the mountains of Tibet. Instead, just a couple of months, so I barely knew where my appendages were at the time.

I'll miss the days of taking Jordan to kung-fu fighting, soccer playing in the undependable weather, preschool with the "Mothers" twice a day, five days a week, wondering what new achievement or embarrassment--or both--I'd learn about that afternoon. The latest such occurred as he was going to school with a neighbor friend and her twin daughters, both in his class. As soon as Jordan got into the van, he for some unknown reason pulled his pants down in the back. Not a strong move in tidy-whities, unfortunately.

However, everybody laughed and the little girls averted their gazes, so Jordan continued his "show." He pulled up on my third demand that he stop. Guess I'm going to have to go to the underwear shop to get him some cooler underwear. Lucky for all of us, that particular trend seems to be fading.

Goo-goo gah-gah what?

In the doctor's office yesterday for a checkup for Jordan, a grandmotherly nurse or orderly or something came in to check on the tissue they use on the examining tables. Jordan asked her what the paper was for, to which the lady answered, "It's so you don't get some other kid's icky-gooeys."

Jordan looked confused and slightly concerned for the woman for a moment and asked her back, "Are you talking about germs?"