More growing realizations

Jordan likes to play computer games and I don't mind. They're fun for him, he's learning to read, and he's developing his hand-eye coordination, as well as learning where the keys are on a computer keyboard. I don't think he's mentally ill, even though he does like them a lot. So do I. I'm not mentally ill. I'm not, I'm not, I'm not.

Where was I?

One of the minor problems of letting him play games on the computer is that now and then he'll hit on something he doesn't understand. Then he'll have to bug me from my wonderful work (I work at home--that's the WAHD part of SAHWAHD.). A few moments ago, I left him saying that he's really going to have to learn to read better so he wouldn't bug me so much. That's when I thought: I'm pushing him away again.

He's going to learn to read, to swim, to rollerblade, to drive rocket ships all on his own soon enough. He hasn't needed me to clean his bathroom aftermath or chop his food or even read simple instructions. I don't mind that, all that much, either. Soon he'll be tying his shoes, which means he won't need me to brush and floss his teeth, if his dentist is to be believed. If I'd take more time with the shoe-tying deal, he'd have that down. It's not a big deal, though, because in this day and age, Velcro rules.

Still, watching the little fellow grow away from me faster and faster, learning more and more, becoming ever more self-sufficient, even at the tender age of five, is mind-boggling.

The Fairborn Farleys Arrive

The final 56 miles to Fairborn and the Wexford on the Green apartments were smooth and quick. We had a good breakfast at the Richmond (Indiana) Holiday Inn, which was not one I'd recommend, unfortunately, unless you wanted to spend enough time there to take advantage of the exercise room and pool. The room we were in was small, appointed more like the unrecommended Best Western in Hays, Kansas, than like the recommended (but expensive) BW in Foristell, Missouri. But it served its purpose, if a little expensively.

While there I was able to set up our electric and gas here in Fairborn, and once we got here, I got my first UPS delivery, which was my DSL wireless modem. Wonder of wonders, it worked and I got set up lickety-split last night. Not fast enough for Jordan, though, since he wanted to play the games at addictinggames. com.

The apartment is nice enough. I'm thinking of how I want to appoint it. Simply, for sure, with few pieces, but the pieces that I need to be able to get my work and writing done. Something motivational, whatever that might be. I'm thinking more chairs than couch in the living room, and I'm not sure what kind of bed. Here, people have stuff stuck on their porches. I'm not sure if I want to stick my bike out there or not, but apparently if that's what I want to do, I can do it. The roadways in this part of town are almost too narrow for car traffic, let alone adding a bike to them. So I'll have to study that situation.

Jordan and I (and the dogs) took a ride to the house Deb is wanting to buy. It's nice, not quite like it appeared on the Internet, Jordan said, but a well-appointed home. We didn't see the inside of it, of course, but Deb is flying out this week to take care of a lot of the fine points of that situation. The drive there was a little more hectic than the ride back. We followed two different routes, as prescribed by the GPS navigation system in the Nissan Titan. If I had that system all the time, I'd probably forget how to read a map, just as surely as I forgot how to find square roots after the calculator become ubiquitous.

Jordie and I slept on the floor last night, so getting a bed of some sort might be a good thing in the next couple of days. The dogs stayed on the linoleum in the kitchen. They've been really good the past few days. The worst thing that happened was a bad case of gas during yesterday's excursion to see the house and get a sandwich. Fluffy is beginning to gather a little sense about how to heel on the leash without running circles around me and Missy, thus tying us all into an unhandy bundle.

For now, I must read the lease agreement to find out what to do with garbage.

SAHWAHD on the Road: Day Three

What's a cross-country trip without a 90-minute traffic jam? Um, good? After a smooth 320-some mile jaunt from Missouri through Illinois and into Indiana, we hit a snag 23 miles from our destination. To be fair, it was much better than it must have been for the souls who were in the wreck that caused the traffic to stop. Never did find out about that.

Traffic was re-routed over to Route 40 and we went through a little town that was having actual Memorial Day yard sale festivities. It gave the GPS navigation system quite a workout.

Otherwise, let's talk about motels. The Best Western in Foristell, Missouri, was the best we've been in our three days. It was roomy, had a good desk and chair for working, and the TV wasn't boxed in a big wooden nightmare so you couldn't see from the sides. The BW in Richmond didn't take pets, so we booked the Holiday Inn. When we got to it, Jordan gave it a thumbs down, and so did I. No proper working desk, TV in an enclosure, and smaller beds. Though the Foristell BW turned out to be more expensive than I thought (note to self: always ask the price, don't assume they're all the same), it was less than the HI and much nicer. While the HI has a better pool and a workout room, as well as (expensive) room service, who has time for that? Except for the room service. And even it was not the best, as they forgot to bring the boy's milk.

But anyway, we're in the eastern time zone again. It's been ten years since I've been here for any length of time. This means I'll have to stay up later to get my work done. I just hope the wifey's work starts out later as well so I won't have to wake up so early to watch the boy. (Edit: Her work starts the same ridiculous hour as it seems always to have started.)

Trying to feel the increased oxygen. We've been in the high country for some five years. So far, all I really notice is the humidity. Not the good kind we felt in Hawaii, either. That air had a nearly constant breeze, and if not, then the ocean was never farther than 30 or 40 miles away. Also noticing the new pollens and allergens floating around outside. And the green. Much greener than in Colorado. This year, Colorado's had more rain than in the previous years we were there, so the yards are greening up and everything's greener than it was. But it's not the deep, variegated green of the Midwest. Here, the green is underneath everything, like it was always there, like the undercoat of a shaggy dog.

Which is what I'm beginning to smell like. I need a shower. Don't want to stink up the new place. Only 56 miles to go.