Beginnings and Endings

Today I began in the office prepping my next tour.  As I working, I saw my mom's name pop up on my phone.  

First, I said a little prayer, then answered.  

She had called to tell my my grandmother had passed away. 

 After 90 years of life, the last 4 or so have been in assisted living/nursing home care of some sort, this is possibly the best thing for her.  I mean that in the most well spirited of ways.  As I've told other people, I'm not entirely sure how to feel about this whole deal.  Don't get me wrong, I love my grandma very much.  However, it hurt me so badly to see her lonely and depressed whenever we visited over the last year or two.  I was fortunate enough to see her twice this summer.  The first time is when my family realized that the train was on the tracks, and her time was near.  The second time, the day after her 90th birthday, she seemed a little more uppity.  She even said a few words, those being a reprise of our, "Happy Birthday!"  I got a chuckle out of her.  She always had a way of looking at me with that, "How the heck do you think I'm doing?" whenever I inquired.  God love her.  None of us will ever forget making candy cane cookies and the unnecessary stresses it caused in the kitchen.  As she would say, "Ahhh fiddlesticks!"

I love you Grandma.  I'll be by your side on Monday and Tuesday.  Worry not.

This is the hardest part of tour.

Annie Prep

The time has come for me to begin prepping Annie for tour.  In true tour fashion, I had about 3 days notice that I was going to be leaving for tour.  This was due to me heading to the office 4 days earlier than planned.  Nothing beats having to do a fly by visit with my friends between Minneapolis and Sioux Falls.  Las night my friends from work in SF threw me a little going away party.  It was nice to have everyone together for a drink or 8.  My parents even joined in the festivities.  The kids from the building gave me a Starbucks gift card and socks.  As I say, you can always use extra socks and underwear on the road.  Coffee is a bonus.

I was sad to leave my mom and dad behind at the airport.  My dad always says something that makes me cry and my mom does her best to hide her tears.  Today he said, "Be the best damn head carpenter you can be."  With that, I walked away, I was a hot mess.  I must say, that the biggest drawback from being on tour is being away from those you love for extended amounts of time.  Unless something comes up, I won't see my family until February of next year.  This means that I'll spend Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years and birthdays away from those I love.  Thankfully, my family and friends support me in my career, which is more than some of my friends can say.

I start my prep tomorrow.  I'm sure it will be lots of procedure and policy, but I'm excited nonetheless.  I've been staring this challenge in the face for a while now, and am ready.  Bring it on!