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July 17, 2003
July 17, 2003:
Joyride:
The law firm where I work just bought new furniture and offered the old stuff to the staff. I picked out a nice high back, executive leather chair and a computer chair on wheels. Amy, a coworker/friend who lives in Katy, also picked out two chairs, but had no way of getting them home to Katy. I offered to transport her chair out to Katy, as soon as the heavy rains from Hurricane Claudette stopped. The skies cleared yesterday, and I drove the pickup to work. We wheeled the chairs down through the elevators and to the top of the parking garage. I had parked the pickup on the base of the ramp. As we stood there, I got this grand idea that we should sit in the chairs and ride them down the ramps through the parking garage (great idea), as I have always wanted to come in on the weekend and rollerblade down the ramps and ride the elevator back up to the top floor (no risk of actually exercising or sweating much, just plain fun). Amy was all for it. We sat down in the chairs and began our joyride down the ramp with our hair blowing behind us and tightly gripping the armrests. Midway down the ramp, as we began to pick up speed, Amy reached over and held on to my armrest (not sure why? Is there power in forces? So we would be killed together?) Wheeee! We were having a grand time. Until a car came around the corner at the bottom of the ramp driving straight towards us (the nerve!) The driver’s eyes got really big, as I’m sure she didn’t expect to come across two women in business clothes and heels riding down the parking ramp in executive chairs. Ha! It was mostly exhilarating, but a little scary as it was hard to put on the brakes in our high heels.
Our Family Vacation:
Leaving town is not as easy as tossing a swimsuit and shorts in a bag and jumping on a plane. No, no, no. The days leading up to vacation are always hectic. Especially when flying with two children. I never enjoy (1) packing, or (2) the actual process of flying, or (3) unpacking upon return or (4) the boatloads of laundry upon return. But, knowing that we will soon be vacationing *with family* make it all worth while. The night before we left, I spent several hours packing just two suitcases, a large one for the children’s things, and a smaller one for my things. I laid out the suitcases on the bed in the guest room. In and out I went adding things, double checking, and then remembering other things: clothes, underwear, swim suits, swim vests, cameras, film, vitamins, medicine, jackets, bedding, cosmetics/toiletries, toys, presents, sipper cups, shoes, videos. The list goes on and on. Then I packed a small roller suitcase for Rachel to carry on the plane. I filled it with snacks, an extra set of clothes for the kids, coloring books, crayons, stickers, matchbox cars, and other small things to entertain the kids with. Jerry helped by (1) staying out of the way (while I am packing) and (2) taking care of many things like dropping our dog Sanders off at the vet’s office for boarding, giving the yard a final mowing/edging/watering, taking out the garbage, handling the banking, returning our library books, etc. By midnight, Jerry’s suitcase was still untouched/empty, but I was ready to call it a night. In the short time while I was brushing my teeth and changing for bed, Jerry managed to pack his suitcase in the blink of an eye.
July 3rd – 12th:
We had excellent flight times, leaving Houston at 11:30 a.m. and leaving Marquette on a Saturday at 2:30 p.m. No need to wake up at 3 a.m. or drive to the airport in the dark wee hours of the morning. As soon as we pulled out of the driveway at 9 a.m., we knew at once something was wrong with the SUV. The *check engine* light came on and it felt and sounded funny. Still, we headed for the airport. It felt like the car was misfiring and it did not feel smooth. Instead, it felt like it would conk out at any moment, but we continued to drive. I got the owner’s manual out of the glove compartment and flipped to the “check engine light” page. There were several possibilities, the least worrisome being a tank of bad gas and the worst scenario being a malfunction of the catalytic converter, in which case we should immediately proceed to the nearest dealership or have it towed. We continued to drive. We turned into AMPCO’s private covered parking lot and parked in row H. I wrote down the row and space and put it in my purse. When I stepped down from the car, I noticed a burning smell. Not good. Not good at all. As Jerry unloaded the bags and car seats from the SUV, I flagged down a shuttle bus, and we loaded the kids, bags, strollers and car seats. I suggested that we leave a set of keys in the SUV in case we could arrange for it to be towed/repaired while we were gone, but Jerry didn’t feel comfortable doing that. I tried to forget about the car and put it out of my mind, but still I worried because we were going to fly in the following Saturday night, and I didn’t want to be stranded with the kids in the middle of the night.
We checked 3 suitcases and 2 car seats at curbside and pushed the kids through the airport in umbrella strollers. Rachel is not suited for an umbrella stroller, but it was useful to move us through the airport quickly. Rachel had a meltdown at the security gate and refused to walk through the security doorway by herself. She was mad because I walked through first, as requested, and she wanted to be first. She has issues with being the leader of the line. The guards wouldn’t let me walk back through the doorway. Rachel was not happy and cried. Jerry had no choice but to carry both kids through the doorway, and this set off the alarms. They had to pat down both kids and Jerry with the electric wand, which I’m sure was not appreciated by the people waiting in line behind us.
I’m not afraid or superstitious of flying. I just don’t enjoy flying. At all. I dread having to sit still in such a small, confined space with the back of someone’s seat in my face; and I dread having to keep two small children quiet and still. It’s worse for Jerry because he’s a large man and there just isn’t any room to stretch or place his feet. He likes to sit by the window and he held Mitch for 95% of all 5 flights (3 on the way up; 2 on the way back). If I could be “I Dream of Genie,” for the day, I’d cross my arms, blink my eyes, and we’d appear at our destination a moment later. Other than a few times when Mitch pulled Rachel’s hair, the kids were pretty good on the plane. We flew out of Houston and landed in Minneapolis. We landed on time, but did not have much time at all between flights. (Why can’t we be as lucky as Amy F. whose luggage comes out first on both ends of her trip?) It would be sweet to walk off the plane and board the next plane just one door over.) But no. We raced across the airport to the connecting flight, using the moving sidewalks. Passengers were already boarding our flight (a small puddle jumper plane) and we had just enough time to use the restrooms and buy junk food from the vending machine. We quickly boarded and took off. It was a short flight of 50 minutes into Houghton. We landed and took on some new passengers before taking off again for our 20-minute flight into Sawyer *International* (grin) Airport. We landed at 6 p.m. Sawyer International Airport has a grand total of 3 gates, but they can call themselves *international* as they do service parts of Canada. It did not take long to find Jerry’s parents “Grandma Orma and Papa Jerry.” They brought two cars—their own and Jerry’s sister Shelly drove separately—since all of our luggage and all of us could not fit in one car. We let the kids run around and stretch their legs while the bags were loaded into the cars. What I noticed immediately was the incredible feeling of 70-degree weather (no humidity) on my skin. Pure heaven. I drove with Shelly in her car with the windows down and the wind blowing our hair all around. Heavenly. Jerry rode with his parents and the kids who wanted to see their grandparents. Mitch showed his gap tooth to them, and they got caught up on the short 40-minute drive home. Jerry’s parents live in the Upper Peninsula (UP) of Michigan. The largest city in the UP is Marquette. The entire population of the UP is roughly 300,000. That’s hard to grasp since we live in the 4th largest city in America with over 3 million people.
Jerry’s parents have a cozy, 4-bedroom home nestled halfway up a small mountain. It is surrounded by woods. A stone wall surrounds the front and side of the house. There are plenty of tall trees surrounding the house and woods behind the house up the hill. The house is white and has red doors and red trim. Orma planted lots of colorful flowers all around the house, and they have nice white stones arranged beside the flowers. There are bird feeders in the back yard with a bird bath. Pigeons are not welcome! Look out, as Papa has a BB-gun. The kids love to walk along Grandma’s stone wall in their bare feet. They left Grandma’s flowers alone, for the most part, but could not resist playing with those white rocks. They liked to sit on the front porch on the glider/swing.
We got settled in, as I semi-unpacked our suitcases. We ate pasties and visited with everyone. It was so enjoyable to sit outside in what I like to call sweatshirt weather. Sure, there are some flies and the mosquitoes start to come out at night, but it was so unlike Houston’s heat/humidity which just punches you in the face when you open the door. Jerry’s parents have a nice patio set and picnic table in the back yard with a new glider swing. The kids love to run barefoot in the soft green grass, with no risk of fire ant bites or stepping on thick, rough grass. Jerry’s knee has been bothering him, but he is stubborn and will not make time for a doctor’s appointment. He’s been limping around on it without complaining for a few months now. So, when he said he was going to play softball that night, with his high school buddies in town for the week, I was surprised. He is 44, but for a minute there, he felt like 24. The following morning he felt like he was 64, as he was wincing and really struggling to keep a straight face.
One of the things I love about the UP during this time of year is the white nights. At 10:30 p.m., it is still daylight, and you will see kids riding their bikes and games in progress on the ball fields. It’s hard to get the kids in the mood for bed when it’s light outside. But not Mitch. We put him down at 9:30 (keeping him on the same schedule as Houston, one hour behind) and he went to sleep. No complaining or whining, what a great sleeper he is. I told my MIL Orma, that we deserve him, after suffering the wrath and moodiness of Rachel. God has blessed us and we deserve this easy son of ours. Another thing I love about the UP is the stars. You can actually see stars in the sky at night. We can’t see stars at night at home because of the city lights/haze/cloud cover in Houston.
4th of July:
Small towns and parades go hand-in-hand on the 4th of July. The parade is an annual event which starts at 10:30 a.m. Sharp. We all scrambled to get up, dressed, and to the parade on time. They shut down certain streets in the town (obviously) for the parade route. Jerry’s sister Julie and her family live two doors down from the parade route, and they always secure seats by placing their chairs and picnic benches along the street. For various reasons, we enjoy the parade. We joke that there are more cars and fire trucks than actual marching bands. I think the ratio is 100 cars/trucks, then a stray marching band, then another 50 cars, then a few horses, another 40 cars, and you will see a beauty queen, some veterans, and an occasional float. This year there was even a blue dog, as in a lady walking her Maltese which had been dipped in blue Kool-Aid prior to the parade. {{shudder!}} But, the key thing, especially if you are a kid (of any age), is C-A-N-D-Y. Everything entered in the parade (whether it’s a car, a float, or a smiling politician) throws CANDY to the kids who stand along the parade route and scramble to collect their stash. Rachel is old enough to catch her own candy and she only gives up the undesirable candy to Mitch, like raisins, granola bars & yellow suckers. Next year, he will give her a bang for her buck. There will be competition next year. Luckily, Jerry’s sister Shelly was in the parade, sitting on the class of 1978’s 25th anniversary float. As the float passed by us, she jumped off the float and handed armloads of candy to Rachel. Now, that’s personal service. And, Rachel already thinks the 4th of July parade is just for her, as Grandma Orma always hosts a birthday party for Rachel and she tells her the parade is for Rachel’s birthday. Man!
After the parade, we took Mitch back to Grandma’s house and then headed over to the fairgrounds with Rachel for the carnival. She was excited to ride the ponies and jump in the Moon Walk. She pulled ducks from the duck pond and won prizes & candy for herself and Mitchell. The cheerleaders had a tent set up to sell handmade jewelry and we bought some beaded necklaces and bracelets. As we were there, it began to pour. We waited it out under the tent, enjoying the rain and waiting for a bracelet to be restrung. Later than night the family came over and we had pizza for dinner.
The Millimaki Gang:
Jerry’s Parent: Jerry & Orma; retired, live in Ishpeming
Oldest Sister Toni (47): married to high school sweetheart Brian (47); children: Brandon (27), Jason (25), Kelly (22); their home is also in Ishpeming. Toni is a loan and collections manager at the credit union and Brian works in the mines. Brandon is an RN; Jason is a school teacher; and Kelly is finishing her senior year, majoring in psychology.
Sister Julie (45): married to Paul; children: Andrew (21) (nicknamed “Dandy” by Rachel), Elizabeth (19) & Leslie (16); their home is also in Ishpeming. Julie is a high school teacher; Paul works in the logging business; Andrew & Liz are in college; Les is a senior in high school.
Sister Shelly (42): lives in Lansing Michigan with Lori. Shelly manages a well-known office supply store. Lori was the athletic director for University of Michigan for many years before going into the field of computers.
Baby Sister Kim (38): married to Tim; child: Conor (15 months); they live in Pacific Palisades, CA. Tim is an attorney. Kim also works, but they are not able to attend family gatherings due to their schedules.
Orma wanted a family picture made since most of the family was in town. She made an appointment on Saturday morning at 9:30. The only members unable to attend were Kim and her family and Brian who had to work that morning. Everyone else was dressed and ready to pose by the lake. The kids did well during the group shot, but when we broke up into smaller groups, there was a little meltdown. Mitch. There were 8 grandchildren to pose with Grandma Orma and Papa Jerry. Everyone was smiling and doing well until we added Mitch to the group. We placed him on Papa’s lap. Then the wailing and screaming began. I stood beside the photographer trying to get him to smile and Jerry crawled behind the group trying to reassure Mitch. Nothing would soothe him. From my viewpoint, I know there will be many pictures with 9 happy faces and 1 screaming boy reaching out his hands to Mom with tears in his eyes.
Saturday evening Orma hosted a joint birthday party to celebrate Rachel’s 4th birthday (August 3rd) and Mitch’s 2nd birthday (Oct. 2nd). This was such a treat for them since they can celebrate their big days with grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins. Shelly insisted that there should be two cakes. Rachel had a Barbie cake and Mitch had a Pooh cake. Orma prepared a nice meal of spaghetti, tossed salad, and garlic bread. The kids opened their presents and then we had cake. It was fun for the kids, and I think the adults enjoyed seeing the kids’ reactions in person when they opened their presents. Rachel received lots of Barbie dolls & Barbie clothes, as well as cute clothing and a suitcase with pink fur on it. She got a Barbie motorcycle too. Mitch received lots of trucks, toys, matchbox cars, and some cute clothing, and a lawn mower. The gang played a card game called *99* in the kitchen, which resulted in some pockets being emptied and others with happy faces. Since Lori and I always fight over the bars (rice krispie snack with melted chocolate/peanut butter/butterscotch on top), Julie planned ahead and made two pans, one for each house. Lori was staying at Julie’s house, and I was staying at Orma’s. Lori and I agreed not to eat each other’s bars while visiting the other house, and this seemed to make everyone happy. (grin)
Rachel:
Rachel had such a good time. Her cousins (Les & Liz) took her to the movies one night to see Finding Nemo again. She went shopping for Barbie clothes with her Aunt Julie. She went on a walk with her Aunt Toni/Uncle Brian. She loves to play with their dog Chloe, whose nickname is Snort. She enjoyed going to Aunt Julie’s house to play with cousin Leslie’s Barbie House which was handmade by Uncle Paul. She enjoyed swimming in the back yard with Mitch and wading into Teal Lake. She enjoyed going for ice cream at the Cone Corner when cousin Liz worked on two nights. Rachel liked hiking down to Baby Lake and throwing stones in the water. Every day we took her to the playgrounds (there are several) and she was never quite ready to head home saying, “no dad, I still have a lot of playing to do.” She enjoyed watching movies with her grandparents every night, reading books with everyone, and dressing in her new pink clothes. She made beaded necklaces for everyone, and it made her happy to see everyone wearing them. She loved going to the children’s museum with Grandma & Grandpa and cousin Liz along to chase after the kids and supervise. Rachel drove a plane and played in the post office. Grandma bought her a souvenir Witch puppet from the museum shop for being good.
Mitch:
Mitch eventually warmed up to everyone. I think his favorite person was cousin Andy. He followed Andy around, sat beside him, and cried when Andy had to leave. Mitch enjoyed playing in the yard, running up and down the hill, tossing the ball with his cousins, chasing after chippies (chipmunks) with Papa, swimming in the pool and wading in Lake Teal. He took great naps. His best friend is still his right thumb. His stranger anxiety was much better this trip, but he is still a mommy’s boy. He picked up a new expression, “hold you,” which he used often when he wanted to be picked up. He got his toe stuck in grandma’s high chair one day and it bled a little. He made it a point to show everyone his boo-boo, pointing at it and saying “see!” Mitch enjoyed pancakes made fresh each morning by Papa Jerry. He calls them cake-cakes. He enjoyed his daily sucker and ice cream treats. Mitch loved the playgrounds. He liked the swing, the slides, and the teeter-totter. The fresh air was good for the kids. Mitch got the biggest kick out of drinking out of a cup or glass. Grandma let him drink water out of her glass. We let him do this while at the table. He mostly enjoyed being loved and spoiled by his grandparents, aunts/uncles, and cousins. We nicknamed him the Golden Boy, as his every request was granted, he had his grandpa wrapped around his finger every day for handmade pancakes and anything else his little heart desired, like suckers and balls. Mitch played hard in the children’s museum, as well. He picked out a toy ball as his souvenir.
Jerry & Megan:
We enjoyed a little time alone as well. We celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary on the 4th of July. Nothing like a national holiday with parade and fireworks. We went to Presque Isle 2 nights and drove around the Isle, had Jilbert’s ice cream (Mackinac Fudge), watched the impressive international dancers from NMU, went out to a steak joint where Jerry’s cousin David works and then saw a movie afterwards. Jerry went to the casino one night with Elmer and his dad. They had a good time but bad luck. We made a visit to the local Ford dealership to speak to the service manager, Virgil, about our check engine light. After hearing our description, he recommended having it towed to the dealership for repair. Another day, Julie took me to Michigamme which is a small town on a lake that has many small shops to explore. I enjoyed the quilting/fabric store and found a great picnic-style basket which I had to think about before buying. Two days later, Jerry and I drove back to Michigamme while the kids went to the children’s museum in Marquette with their grandparents and cousin Liz. We ate at the Moose Café and arranged to have the picnic basket shipped to us. We took a tour of the high school on Alumni Day. It was nice to walk up and down the halls of Jerry’s school, and he even found his old locker. He remembered the old combination, but it didn’t work. He showed me some of the hidden closets and secret stairwells. I got to see the high school gym, the new library, the classrooms, and the new renovations. The school has a lot of character. The beauty of the wooden floors, high ceilings, beautiful windows, take you back 40 years. They have made some changes incorporating modern technology and adding a new gym and library. But they managed to keep the original “look” without caving into the modern day school look. We drove around to look at lots and houses. They are selling new lots on Teal Lake. It is fun to dream and imagine ourselves living in the UP, picking out our favorite houses, and imagining how much fun it would be for our kids to grow up in the UP, going to the same schools at Jerry, living near their grandparents, aunts/uncles, and cousins. We’d love for them to grow up in a small town, like we did, where they could enjoy closer relationships with family and the changing of all four seasons, including snow, which we really miss out on in Texas.
Christmas exchange:
We went to Toni’s house for dinner on Friday night. They grilled meat and Toni made several side dishes and a chocolate cake. They have a large family room where the kids made themselves at home by running and jumping around. I don’t think Toni is used to having little ones in her house, putting handprints on everything. I imagined her reaching for the Windex bottle after we drove away. Instead of waiting until Thanksgiving, we decided to draw names for exchanging Christmas gifts so we could get started early. Ideas were exchanged on how we could make it more fun. It was decided that everyone will have to make a “handmade” stocking and fill it with fun things for the person, according to their personality. It doesn’t have to be fancy or perfect, and I can imagine that a few stockings may be stapled together with construction paper, but just the same, a few may be quilted or hand sewn. It will be interesting to see how the stockings turn out and learn what is held inside. I heard rumors that Paul may be getting a princess wand. Serves him right for playing with Rachel’s wand. She nearly had to fistfight him to win it back (grin). This year, we drew Brandon and Jason’s names.
Returning to Houston:
Saturday morning came too soon. I could have stayed for the rest of the summer, but we had to go home. We got up and had breakfast. Papa Jerry made pancakes (day 9) for the Golden Boy (Mitch). The kids played ball in the yard for awhile, while I got the suitcases packed and Jerry carried everything down to the car. We caught the tail end of Negaunee’s Pioneer Days parade on the way to the airport. We checked our bags at the gate and then waited around for about an hour before we had to board. The kids said their goodbyes to Grandma and Papa. They hope to be able to visit us in Houston in the fall. Orma is undergoing more chemotherapy on her liver this week. Once the liver cancer is under control, she will only have to focus on conquering the stomach cancer which they believe is concentrated in one small area. She has already been cleared of colon and lung cancer. We hope for a complete healing of all cancer in Orma. It goes without saying that our family would cease to exist as we know it without Orma around. She has far too many years ahead to enjoy her life, her retirement years, her family & grandchildren. We need and love her.
Our flight from Sawyer took us into Detroit on the way home with a 3-hour layover in Detroit. This left plenty of time to meet up with a great friend (Barb) who I met through my diary. It was cool to meet Barb in person after corresponding on a daily basis for 3 years. We had to meet on the other side of the security gate, since they no longer allow unticketed passengers in the terminals. I recognized her right away. She looked just like her pictures. She’s 10 years younger, though, and it shows in her young face. She doesn’t have any laugh lines like I do. We hugged and sat and talked for an hour. I’m glad we met and she got to see my family in person, even though it was for such a short while. The hour flew by, and it was time to say our goodbyes until next summer when we get together on the big island with our friends and their husbands.
We landed in Houston at 9 p.m. Reid picked us up in his Suburban. The kids got their second wind at home, so we let them stay up late to blow off some steam. I was up until 1 a.m. unpacking and reading 176 emails. Sunday, Jerry had the SUV towed into the dealership for repair. I drove the pickup to work this week, but darn it, the air conditioning is not working. Hurricane Claudette came to town this week, so that left us with heavy rain bands pouring down all day/night Tuesday. The wind driven rain came down in sheets (sideways) into my office window. It was eerie, yet majestic at the same time. The sun came out and the skies cleared. We saw a beautiful rainbow across the sky yesterday morning. I’m sure it’s a promise, a sign of good times ahead. The best news was that my SUV was repaired, and I drove in the cool comfort of air conditioning. I was giddy. And that little joyride down the ramp yesterday wasn’t bad either.
Warmly,
Megan
I have 3 rolls of film to develop. In the meantime, new pictures taken by Toni are posted: http://www.babiesonline.com/babies/m/millimaki/
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