Anyway, on Sunday I flew home from California. It's so hard to believe June has already come and gone! Monday (fourth of July) was an interesting travel day. I flew out of Ontario Airport and all the computers were down so they were hand-writing boarding passes and bag tags. I had a quick moment of panick when I first walked in and saw the waiting line for Southwest. But then I found out that there was another line outside for people who had checked-in online and printed their boarding passes (which luckily I had done). This line only had three people. I was out of that line in about 5 minutes and then on to security where there was no line at all. My first flight was about a third empty even after delaying the departure a little to try and get more people through check-in and on board. When I first walked towards my gate (1:30 in the afternoon) the airport was like ghosttown, but soon it started to fill up. My second flight was quite enjoyable because I got the unique experience of viewing various fireworks displays. I had thought about the fact that I was flying in the 4th of July but I didn't really think I'd see any. Actually, there were tons. Of course, all I could really see were small flashes of color that came and went really fast, but it was still a really cool experience!
So what did I do for the last month in CA?
Well, I flew into Orange County where my Aunt and Uncle live. Steph came in at the same time. We wanted to have some time together since we hadn't seen each other the last three months while she was in CA and then wouldn't see eachother again for a month while I was in CA and then when I get back to PA we would have just one week before we spend a year in different parts of the world! A few days later the rest of the family trickled in and we had a mini-family reunion. It was wonderful to spend time with family that we rarely get to see! My parents and brother and sister-in-law were in Reedley with my grandma for the past week so they came and brought her.
(whole group shot)
After the reunion everyone left again and my grandma and I stayed for about a week more. Then it was time to head to her home in Reedley. We took Amtrak back.
(Grandma and I at the Santa Ana station before catching our two trains and bus back to Reedley.)
I spent the next three weeks in Reedley. The house had recently been put up for sale by owner, but there were no bites. About one week into my stay the family decided to put it to a realtor. Our realtor advised us to clear out closests so that when people look at the house they would feel like they have a lot of storage space. We also de-cluttered and removed family pictures from the walls because perspective buyers are supposed to be able to envision themselves living in the home. So much of my time was spent boxing things up and oranizing them into the garage. Some things we threw away and some we gave away, but it is hard for my grandma to let go of things. She is a saver! It was fun running across old letters, pictures, and keepsakes and reminiscing about them. I also spent a good bit of time scanning old pictures, slides, and negatives. By doing this I got a better understanding of my extended family and really enjoyed running across pictures I haven't seen for a while or have never seen. We are going to put the pictures onto CDs and give them to all the families. Cleaning and gardening also kept me busy.
The time went so incredibly fast, because we kept so busy. But, I had fun getting to know my grandma better, and especially enjoyed some of the evenings where she would be so tired and she'd get so silly. She could be really funny. I also really enjoyed getting to know some of my grandma's friends and her brother's and sisters. I have some pretty cool great aunts and uncles. They are really interesting and fun people and really took interest in getting to know me a little while I was in CA...whether it was just sitting around and visiting, celebrating a 90th birthday or 60th wedding anniversary, touring a family fruit packing shed, sharing some fruit or vegetables or a meal, playing dominoes, watching a bizarre video about cultural traditions around the world, trying to fix the sprinklers, needing help to jump start grandma's car, or giving a ride to or from the train station.
While Reedley isn't the most happening place, I have come to love for the family history and German heritage (my dad's side) that is there. My grandma has lived there her entire life, moving just a few times but never more than just down the road or down the street. All her brothers and sisters also stayed in the area as well as many of their children. And of course it is also where my dad grew up (he came to Lancaster to do VS with MCC in his early 20s and met my mom and they stayed in PA) so he has lots of memories and stories about growing up in Reedley. I also love that the name 'Thiesen' is as common there as it is uncommon here in Lancaster.
I am really glad I had the opportunity to spend this time with my grandma. I never would have imagined having this opportunity to be one-on-one with her for a month and really get to know one another. This trip also provided the chance to really get to know some aunts and uncles and cousins better as well...very neat!
1. milk jugs disintegrate in heat/sun.
2. rubber bands get hard and then brittle in heat.
3. decorative Easter grass (you know, like in the bottom of your Easter basket) has the ability to fade from bright green to a very ugly shade of brown and become somewhat unidentifiable.
4. billfold=wallet
5. drainboard=kitchen counter
6. Grandma actually has a major sweet tooth and likes to snack!
7. Californians love donuts! There are donut shops everywhere! Most interesting donut shop spotted: Donuts and Burgers! Now there’s a deadly combination!
8. I love riding the train! It is seriously the best way to travel. Also, I quite appreciated all of Amrak's conductors and bus drivers' senses of humor! And there are always interesting experiences to be had and people to met!
See more pictures here: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2082123&id=55302217&l=b7b3332253
I always post my pictures on facebook, so I will include links here on my blog when I upload more photos, for those of you following my blog but aren't on facebook :)
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