ahh…i feel official. my first full blog. exciting!
i’ve set this up to chronicle my transition from ice cream maven to photography instructor/mentor for a non-profit in Tucson, Arizona. new town, new job, new lifestyle. it’s all a bit scary and i’ve been feeling homesick for days
after a series of tearful goodbyes last saturday, my older siter (Julie) and i had a great three days on the road. our first stop was the small mountain hamlet of Nederland, Colorado where we lived as young teenagers. we had gone in search of Neopolitan’s, an Italian eatery where we fell in love with their garlic rolls. you know the food is good if you still remember them 20 years later. we rolled by our high school and shared memories of our life as a family there. it was the only extended period of time where my family of seven had dinner together EVERY night…and i remember those times with extreme fondness. it also made me miss my dad. i could envision him standing on the front porch, in his horse-blanket of a sweater, smoking a cigarette and examining the stars.
after Nederland, we sped down to the Denver area to re-unite with family from my mother’s side – Grandpa Sidney, Uncle Dale and his daughter Rebecca and her family. we figured out that it had been Easter of 1988 since we had last seen our Grandpa Sidney. we had a nice dinner and fun discussion led mostly by our long-lost cousin Rebecca, who is a lovely spirit. i really need to be better about staying in contact with people.
Taos, New Mexico was our second stop. wow. what a simple and beautiful place. we had lunch at the Taos Inn and I had a much desired margarita before we hit the road home to Arizona. once i’m settled and have my feet firmly on the ground, i will most definitely be heading back to Taos for a full-scale adventure.
it has been much too long since i’ve taken a road trip with my sister and, geez, did we have fun. every night…just like when we were kids…we would find ourselves in a fit of giggles, laughing at the stupidest things. it is going to be fantastic living close to her again. julie proved to an excellent navigator – correctly predicting travel times with the world’s most imprecise measure – her fingers.
she and i did the apartment hunt in Tucson the other day. as usual, the first round was really depressing, but once we hit the downtown area i felt great. the downtown area is beautiful and is where i eventually hope to live.
my nieces return home tomorrow. i’ll have lunch with them before heading down to Tucson to check into a hotel for the week. i begin work monday morning. i’m nervous…in that silly “Will they like me?” way. i am terribly excited to try teaching. i have so much to learn, but don’t we all?
A great beginning to a great new adventure! Krista, no one inspires me as you do. I can’t wait to read all about your teaching escapades … and of *course* they’ll like you, you badass!
thanks lady! coming from the badass that you are, that’s a compliment!