Day Twelve: Kismet

We made it to Morro Bay with the sound of Sawyer crying echoing in our heads – poor guy is pretty happy until his sleep gets interrupted and he and Jordan did two hours of vertical sleeping before the city lights and stops had Sawyer railing against the injustices of the world. Our beloved campground, nearly empty at Christmas, was full of trailers, RV’s and toyhaulers, the acrid smoke of questionable campfire additions stinging our eyes as we pulled in at 9:45 and had the kids in their beds within minutes. Tom and I snuggled into our bed where we were met with face fulls of Austin fur. I’ve never seen a dog that sheds more than our beloved pup, and he apparently was reclining on our pillows during the day’s travels. Definitely time for some laundry.

We headed to Morro Rock beach where the waves were over head-high and nicely shaped, a little messy with the wind and chop, but some pretty wonderful conditions for a surfer from the foothills. Tom said within minutes he’d caught five of the best waves he’s had in the last five years. The kids and I took a long, long beach walk, and ended up surfing the dunes on my parka – they’d sit on it and I would pull them down the slopes. Pretty fun until I remembered the keys were in an unzipped pocket! Luckily, Jordan found them within minutes at the base of our slope. Another family with a dog and two younger children had made camp at our base in the middle of our surfing and Jordan and Sawyer gravitated to the hole their dog was digging. A little low-level sibling arguing about whose turn it was to dig to China with the one blue plastic cup later, and Tom was out of the water.

It was a melancholy beach moment, knowing our vacation time was coming to a close, when suddenly Aidan Robinson came up and scared me with a kid-style “Boo”. Tom had seen Noel on his walk back to the car to change, and we were reunited with our Lotus friends, Jordan and Declan ecstatically running into the surf together, he in a wetsuit, Jordan in a skirt and shirt. Noel had her lovely 11 and 13 year old nieces with her, and all kids were soon involved in a massive sand castle building escapade – save for Sawyer who was a safer distance from the waves, happily making a sand pie.


Immediately, Noel said “You’re staying the night,” and like that, the vacation was extended by a day. Noel’s cousin Martin and his wonderful wife Tracy live on a 500 acre ranch five miles in the hills directly above Morro Bay. When beach time was over, we headed up the hill and parked the trailer on a wonderful cleared flat area adjacent to rustically gorgeous bathrooms with hot water (not requiring a quarter). The kids were quickly running around exploring, Aidan and Declan proudly showing off found treasures of cow skulls and peacock feathers (there are many peacocks running around in addition to the cattle, a fenced-in goat, horses in a newly built amazing barn, and chickens in a coop adjacent to the main house). They bounced on the trampoline, and before long were taking their bikes of the skateboard jump Noel had constructed on the concrete patio.


Tracy and Martin’s generosity was bottomless and all four younger kids enjoyed long bubblebaths to remove the sand from their more delicate parts while Tom and Seth headed down the hill for another surf session. I had a luxurious shower in the bathrooms (actually built for Noel’s sister’s wedding the previous year), and we watched the unbelievable sunset from the porch swing. It was a gorgeous house built by Martin, with the red Mexican floor tiles like the ones in dad’s house, high exposed beam ceilings and an open floor plan centering around a fireplace. The ranch is of the grid and someone had been installing a second, new solar panel that would enable Tracy to switch to an electric fridge from the small and erratic gas powered one she’d had for twenty years. It was an easy transition to dinner at a table set for ten with the three youngest kids eating at the bar next to the table. The fiesta-ware plates were wonderfully celebratory as were the silver wine and champagne chalices we drank from. It was a wonderful meal with lots of laughter. I helped wash dishes while Seth launched the kids into a hilarious game of Flapadoodle.


Sawyer went to bed in Jillian’s room while the rest of the kids watched a video and the adults rang in the East Coast New Year and we all headed off to bed.

The ranch is known as being an incredibly windy place, and we had a few good trailer-shaking blasts, but it was a wonderfully cozy night and a great way to ring in the New Year with old friends and new, and a great blending of our vacation life and our Lotus community, reminding us of how lucky we are to have such wonderful friends with which to share our daily lives and routines.

I’m sure I should have a good, solid list of resolutions, but perhaps it’s enough that the last two weeks of being in a car with my family has reminded me of where I perhaps lack in patience with the kids. Jordan is quick to snap at her brother and I worry it’s a trait she’s learned from me and it’s a good reminder to model the patience and calm I’d like her to posses. The trailer, of course, is a good reminder that the richness in life is to be found in where the road takes you and not necessarily in how luxurious the voyage is – the joy in having what is enough and not constantly wanting more. It’s a delicate balance, wanting what is best for the family and what might make my life a bit easier or more comfortable, but also being grateful for the how privileged and rich a life I lead. There have been so many special moments on this trip, it feels like we’ve been gone for a year rather than twelve days (and between the sand and the rain and Austin’s shedding habits, it looks like a year has passed inside as well). I can resolve to lose the same ten pounds or to floss daily (actually, that one I kept), or maybe I can go bigger, working at becoming the person I’d like my children, family, friends and husband to see me as.

2008 will be remembered as the year of transition, with Jordan entering first grade, Sawyer a new school, me a new job, and Tom perhaps a new additional career. We have new animals (perhaps our next travel vehicle should be an ark) and new friends to count in our community. We said goodbye to our beloved uncle and brother-in-law while we shared in the joy of the creation of a new life, and learned to count our blessings and hold our loved ones ever closer. Of course, now I’m crying remembering Ryan and also the grace and strength Allison showed through their journey, and I hope to emulate that grace and to remember to treasure each moment I have with those I love – and to find a way to love those who challenge that grace. Whew. Or maybe I should just give flossing another year and call it good.