Opprobrious

It was the end of March 1995. I had graduated from college and passed my state certification for education, qualified to teach pre K through 8th grade. We lived in a small two bedroom house in Alva, Oklahoma. We loved that town, but the town did not reciprocate with paying jobs. My two year old daughter was talking up a storm and we had just had our baby boy. Both kids had been by C-section, so honestly, we were waiting on the magic 2 week healing period where Lydia was cleared to travel so we could move.

We had survived college by stretching every dime as far as it could go, and this gave us a little cash to squeak by until we landed jobs. Our little house had turned into a storage unit of neatly packed boxes by the time I rented the Ryder truck. My father came over the day before and brought a guy I could pay to help move furniture.   It's funny how your memory locks in images.  I can clearly see the frozen waterbed mattress shatter in the back of the truck.  We had loaded it the night before and had an unexpected frost.  It was a tragic loss at that time.  Did I mention it was 1995?  

We loaded the truck, waived bye-bye to Peepaw and started the new adventure. We moved across state on blind faith we could land jobs and support the new family.

 BLINK

 Suddenly it is 18 years later. We found jobs.  We established ourselves into the community.  We achieved the American dream and raised two healthy children.  That new born baby is taller than I am. He is a legal adult. His senior Prom is this weekend (His final prom) and he plays 2 roles in the High School musical Little Shop of Horrors, which includes the voice of the plant, Audrey II. Yes he will sing in public! Then 6 short days after that he will walk across the stage and receive a diploma for graduating High School!

That is where irony steps forward. The day after graduation we are loading a long trailer, and moving back to Alva! Peepaw will haul the trailer, Lydia, Amanda and Colin will each drive a car and I will drive my old truck back across state to our new home. Amanda is in her final year of college and Colin will start his first year of college. The same college where both parents graduated, and met each other, and started a family.

Time for a new chapter in this story.