Adapting to Change

There are few things in life that are certain, but it is certain that all things change. I'm not someone that has spent my life embracing change (Patrick, I know you're chuckling), but I do recognize the inevitability of change. The constant changes that force us to learn how to adapt. So, I'm sharing some lessons I've learned recently:

Falling Down and Getting Up
Patrick had a nasty fall in early September. We were in the backyard and while I had my back turned (cleaning up dog poo, nonetheless) he caught his foot on the brick and down he went. Falling for ALS patients is common, the balance is off, muscles are not working quite right and small obstacles become huge when you have to maneuver around them. We spent about six hours in the emergency room while they ran a variety of tests to make sure that his ribs, head etc. were not broken or worse.  In the end he came out of it with some pretty bruised ribs, a black eye and an extremely sore/tender arm on which he fell. (The ego was a little bruised up too...)

So, this is what I learned:

Falling hurts... For all of us, falling down hurts - the body is sore, stiff and generally scraped up because we put our hands out to brace ourselves. For an ALS patient ,they have all these things, but are further compounded by the fact that they can't move as easily. Additionally, he couldn't get his hands out to brace himself, so... he hit the ground hard.  Again falling hurts.

The ER is an interesting place... I think I've been to the ER four or five times in my life and frankly I could live the rest of my life happily without visiting one again. It is a sad place where you spend a great deal of time waiting.

I can't pick Patrick up... When Patrick fell, Caitlin and I tried to get him up, but with no success. I wound up running to the neighbor who came over and helped me get him inside to the couch. Thank you Jim! Anyway, I realize that there would be great challenges ahead and that I needed to learn to manage these crisis's better. As fate would have it, I read a blog of another ALS patient (Susan's Steps, www.susansteps.com) that week and she had also taken a fall and her husband called 911 - the fire department came over and lifted her up. It never occurred to me to call 911 but apparently it is common for them to come out in these situations. I used to have a boss that called these learning moments "ah ha" moments - I'd say this was a little of an "ah ha" and "duh" moment for me...

Installation of the Lift

The lift was installed in early September, it took about two weeks for the job to be completed. The house was tore up for quite a while, which is not one of my favorite things. It was also during the time of Patrick's fall and started immediately upon our return from our Route 66 trip.  It was a bit overwhelming for a while. The dust has settled now and the lift is in our entry way, with a door added upstairs into our bathroom to allow for getting into the upstairs. It works pretty well and it's always a curiosity for folks when they come over. 

So, this is what I learned...

Fast Enough... You just can't get these things done fast enough, I really struggled with the torn up house for two weeks.

When it Rains it Pours... I think I reached my max with the installation, Patrick falling and trying to make arrangements for Patrick's 50th Birthday.  Overwhelmed is an accurate description.

Lifts are S...L...O...W... Our nephew, Don, recommended that we have appropriate elevator music playing while Patrick uses it. Our sister-in-law, Debbie, calls it the "Pat in a Box." Just for translation - Pat=Patrick (only his family calls him Pat). Pat Kennealy offered to put a Bimford 3000 on it to speed it up - intriguing but I'll have to say no...

Cleaning Out the Work Office
Patrick took a leave of disability from Blue Shield the first week of October. My perception of Patrick, the worker, was pretty limited and frankly I never really gave it much thought. He kept his work at work and didn't bring it home with him. He has talked of people at work that he obviously liked, but my interaction with anything work related over the past 30 years has been minimal - except for a brief stint where we worked at the same place (that was a very LONG time ago.) So, we set out the Saturday before his final day to clear out his office.

I've been to his office maybe a total of three times over his 11 years with Blue Shield and they were brief in nature. With two empty bags we headed into Patrick's office to clean it out. We started with his drawers, where I cleared out the personal items and threw away paperwork. I found this tremendously moving; I rifled through his desk and cabinets removing the usual work stuff, as well as his awards, certifications, notes, and cards. On his monitor was a well wish from Vaughn and Tina - his co-workers. Although, he didn't say it, I know that it must have been difficult for him to close this chapter in his life.

So, this is what I learned...

Work... Patrick had a work life outside of the Timmons' household that was rich with friends and co-workers. It's not that I didn't know that, but this activity really brought this home for me.

Humility... Patrick is a humble man, he took a few items that had some meaning for him, but left the rest. I wanted to keep some stuff (yeah, I snuck some stuff) but he said let it go, it's time to move on.

The roles we play... It was a reminder to me that as well as you know people, they have other roles they play; we are mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, but also friends, co-workers, bosses, subordinates and so many other identities.  We are so much more than one role, instead we are multi-faceted human beings playing a variety of roles.

Neurons and Pathways

The Brain

Christian started kindergarten this year and we've enjoyed hearing about school life from his perspective. His teacher has a degree in science, therefore many of the class lessons are scientific which appears to be absolutely fascinating to Christian. He has very animated discussions about neurons and pathways in the brain. Apparently the science lesson he is most intrigued with is about what happens to the brain as a child learns and grows. A quote from my scientific grandson - "As I learn new things in school, the neurons come together and create new pathways." (this is done with some pretty impressive hand gestures). These discussions can continue for quite a while and he seems to have a real interest in how the brain works.


So, this is what I've learned...

Simplicity... From our discussions with Christian, the brain seems so simple, but in reality we know so little about the brain and how it works. However, I think sometimes we make things more complex than they need to be - which leads me to my next thought...



Neurons Together

Neurons Apart

Hope for the Future... There is hope in and with the next generation.  With youthful curiosity, someday ALS will be cured - this I believe. I love the thought that Christian may turn his scientific interest and curiosity into knowledge and work to help find a cure. The future is full of endless possibilities. 
 
And so...
Life is changing in our house, we don't have much choice in the matter. We work to find the peace, humor and joy in the day and do our best to adapt to the changes. I tire of life's lessons, but recognize their importance. Although I'm hopeful for the future, I think the next generation just may find that ALS cure.
I hope life's changes are manageable and that you are enjoying this lovely fall weather.

Route 66 - Part III - End of the Trail

Desert Route 66 Signage

The final four states on our journey were Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California. Some of the weirdest stops we made were in these states, there was everything from dinosaurs eating mannequins to Cadillac's half-way buried in the ground.

The landscape changed throughout the trip and each state had it's own charm. From the lush green states of Illinois, Missouri and Kansas; we entered the plains of Texas, deserts of New Mexico, red rock of Arizona and ultimately the Southern California desert and beaches. All had their own beauty and it would be difficult to pick the best state on the route.

After leaving Oklahoma and the Big Blue Whale we headed into Texas...
 
Texas: Cadillac Ranch, The Route Midpoint, and Bates Motel Signs
Texans most certainly have a sense of humor; we found giant roosters, Bates Hotel signs, and a "ranch" full of Cadillacs buried half way up in the ground. Shamrock, is the first town you enter when you cross the border from Oklahoma. Shamrock is the home of a restored Conoco Gas Station, this station was the inspiration for Ramone's Body Shop in the movie "Cars". It has a great art deco look and is now home to the Shamrock Chamber of Commerce. 

Patrick and I at Cadillac Ranch

Cadillac Ranch is located outside Amarillo, where it has a number of Cadillacs buried half way in the ground. Visitors are encouraged to spray paint the cars so they are continually painted and repainted. The area is a sea of empty spray cans and wet paint, the amateur artists don't always keep to the buried Cadillacs, so if you ever go, be careful of the fence, gate and trash cans, nothing is off limits to the painters.  Cadillac Ranch also provide the inspiration to the Cadillac Range backdrop to Radiator Springs in the movie "Cars".

Adrian, Texas is the midpoint of the route. We stopped in hopes of having some pie at the Midpoint Diner and meeting Fran, the inspiration for Flo in the movie "Cars", but they were not open. They did have an old truck you can sign, although there isn't much room for new signatures.

New Mexico: Capitol Building, Neon Signs, Giant Dream Catchers, Desert Sunsets
On the route there are a few sections that branch off and you can take a couple different routes. In New Mexico the older portion of Route 66 travels through the state capitol, Santa Fe. This route was removed early in the life of Route 66 and diverted for a more direct route through New Mexico. We opted to include this section because Santa Fe looked like such an interesting place to visit and is home to one of the oldest buildings in America (500 years old). 

A dear friend of mine went on countless family road trips with her dad who took his family on a journey to visit every state capitol in America. I can't say that I've visited every capitol, but I have visited a number of them and I must say that the Santa Fe Capitol building is incredibly beautiful and unique. It is built true to the state architecture in adobe style. The building is circular and we were able to walk completely around. The grounds are green and lush with Native American artwork placed throughout. Just seeing the capitol building and local adobe architecture made the detour worthwhile.

Tucumcari Classic Neon

We spent the night in Tucumcari which is a town that is working to revitalize their main street. The Blue Swallow Motel with its murals and striking neon sign were a memorial to years gone by. That night we cruised the main street, had a wonderful dinner at Del's Restaurant and watched the Disney "Cars" movie in our motel room. I must say it is moving how breathtaking the New Mexico desert is at sunset. 

Arizona: Oatman Burros, Bed Bugs, Dinosaurs, Mannequins
The Arizona portion of the route is alive with funky towns, Burma shave signs, giant dinosaurs and wild burros. Again we opted to take an older route through the Black Mountains that started in Kingman and ended in the old town of Oatman. Patrick definitely talked me into taking this road, it's a narrow road with a shear drop off, not my favorite type of road, but I must say we were rewarded by some amazing views. Additionally, on this stretch we saw a giant tiki head, an old ghost town and a family of wild burros wandering the freeway outside of town.

We had our first (and hopefully last) experience with bed bugs in Flagstaff. When we arrived at the Holiday Inn Express, Patrick sat down on the bed only to notice a strange bug on his pillow. After we caught the bug in a Ziploc bag and searched the Internet, we confirmed that the bug was indeed a bed bug. This was a first for us, and I'm grateful that Patrick saw it immediately upon entering the room. We quickly "bugged" out and headed over to another hotel. I did take a picture, but I won't post this to the blog - because they're yucky.

Patrick & Caitlin at Snow Cap Drive In

Probably one of the most famous towns on the route is Seligman, Arizona. Seligman has the famous Snow Cap Drive-In with its funky artwork - toilets with flowers, a vintage car decorated for Christmas with the top down and Santa riding in it, and  a number of vintage automobiles. We loved it all!

Yes, we did stand on a corner in Winslow, Arizona, just like the old Eagles song "Take it Easy." They have a guy with a guitar statue and a flatbed Ford. Eagles music plays from the gift shop on the opposite corner and t-shirts, signs and trinkets are available for sale.
 

The London Bridge, Lake Havasu

We took a side trip from Route 66 to visit the London Bridge. Yep, the real London Bridge can be found at Lake Havasu, Arizona. It was sold in 1967 to Robert P. McCulloch for approximately $2.5 million and he brought it over piece by piece. We heard in London that it was in Arizona, so we drove off the route to check it out - an interesting landmark in the desert of Arizona.

California: Bottle Art, McDonald's Museum, Wigwams, End of the Trail 

Our Wigwam, San Bernardino

We spent the initial leg in California traveling through the Mojave Desert. There are interesting man made items in the desert including shoe bushes, rocks shaped into names and old gas stations. Probably the most intriguing is "bottle ranch" which is the home of the artist, Elmer. He created bottle trees all over his property, each pays tribute to a variety of themes. I can't even imagine the hours he spent to creating his art.

After the journey through the desert we stayed in San Bernardino at the Wigwam Motel. We enjoyed our stay at the motel which was a group of tee pees. The decor inside the tee pees was western with stagecoach wheel headboards. The next day we headed over to the McDonald's museum before making our final trek to the Santa Monica Pier.

You travel through some of the most beautiful southern California towns on the route including Pasadena, Beverly Hills and Santa Monica. In true Southern California fashion, we spent quite a bit of time in traffic. We found the End of the Trail sign at the pier, visited the Route 66 shop and enjoyed the amazing beach scenery. 

Closing

Santa Monica Pier!

We ate at some fantastic restaurants, met some wonderful people, and saw some beautiful country. An interesting fact is that the majority of the Route 66 travelers are foreigners. Apparently it is very popular to come to America and journey the route. Not something I would've expected, but at various times through our trip we found ourselves surrounded by foreign travelers. 

They come from all over the globe, in Seligman a bus pulled up and a group of 30+ folks got out all speaking French, in the Mojave Desert at a little diner, we counted five different languages being spoken at the various tables (none were English) and upon arriving at that diner we had to navigate through a biker group from Brazil. Such a funny fact that just added to the richness of the trip!

It is too bad that Americans don't travel the route more and I encourage anyone that finds themselves in Route 66 area to take the slower route, even only for a portion of the journey - you won't be disappointed.  While there are a number of good books on taking the route, our recommendation is "Route 66: EZ66 Guide For Travelers" by Jerry McClanahan.  Done in a triptych style and very easy to follow and find all those cool sites.

You can find our photos from Texas to California along the route here: Final Photos.

So as quickly as it started, our journey along Route 66 came to an end... but oh what a journey it was and one we won't soon forget.