I’ll See You in Oregon

         For spring break this year, we decided that we would go to Oregon.  I was excited to get away from Utah and to a state where I could breathe.  Jenna was sad not to be in Utah for her birthday, but built up an excitement to go. Roland has needed a vacation and was happy just to get away.  But none of us were as excited about going to Oregon as Beth.

         Beth Goldberg and Roland were in their high school band together.  Roland was interested in dating Beth, but the feeling was not mutual.  She liked Roland as a friend, but didn’t wish for anything more.  (I personally think she may have just had higher standards) After forty years they had reconnected through facebook. 

         Beth travels a lot – or so it seems.  She had remarried and was looking to move from West Virginia to Oregon.  As she and her husband drove from state to state, Beth said that they would be travelling through Salt Lake on a certain day and asked Roland if maybe they could do lunch.  He could meet her new husband, she could meet his new wife (me) and so we had made arrangements to meet for lunch.

         I met Beth for the first time on September 4, 2013 – after mom had been in the hospital for four days. Just as we had finished up, Beth invited us to stay with them in Oregon whenever we happened to make it up there.  I took her more seriously than did Roland. 

         When we planned our summer vacation last year, initially he wanted to take Jenna back to Disneyland, but he also wanted to invite his mom so that she and Jenna could have some bonding time. 

         It was my idea to change the itinerary from California to Oregon as Disneyland didn’t seem to be the ideal place to take his mother as there is more walking and standing involved than her legs are used to.  She’s too proud to be pushed in a wheel chair.  I figured if she and Roland were to watch shows while Jenna and I stood in line, the bonding would not be what he had hoped.  I figured a road trip in Oregon would give his mom the option of leaving the car at her convenience to do side trips and there would be a better environment to bond.

         Turns out that Roland’s mom had already been spoken for and would be spending the majority of her summer in NJ with Roland’s brother, Bob.  I still wanted to go to Oregon, but Jenna and Roland opted for Disneyland.  Thus Oregon was put on the back burner.

         In October, Roland had this horrible cough that seemed to linger for the rest of the year.  Our room always seemed too hot for me.  Though our bed reclines, Roland and I are never happy in the same position.  I ended up on the couch each night until finally I ended up falling asleep in the recliner in the living room and stopped going to bed all together.  I learned that I could actually breathe better than I could in the bedroom.

         When Jenna took swim lessons, the pool area was moist.  That was actually great for my sinuses.  After at least three years of suffering with dry skin and dried out sinuses and sinus infections and allergies, Roland decided that perhaps it was time to move (I had actually suggested that very thing more than eight years ago) and maybe we ought to look into Oregon.  Was this for real?  Breathing has been better for me this winter than any other because there has been more precipitation than usual.  That and the better ventilation between the front window and the sliding door.

         For Spring Break this year, Roland and I decided that we would spend five days in Oregon – looking at living locations mostly.  For the next week or so, my posts will include details about our spring break vacation.