King & I

We’ve begun the runup to the holiday.

The boys are busy making Christmas presents for their other grandma, I’m starting to stock up on cookie supplies, the tree is up, our daughter’s Santa collection is gracing every nook and cranny in her apartment, mysterious packages are showing up on the doorstep or in the mailbox, and King and I have actually decorated the outside of the trailer.

I will confess, Christmas in warmer climates is a little different.

Outdoor decorations are beginning to spring up in neighborhoods. They are pretty. But homeowners here will never understand dedication to decoration until they’ve strung lights in freezing temperatures. Hot cocoa and hot toddies are a necessity.

I was checking out at a local grocery store today and was asked for my rewards phone number, After I told the cashier I was from out of state and we established I was from Michigan, her response was, “Oh, so that explains why you aren’t wearing a coat.” The temperature was in the mid-60s, and it was raining — lightly. Unless I’m sitting in the stands at a baseball game, I don’t put a coat on until the temperature actually dips to 40.

So, our winter adventure continues.

We will be staying (in the trailer) at a private residence until January when our long-term campsite becomes available. This year we were able to snag a campsite near the playground and the boys have informed their mother that “it’s the best campsite at the campground.” Ahhh, youthful exuberance.

It IS convenient. They boys are a little more independent and can venture to the playground alone, but I’m grateful the playground will be within shouting distance of the trailer… and I will be the grandparent sitting in the lawn chair hidden behind the bush with binoculars trained on the boys. Times are different from when our kids were young.

And on the home front — King has been busy prepping the trailer roof for a new coat of sealer. It’s maintenance that has to be done every few years and we really have no idea when (or if) it was done on our trailer.

We are also in the process of replacing roof vents. If it were up to me, I’d order the new vents and take out the old ones when the new ones arrive and be good to go, but that’s not how we roll. The old vents were removed (and destroyed in the process) and now the trailer roof is covered with a tarp while we wait for the new vents. I try, really, really hard, not to say anything.

It reminds me of the time, years ago, when we moved into an old house and discovered the chimney was attached to an old oil heater and rested on the first floor (in other words old wood floor joists were holding it up) and went up through the roof on the second floor. We removed the oil heater, and our new furnace didn’t require a chimney. King started removing the bricks from the bottom first. My father was there when he started.

I looked at Dad and said, “Isn’t that a little dangerous?”

Dad indicated it was, but just shrugged his shoulders.

I stood in the driveway and looked at Dad and resorted to tears (they always worked on Dad). “Daddy! Do something!”

Dad convinced King to start from the roof and work his way down, pointing out that it was a hell of a lot of bricks to have crashing through the ceiling and probably taking the first floor with it and eventually landing in the basement.

There is no dad to come to my rescue now, so I have to live with a tarp on the roof and hope the winds remain calm.

There are worse things.