Hello Friends! :)
Ok, I am finally at a place where I can tell you the rest of the story! Physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually!
Since I got back into Portland last Saturday, I have been busy lesson planning, teaching and adjusting to life in my new place. Things changed overnight for my family. And I am still reeling from it all.
I think my sinuses are taking the brunt of all the changes. My sinuses have been feeling like they are stuffed with cotton balls since my stay in Idaho. At first I blamed it on the altitude. Then the dry weather. And the snow.
Now I have no idea what to blame my stuffed up sinuses on. Maybe stress? There is abundant stress in my life currently, but I am trying to take each moment, calmly doing what needs to be done.
Perhaps my sinuses are a reminder that I am an imperfect human, just trying to adapt and survive like everyone else in this world?
At this moment, I am at the corner coffee shop sipping a London Fog, with rose flavoring and soy milk. The skies are a brilliant blue in Portland this morning. I intend to finally blog about my Greyhound trip, stop at the gym for a quick workout and then head out to my son and daughter-in-law's place.
Looking at the skies while sipping my luscious drink takes me back to Twin Falls. As I was sitting in an Indian restaurant, eating butter chicken and sipping Chai tea. Enjoying the moment, while looking out the window at the gray skies and falling snow. I had taken a day off from grandbaby duty to take a Lyft ride to Historic Old Town Twin Falls. My Lyft driver was super cool, giving me a back story of the town. Interestingly enough, the same driver picked me up to take me back to my daughter and son-in-laws place.
I jokingly asked him if he was the only Lyft driver in Twin falls.
He grinned and replied that there was not much need for Lyft in this town.
I then asked him how early he drove, because I would be needing to catch Lyft at 4:30 a.m. Friday. He told me he would set his clock.
He apparently never did.
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| Butter Chicken, Paratha and Chai Tea and "Saffron" downtown Twin Falls |
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| It was delicious! |
But I digress. Let me take you back to where I left off. I had just received an email saying my bus trip to Portland from Twin Falls had been canceled. I called Greyhound and rescheduled for Friday, the 31st of December. I was still hopeful that I would make it back to Portland in time to ring in the New Year with my fiance.
Ok, I might have fibbed a bit. The hope was there, but my insides were tied up in knots. I do struggle with a bit of anxiety. And when I worry, it is not butterflies in the stomach and sweaty palms.
It is doom and gloom, the end is near, I am standing at the edge of a yawning abyss, with death breathing down my neck.
Immediately I imagined being trapped in Twin Falls forever, being fired from my teaching job, leaving all of my students hurt and bewildered, unable to learn piano without their Teacher Zita. And my fiance dying of a broken heart.
Typing that just know is quite amusing. So dramatic! But try telling my racing heart to slow down in my moment of panic.
I tried to calmly ask the Greyhound agent why my trip was being canceled. She simply told me they do not have that information, but I was welcome to call back the next day to see if my Friday trip was running.
The positive side of two more days in Twin Falls, was two more days with my granddaughters. The twins are 7 1/2 months old. And oh so precious! They are not identical, in anyway. The smaller one, with the full head of hair, is the most enthusiastic, energetic baby I have met. When I come into the room, she wiggles and squawks, practically propelling herself from her mother's arms to land on me. She is now beginning to crawl.
The bigger one, with almost no hair, is the most cuddly, happy, content baby ever. I could never choose a favorite. The one I hold at any given moment is my baby of choice.
My four year-old granddaughter and I have a particularly close bond. I was worried she would miss her "Zma" when I left. But having two younger sisters enter her life with a bang 7 1/2 months ago, has taught her she is not always the center of attention.
So I bonded with my granddaughters. I knitted them matching hats and wrote them each a note on my day of departure. I visited Historic Old Town Twin falls for said Indian food lunch, a trip to the library (which is so awesome!), and I had a beer at an Irish pub downtown. All the while missing my fiance, worrying about getting home and dreading separating from my granddaughters!
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| Twin Falls Library. Worth the trek in the snow! |
Thursday I checked the Greyhound website religiously. I discovered the little "bus tracker". I noticed that the bus was continuing it's journey from Twin Falls to Portland everyday. And that it originated in Colorado. But for several days the bus from Utah to Colorado had been canceled.
Again I presumed it was the weather.
Thursday evening I stayed up late - until 2:00 a.m. - making finishing touches on the girls' hats. Then I wrote them each a note, and a note to my daugher and son-in-law and left it on the baby's dresser.
At 4:00 a.m., after 2 hours of restless sleep I called Lyft for a ride to the Greyhound stop in Twin falls. My app processed for several minutes, before telling me "no drivers are available". Obviously my buddy from the day before did not set his clock.
Luckily I had a plan B. My son-in-law agreed to drive me if I could not get a Lyft ride. And to his credit, he did not say a word when I texted him. He simply got up, swept the snow off of the van and warmed it up.
The Greyhound stop was only 10 minutes away. But it had snowed quite a bit the night before. The roads had not yet been plowed. We sat in silence on empty, snow laden roads, in the dark as we crept toward the stop.
This stop was not at a station. It was at a convenience store in New Town Twin Falls. There had been a small Greyhound station there in years past, but now it sat empty with a few chairs and boxes. We arrive at the time suggested, but when I check my bus tracker app, the bus was still 30 minutes away. And the convenience store did not open for 20 minutes.
My son-in-law nodded when I asked if I could sit with him until the store opened.
About 5 minutes passed before a woman about my age pulled up to the store in an SUV. She unlocked the door and came out to sprinkle a substance on the sidewalk that looked like blue kitty litter. She glanced up to see me watching her and waved at me with a big smile.
I turned to my son-in-law and said, "We are definitely not in Portland!"
We both chuckled. Twin Falls had an air of a Norman Rockwell small town, where everyone knew everyone and people smiled and waved, even at strangers.
Just then a taxi pulled up alongside us. And elderly man stepped out with a worn backpack. It seemed I would not be the only passenger to be picked up at this stopped. He approached the convenience store. The friendly clerk opened the door for him.
That was my cue. I thanked my son-in-law for the ride and hopped out. I walked into the store. Friendly woman smiled and asked if I was waiting for the Greyhound. I told her I was and she said she was not open yet, but I was welcome to wait inside where it was warm. She even started making the coffee.
We chatted a bit. I told her how much I appreciated her kindness. I mentioned that I was from Portland.
"Oh", she replied knowingly. "They've been having trouble there lately. I seen it on the news".
We chatted a bit. Just then I realized that even though Portland was troubled, I was glad to be finally heading home. To where my heart is.
The bus arrived at 5:20 a.m. A few more people had congregated, most of them heading to Boise.
I sighed as I took my seat. I imagined many hours of napping, and reading ahead of me.
It was not to be so!
And I must stop here. I apologize for leaving you hanging!
Stay tuned for part 3!
Love,
Zita
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