Dreams and New Beginnings

Dreams and New Beginnings

 

What a weekend.  There are those times when thing just seem to trumble along…and times when you just can’t catch your breath.



My job was to make certain the balloon filled completely by
pulling the rope as it inflated.

It began Friday evening.  Jackie had been promised a ride in a hot air balloon…and that debt came to be paid, for the heat overcame her at the last attempt, and Nick went in her stead.  But Friday just before 7:30 PM one of her life long dreams came true, as we lifted off a park in Plymouth.  The air so calm we did not go very far during the more than hour and a half flight yet reaching an altitude of more than 1500 feet in search of a breeze.  Of course the most important part of Hot Air Ballooning is finding a place to land.  After several failed attempts, at microscopic patches of yard, we put down in a wild portion of Price Nurseries.  Those that have not had the joy, of the experience, have no idea how much work is required…the setting up and the putting away.  It was full dark by the time we had things safely loaded.



A view of US 30 from  1500'

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Those, that know us best, knew that Nick was Purdue bound…and that departure began at 5:30 AM Sunday morning.  It was not bad enough that the alarm had been set for 4:30, but something set off our dog, Cloey, who began barking at 2:00, and for all points and purposes did not stop until the alarm relieved us of the last hope of sleep, at least for that morning.  We trucked Nick’s “stuff”…just how much “stuff” does a body need…down to campus.  The volunteers…excited students…had us unloaded and carted to his dorm room quick as a flash.  While I went to park the truck…a really big pickup…in the parking garage…I felt certain the truck too large…they assured me it wasn’t…but just barely…Nick and his roommate Greg began putting their new world together.  When you considered what these boys, that just had met, intended to fit into a space smaller than some people’s closets, you would just shake your head.  But two hours later it became a completely manageable living space with a 47” Plasma, refrigerator, microwave, two lofts…that is beds raised up about five feet…a Kerig machine…a fancy coffee maker…, 2 shelving storage units, and believe it or not, a futon.   

Of course the world could not exist without the internet, so that was the next war to be battled as the two of them worked to connect their computers, cell phones and most important the gaming console to Purdue’s Ethernet, and set up a wireless router to connect it all.  Greg and Nick had been texting each other since room assignments came through last month.  It worked out famously…I’ll bring the fridge…you bring the microwave…they had virtually no overlap.

Meeting Greg and his family was a great experience…I feel that Nick and Greg will be a good fit.  Just before noon we said our goodbyes…difficult…and spent nearly three hours getting lunch and walking around the campus.

 

Nick assembling one of the shelf units 

 

 

Nick is on his own now.  It really isn’t the first time, but this is different.  When he left for a week or two we knew he would soon return.  Nick has always been such a big part of our lives…and he will remain an important but now a very different part.  It will take us time to adjust to this “new normal”. 

It was good that we used only one vehicle to cart all the things Nick felt vital…like his golf clubs, because Jackie and I could share our thoughts…Those thoughts that had come into clear enough focus that they could be shared.  As we drove home…the long way…passing between the hundreds of Windmills of Fowler’s Ridge…we began a new journey…perhaps a difficult journey…not just back to Walkerton…but to the next stage of our lives.  We ask for your patience…your understanding…and your prayers, as we move onward, knowing that our son will reach great heights in the coming years.

John

                                                                                                         Greg setting up his internet

 

 

 

 

                                                                   Nick at work at his desk.

 

 

Jackie visiting with an old friend...John Purdue.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The clock Tower.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jackie standing at the University gateway with the Neil Armstrong Aeronautical Engineering Building in the background.