You Only Get One Chance to Make a First Impression

So, we moved to Portland this summer, remember? And everything is going great. Macy started 2nd grade this week, and we’re settling into the back-to-school routine very nicely.

I really like Macy’s new school. I’ve already met a few of the moms in her class, and everyone is really nice.

Ok, so what’s the point? Where’s the punch line?

Well, this morning I walked Macy to school and I could tell she and I were starting to get the hang of things. Backpack on hook. Check. Lunchbox in lunchbox bin. Check. I waved and said hello to a few of the moms. This is going great, I thought.

“Mommy,” Macy interrupted my happy thoughts, “Come look!” And with that she steered me to a bright blue construction-papered wall showcasing the children’s first writing project, “What I Did This Summer”.

Macy’s essay was pretty short. There was no mention of the cross-country move, saying good-bye to her friends in Florida, her cool new bedroom or the great friends she’s made in our new neighborhood. She left out that she rode on a plane, learned to ride a bike, lost two teeth, went hiking and read her first Beverly Cleary book.

It started with, “This summer I visited my Grandma and Grandpa and we watched every episode of Mad Men.” There was a little more to it, but I couldn’t really focus in on any details after that intro. The girl really knows how to grab her reader.

First off, way to get off on the right foot with those new moms I was trying to make a good impression on. I’m pretty sure because this is Portland that a lot of them don’t have tvs because they are always outdoors doing cool extreme outdoor sports with their kids. Or composting. Or sculpting.

Second, it’s not true. She doesn’t watch Mad Men. With all the “smoking and drinking at work” scenes, this show is clearly for children aged nine and over, and Macy is just seven.

I Love PDX

What has changed since we moved to Portland, you ask?

We Don't Sleep Much.
It gets dark here at ... oh ... about 10 pm. It gets light at ... yawn ... about 4:55 am. I'm serious. Not kidding one bit.

Our House is Old.
Our "new" house is 95 years old and our "old" house was seven years old. For more on this, read one of my favorite posts.

We Can Walk to Whole Foods Paycheck.
We live less than one mile from a Whole Foods but more than 20 minutes from a Walmart. We used to live 20 minutes from the Whole Foods but less than a mile from Walmart.

We Don't Have Air.
Our house does not have air conditioning. Where we used to live, we never turned the air off. Here, we have no chance to even turn it on, and no need to.

There are Subtle Weather Differences.
In late June we were still wearing long pants and jackets, which I got from the "winter clothes" bin I dug out of storage. I guess I will go to our "ski clothes" bin for our winter clothes.

We live Close to Downtown Portland.
Which means we live near a lot of hip things. Like a medical marijuana facility, a Japanese grocery store, a Vietnamese take-out restaurant and an acupuncture clinic, all within five blocks of our new house. There was a Chic-Fil-A, an Office Max and a Quizno's within five blocks of our old house.

I Heart Gas Stations.
In Oregon it is against the law to fill up your own gas tank. I used to wait until I was driving on fumes to stop, but now "gassing up" is a big break in my day to sit and chill out for a minute. All I have to do is hand my credit card to the attendant and say, "Fill it up, please".

Hurricanes are Frozen Drinks, Right?
There was a hurricane threatening the Gulf coast and I only heard about it third-hand on the national news (meaning, Parenthood was not interrupted with a "storm tracker" update).

I Participate in Oprah's No Phone Zone Pledge by Default.
Talking on cell phones is against the law in Oregon. Good thing, because there's a LOT more traffic in Portland so I need to concentrate.

Recycling is Cool.
On garbage day, all of our neighbors drag out a huge garbage can filled with recyclables, and a teeny-tiny much, much smaller can filled with regular garbage.

I'm Still Wondering if I'm Groovy Enough to Live in Portland?
I attended a women's networking event last night for working mothers, and about a third of the women arrived by bike! Making me instantly question my decision to drive there.

I feel like I'm home, because I am. I love Portland, but of course I miss my friends in Florida and I'm sure I will, eventually, miss the sunshine. We'll talk again in March.

Flies Only Live For One Day

We don't have air conditioning in our house in Portland. And I am told this is an inconvenience for about two weeks out of the year.

Because of the above-mentioned point, in the summer we open our windows, especially in late afternoon when it's the warmest out. And some of our windows don't have screens. (Probably because they are 95 years old and must have been installed before screens were invented?)

So flies get into our house. At any given time, there is at least one fly buzzing around.  (We didn't really have flies in Florida, or maybe we did, but they just didn't get into our tightly closed, air-conditioned, screened-lanai homes.) 

Anyway, this fly business at first kind of freaked my kids out. Until I told them a fun fact I learned somewhere (and was actually not 100% sure was even true).

That flies only live for one day.

Which took care of the problem. Flies went from being scary buzzing flying things, to fragile, short-lived creatures that needed as much acceptance as possible during their short, one-day lives.

The fly fun fact unleashed a flurry of inquiries about all manner of bug life. So I'm here to tell you, in case you didn't know, that:

1. Wasps live for about a year.
2. Earthworms live from 4 to 8 years.
3. Spiders generally live for 1-2 years.
4. Bees live for 28 to 35 days.
5. Beetles live for about 10 days.

I'll be sure to keep you posted with more entomological news as it develops.

How Did it Go, Maverick?

Flying to Oregon over the Holidays, I got to sit in the empty seat in the adjacent row on the flight out.

Meaning, John sat in the row with Macy and Trey and I sat in the aisle seat across from them with whatever random passengers chose to sit with me.

Heaven! John entertained the fidgety kids for the 3-hour flight from Tampa to Kansas City while I read all about Tiger and Elin in People. And US. (Yes of course I bought both.)

Abby, my new best friend, sat next to me. Also heading to Portland, we quickly made a deal to sit together on the KC-Portland leg, exchanged email addresses, swapped magazines and friended each other on Facebook.

Fast forward to the second leg of the flight, where I also luxuriously got to sit child-less, with my new friend Abby.

Settling into our seats, trying to ignore the noisy kids in the row across from us, Abby and I hoped the middle seat would stay empty, so we could enjoy our small bottles of Sutter Home Chardonnay with a little extra leg room. But, as it were, the flight was full and a Texas cowboy named Maverick slid into the window seat with a, "Ladies, mind if I sit with ya'll?"

Maverick was a 68-year-old Texan (and fellow blogger, I might add) with a big accent and an even bigger cowboy hat.

After a couple of glasses wine we learned, as it turns out, that Maverick was flying out to Portland on a whim to visit his on-line lady!

Yep, Maverick met her teaching a 2-step class in Galveston back in September and they've kept up relations via email all these months. Things started heating up, and he up and booked a ticket to visit her in her home-town of Portland, Oregon.

Oh, and I almost forgot this. He was surprising her. As in, HE DID NOT TELL HER HE WAS COMING IN ADVANCE. And get this. He sent her 200 yellow roses earlier that day. Just because. That Maverick has the moves.

Just goes to show you, wonderful people are dressed up in all kinds of ways and can be found in all kinds of places.

Abby and Maverick, I hope you are reading this. Abby, congratulations on your engagement and Maverick, I hope your lady friend realizes how lucky she is!