Car trouble…and I’m not even out of the gate!

So, my car is a 2008.  It’s big enough.  It can haul a trailer.  She’s kinda old though.  So, a few days ago I had it in to take off the winter tires (I live in the mountains, it might be a little late but, with the winter and spring we just had…it’s not THAT late).  They did a look around under the hood just to check things out too…as they do and found a noise.  Not a new noise to me.  Not a noise that I’ve never mentioned to anyone.  A noise I quite bothering to mention to people because they kept telling me it was nothing.  Turns out….it was something.  BIG!  Happily it is still under warranty (until August!  Jeez!!) and it won’t cost me anything to fix it.  The issue is that the last time they did one of these warranties on my type of vehicle it took WEEKS ….. like, months to get the parts in.  UGH!!  We made an appointment to get it fixed next week so the parts ordering guy (I know, he’s probably got a proper job title but….I don’t know what it is.  Anyway,……he) knows he needs the part (parts?) and he hasn’t gotten back to us to say it’s backordered so….maybe I’ve been sent another gift by The Universe.  It’s been pretty darn good to me lately!!  That will work perfectly too because I’d like to make a trial run of all this and just see how we both react to it and Drayce’s Uncle and Aunt are visiting from the East Coast next week so, I’d like to go for a drive and meet up with them too.

One of my biggest concerns is that I’ve never heard or seen anything about a single Mom and a little guy travelling alone.  I see single women.  I see couples with kids.  I see single women who’s kids are grown and gone.  I’ve never seen anything like what I’ve got.  That makes me kind of concerned.  Why?  Am I missing something?  I really don’t think so.  Yes, I realize that it is unorthodox but, not entirely unheard of is it?  Even if it is….someone has to be the first one right?   Not only do I not mind being the first….I’m really pretty excited about it.  I’m sitting here, watching one of my inspirations on YouTube.  Carolyn’s RV Life.  She’s talking about travelling with an older dog and after quite a few of her talking points all I can think is ….that’s something to keep in mind travelling with a little guy.

It isn’t as though we haven’t travelled together before.  We have been going alone on long distance trips since he was three months old.  This boy has a father that looks forward to seeing him and WANTS to spend as much time with him as possible.  I will go out of my way to ensure that happens because I went through the opposite with my oldest and see how it broke his heart every time the plans didn’t work out.

Well, that was an unexpected tangent!

The point I was heading to is that I know how to keep him happy in the car and I know how to keep me happy in the car and I highly doubt that we will be putting in the miles while travelling as a Nomad that we put in trying to get from Point A to Point B.  Another tool in my arsenal (maybe not a tool….?) is that when I was a kid we travelled across the country as a family quite a bit camping so, I know from experience what works and what doesn’t as well.

So, I guess I’ve just talked myself through that fear.  Yay!!  Onward and upward!!

About Drayce

I figure that since I wrote an essay about me I should probably spend at least a little time introducing you to Drayce. It only seems fair doesn’t it?

He was born just before one of the recent Apocalypses.  The one on 12/21/12. He would have been around two months old.  Thankfully, whatever end the world was supposed to come did so and most people didn’t notice.  That would have been a rough start for a little guy.

This was getting ready to head home from the hospital. I was in that same bunting bag on my trip home. He didn’t fit here for very long.

He was born angry that he couldn’t just start doing what he came here to do.  The problem was that he wasn’t immediately able to walk or talk.  He went about learning ASAP but he sure was frustrated about it taking so long! He took his first actual steps alone when we were visiting his Aunt on the east coast.  It only happened he was jealous that she was holding a baby that wasn’t him. He got up and walked over, climbed into her lap and gave her a hug like it was no big deal. He was about ten months old.

Yep, he’s driving the golf cart. Not actually steering (although it was a fight to talk him out of that!).  He WAS however turning it on when I told him we needed to go and off when we stopped. Yes, he should have been sitting in a seat. No, he wouldn’t stay that way.  He still won’t. Its as though he believes sitting is evil.

I don’t remember exactly when he first spoke but his first word was “quack” and the rest didn’t take long to follow. He started talking at about the same time he started walking. Like I said, he’s been in a hurry and on a mission from the time he was born!

I first put Drayce in his jolly jumper when he was five weeks old.  Yes, I did.  As his mother, I felt he was ready.  When I held him in a standing position he bounced relentlessly so, the jolly jumper wasn’t much different except that I didn’t have to sit for hours holding him while he bounced.  He HATED being put down on his back or his tummy.  He needed to be up where he could see what was going on.  He loved the jolly jumper and “his cat” always hung around teasing him just out of reach.  He loved it until he was 5 months old, then he hated the thing and I couldn’t get him to go in it for anything.  He still wanted to jump but he wanted the bouncy part under his feet…the bed, the couch the adults….  I think he just finally figured out that he wasn’t moving anywhere and felt like I’d been tricking him.

He looks angry because this is about the 100th time that Mr. Rumples has walked by just out of reach.

Drayce has always been naturally talented at everything.  So much so that when he (very seldom) runs up against something that he isn’t just able do he gets frustrated and walks away.  This is what our major struggle is.  He takes the “make him think it’s his idea” challenge to a whole new level…and he’s only 4-1/2!!  Isn’t that supposed to wait until the teen years?  Ugh!

Yes, he’d drive it if he was allowed. Notice I didn’t say if he knew how. This was about 3 months before his 3rd birthday. We spent a month or so visiting his Daddy. It’s kind of what we do in the summer.

I call him My Little Healer. He’s hardly ever been sick and his most serious “illnesses” have been due to allergies/intolerances. He also heals faster than anyone I know (and I swear my Dad is just a few steps away from being able to regrow appendages!  …in a matter of days). He is also able to help other’s heal. When he was just a little more than a year old I got a nasty cut from a pair of scissors. Everyday he insisted on kissing my owchie better (he remembered this himself) and I have never healed faster or better. Normally, that type of wound would take at least a month for me to heal but, in less than a week I had a hard time seeing where the cut had been.  He’s got a big heart too.  He can’t see any person or animal who is hurt suffer in any way.  He’s just gotta help.

This boy is going to do amazing things!!  I don’t pretend to know what his “mission” is but, I know he’s got one and I’ll do what I can to help him get fulfil it.

That is why I refuse to send him to school. I totally trust that he will be able to follow his best path.  In order to do that I will teach him the things he asks about….with some creative input and gentle leading and “unexpected” introduction to new things I will do a much better job than an overworked teacher who expects him to sit quietly at a desk all day and listen.  ….sitting is evil remember?

An amazing view on a beautiful Spring Day.