Megan thanked me for that of course, and said, “That’s good, Mom…” (wink)
Hi! Welcome back to “Katie’s View,” where I’m blogging about
my experiences of traveling to Oklahoma
My flight arrived a few minutes early, and as I exited the
plane, I received a text message from Megan that said she was waiting for me in
her car. Wow! Each piece of my travel
puzzle had fallen into place beautifully. Not to mention that from what I’d
glimpsed from the Tulsa Milwaukee
The airport is quite a bit smaller than Chicago
I made my way outside and spotted Megan’s vehicle down the
road. I was getting so excited to see her and Jake. When she saw me, she hopped
out of the car and came around to give me a big hug. Jakey was smiling at me
from his carseat. Oh man, what a FACE! “Hi Jakey! How are you today???” (This is
said in a high-pitched baby voice, the kind adults reserve for talking to
babies and pets.) After I kissed his hair and he acted bashful, Megan placed my
suitcase in the car and we left the airport.
Just one quick thought: I truly believe that Face Time and
Skype technology has linked us with Jake more than you might think. I 100%
swear that he knows who I am and recognizes my face and voice from the
computer. So if you are an out-of-town family, like we are, use these tools to
stay connected. It’s really working well over here!
Since it was noon, Megan asked if I’d like to have lunch at
a place she’d been wanting to try, located on the bank of the Arkansas
River . “Absolutely, yes please!” It was the first time that day I truly
felt as though I was on vacation. Clear blue skies, temps around 80 degrees,
heading to a restaurant with my daughter and grandson. So far, so good.
We talked as she drove and it felt so good to be together
again. She and I have a nice give-and-take type of conversation style. I must
say how impressed I was/am with how well she can get around in their brand new
area since she’s only lived there for a month! She and Joe have adjusted to new
cities and surroundings several times already in their marriage, and this time
was no different. She is doing great!
The restaurant had a large outdoor patio, and the river
(true to her promise) flowed right past us. The food was delish and we had a
great time! A quick stop at a grocery store for us to pick up a few necessities
for the week, and we were finally on our way to their new house. I was pretty
excited to see it, and I believe she was pretty excited to show it to me.
Many of the subdivisions in the Tulsa
One funny thing is that their subdivision is large - many
streets and many homes. But directly across the road from its entrance is a
huge farm. When the wind blew from the east, we could hear the cows moo’ing
very loudly. One night we took Jakey out for a walk in his stroller and he was
so taken with the cows! He completely connected that the noise he heard was
coming from those silly animals across the road. It was quite adorable. I also
want to say that he is now officially saying, “Moo!” as well as “Meow!” Yup,
that’s right, “Moo!” and “Meow!” He’s brilliant, I tell ya – BRILLiant!
Anyway, as we pulled up to the kids’ new home and stepped
out of the car, my eyes welled up with tears. It’s just lovely. We entered and
she gave me the grand tour: spacious living areas and kitchen, plenty of
bedrooms, three full bathrooms, and a fenced-in back yard for the pooch. I’m so
glad that I now have that visual in my mind, and that they all seem happy to be
there.
I will admit that when they said they were thinking about
moving to Oklahoma
One of the days, the three of us went to the Tulsa Zoo. To
be honest, I wasn’t sure what to expect since The Milwaukee Zoo, the one I’ve
experienced my whole life, is really nice. But one of the neatest aspects of
our day at this smaller zoo, was how ‘active’ the animals were. First of all,
we were there in the afternoon, which is usually (I think) when animals are the
most hungry, so therefore most active. They were all on the move. The elephant
came up really close to us, the monkeys were chattering and acting crazy, the
meerkats were busy watching and digging, and the female lion actually walked all
the way down the large slope in her enclosure. There was a tall overlook where we
were equal in height to the giraffes, and you could basically look them right in
the eyes. We were there at the exact time that they served ‘deceased rabbits’
to the hyenas, and were able to watch (and listen to) them eat, which in equal
measure made me say “Eeeeew!” as well as “Wooooow!” But I think that Jake’s
favorite display was the sea lions. The zoo had a large glass wall where the
two sea lions alternated swimming past us. He sat in his stroller staring at
them as though in a trance. I bet we stayed there with him watching for at
least 20 or 30 minutes - and he’s only 14 months old!!! I think he may become a
zookeeper someday. Just remember, you heard it hear first!
We also took a couple of hours one day to visit a pumpkin
farm. The area surrounding it was very flat, exactly the way I’d always
envisioned Oklahoma
It was a joy to be with my daughter – talking, listening, drinking
coffee with her in the mornings and wine with her at night after the baby fell
asleep. I loved watching her in her new surroundings as she parented, worked in
her new kitchen, and navigated around her brand new town. The whole scene is more
than this mom could wish for her child. It was priceless to see that Megan, Joe
and Jake aren’t just “okay,” they’re doing great! There’s a lot of love in
their home and it shows.
Which brings me to a huge “Ah ha!” moment of my visit... The
last time we saw Jake it was over his first birthday. Now, just two-plus months
later, he’s so much more active, as well as interactive. He’s walking
everywhere, and he seems to understand a lot of what’s being said to him. There’s
even a good chance that when you talk with him, he’ll mimic back a word or two.
My favorite times though, are when he will quiet down and sit on my lap. I like to whisper secrets in his ear and tell him I love him. For me, I find all of these new developments so entertaining and so much fun! I’m
excited for the future and all that it holds for life as a grandma!
It was a joy to be with my daughter – talking, listening, drinking
coffee with her in the mornings and wine with her at night after the baby fell
asleep. I loved watching her in her new surroundings as she parented, worked in
her new kitchen, and navigated around her brand new town. The whole scene is more
than this mom could wish for her child. It was priceless to see that Megan, Joe
and Jake aren’t just “okay,” they’re doing great! There’s a lot of love in
their home and it shows.
I wasn’t anywhere near as nervous to fly back home as I’d
been to fly the first time. I had mixed feelings though – I felt good to be
going back home to see Todd, but I knew I’d miss the kids. At the airport,
Megan and I hugged a long hug and said our “I love you’s.” I planted one more
kiss on Jakey’s head, and received one more sweet smile. “Bye, Buddy! See you
soon…” Then I turned and walked into the airport. Megan texted me later and
said that when I walked away he started to cry. Wow! I hadn’t been expecting that. It made me feel good to know
that he seemed to really like me and didn’t want me to leave. Maybe some day
we’ll all live a bit closer. For now, we will all do what we can…
Mostly, I’m now really excited to take Todd back so that he
can see everything first-hand. We’re presently planning our next trip, and I
think he’s really going to like what he sees and experiences too! If he’s lucky, and if he plays his cards
right, I may even sing him the next verse of “OooooooOK-lahoma…” If you know
Todd, you know exactly how much he’ll love that…!
Katie Kolberg Memmel is the author of two books: “Five Fingers, Ten
Toes – A Mother’s Story of Raising a Child Born with a Limb Difference,” and
“Silly Stories and Sentimental Stuff.” Both are available through Amazon as
either an electronic or paperback version. For more information, please visit
her website at: www.katiekolbergmemmel.com
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