Interesting day

I'll start out by saying anyone who reads this may think I'm crazy. I will counter with, I am not.

If anyone is following my blog, you will know I am at the brink of leaving a well respected real estate brokerage to start my own company. Scary shit for me. I'm not scared because I'm afraid I'll fail, I'm just scared because change is scary stuff.

I am in the process of changing my dad's 12'x16' workshop in my mom's back yard into my office. My partner and I have a virtual office where we can get mail, use a conference room, etc, but this will be my work space. We will not be meeting clients in my mom's back yard - I will not expose her to that.
A month or so ago we basically threw all my dad's crap (and most of it was crap) into the yard, which we are gradually disposing of.

We now have new windows and drywall and the start of new electrical.

I went over there today to prime the drywall and I think we'll paint tomorrow. I took my dog, Lucy over and Mom's dog, Rosie was there. Mom plays cards on Tuesdays so she was not there.

After I taped off all of the windows and was ready to start painting, I realized it was noon and I was hungry. I figured I should eat before I splattered paint every where.

I walked into Mom's house, and saw my dad sitting in his chair. It was a warm, nice feeling, like he was there to support me in my new endeavor.

After I got my lunch out of the fridge, I used Mom's computer to my check e-mail, and that chair has a direct eye shot to Daddy's chair. He was still sitting there.

He was there with me this afternoon. I think he's happy I'm using his shop to good use. Again, y'all may think I'm nuts, but he was there and I saw him.
Miss you and love you, Daddy. All is good here.

College

I am going go on a rant here, so bear with me. Here's my big confession, the chip on my shoulder, so to speak. I didn't go to college and don't have a degree, which is a darned shame, I think.

I have to digress a bit - higher education is important to me.  Pat and I have six children between us (what the hell was I thinking, marrying a man with four kids, but that's another post). Our four girls all have bachelor's degrees, Kristen is currently in grad school. Our two boys have trade schools under their belts and good jobs.

So why the hell didn't Janie Harris go to college? This may sound really, really lame, but I didn't know I was supposed to take the SAT test. My friends took it, and I was like, oh, what's that or whatever. I lay this debacle at the door of my so-called guidance counselor in high school. He was well-meaning, I suppose, but he certainly didn't GUIDE me. Isn't that your damned job, dude?

Here was a smart kid, who got all As and Bs (okay an occasional C in math, I confess). I was never a problem student - squeaky clean. Hell, I was in Student Council, a cheerleader and Editor-in-Chief of the campus newspaper.  I have a very high IQ and was in a program for gifted children in junior high. He had all that stuff in the super secret folder they have on all of their students, I know.

So why the hell didn't he call me in and say, "Hey, Janie, I see you haven't signed up to take the SAT, you're a smart girl and would be good college material". Nope. Nada. Nothing. The ONLY time I saw him in my four years in high school was when I walked out of Mr. Gabel's class because my fellow students were totally out of control and so disruptive that he refused to teach the class. I got a pass on that one.

I had an abysmal semester at community college - decent grades, but bored out of my skull. So I quit and went to work.

I've done mortgage loan processing, property management and selling real estate. I guess I shouldn't gripe - my work is fulfilling and I love it, and have been sporadically successful, I just feel I would've really benefitted from a college degree.

In my 40s I realized I really love law and I think I would've made a darned good attorney, but that's water under the bridge now.

NOW what am I doing?

I have started my own corporation. Yes, ladies and gents, meet the new CEO of Morpheus Realty, Inc. I'll be leaving Keller Williams in a couple of weeks. It's both exciting and scary at the same time. I'll continue to run Viking Property Management and we'll roll the new properties into Morpheus Property Management and pull the plug on Viking in a year or two. I have a partner who's great at all the marketing and stuff I hate, so we feel like it's a great partnership. We have different strengths and weaknesses, which is good.

At age 51 I finally feel like I'm launching.

To Mr. Hausner, I say screw you. You F'd up. You had great material to work with and you didn't do your job.

Ironically, my daughter, Kristen is in grad school to become a high school guidance counselor. I'm going to make sure she reads this post to make certain none of her students slip through the cracks like I did.

Heard a song from the 80s on the radio today from a one hit wonder named David Naughton. Called "Making it". A phrase from that song resonates with me "I've got looks, I've got brains and I'm breaking these chains".

Go MORPHEUS and again, screw you Mr. Hausner.

Rant over and boy, do I feel better.

Laugh until you snort and cry

Today was an epic day with my family. We gathered to celebrate my mom's 86th birthday, my daughter's 22nd birthday and my niece's half birthday. Poor Erin was born on December 23rd, so she always gets ripped off at her birthday time. We decided to celebrate her half birthday with her grandma and cousin.

The food was great, as were the watermelon slushies. We noshed, played cards, had a great dinner and generally goofed around. The topic of conversation came around to my dad and how much we miss him, since he passed away almost three years ago.

Daddy was a veteran of WWII and Korea in the Navy. After he passed away, Mom, my sisters and I thought a burial at sea would be appropriate for him. And it was. He was actually buried at sea very close to the place where he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross in the Battle of Leyte Gulf - the largest naval battle of all time.

Here's where things get funny. We started talking about the burial at sea and we watched the ceremony that the US Navy sent us. It was beautiful and solemn. The ship was at a dead stop at sunset, the chaplain said some very nice words, the deck was crowded with sailors and here came my dad out, in a red granola bar box.

After Daddy was cremated, my sister, Jeanie took on the task of the burial at sea thing. We all thought the South Pacific was perfect, since he spent so much time there. After much research, she shipped his cremains (in the granola bar box) off to Pearl Harbor. The box was stored in the morgue until the USS Ruben James went on a one year tour, with our dad on board.

Jeanie was going to put the ashes in one of the boxes our dad had made, but wanted to save the wooden box my dad made. Plus she figured a biodegradable box would be better. Heck, maybe they would've put the ashes in a more presentable box. Nope.

We watched the video again today. The Chaplain said his words, the sailor brought the granola bar box out and placed it on the plank thing they use. The Chaplain said more and then "we commit our brother, Clyde Harris to sea" and BOOM the red box slipped into the ocean. After that they gave a 21 gun salute and played taps and then there was a flag ceremony.

We've all seen this video several times and we all get choked up and bawl when they dump the box into the sea. Today? When they dumped that granola bar box into the briny deep, we all laughed our heads off.

I asked my sister "what the hell were you thinking sending Daddy off to Pearl Harbor in a granola bar box?'
She said the ashes fit and she didn't want to waste one of the nice wooden boxes he had made.

And so we all laughed until we snorted and cried because it was just so ridiculous. We figure the sailors on the US Ruben James must think the family of Clyde Harris are a bunch of clueless rubes to send him to his final resting place in a granola bar box.

For the record, my dad loved granola bars and he was there with us today. He would've laughed his ass off.

It's so nice to be able to remember my beloved dad with laughter and not tears.

Rest in peace in the briny deep, Daddy. We all miss you and love you and we are still quoting your silly stories and still laughing. We'll never stop laughing. You gave us the gift of humor and I thank you for that.

Another Reason

I've posted before about how much I love my Sons of Norway "family". Another reason comes to mind tonight.

I will be attending my dear friend, Swede's funeral next month and it'll be a day trip - down and back up home the same day. I'm not sure which airport is closest to where I need to be, so I posted on Facebook. "Which airport is closest to Whittier?"

One of my Sons of Norway friends in So Cal actually volunteered to chauffeur me. So totally unnecessary, as I'll rent a car. But I was floored.

Such kindness offered to me, just because we are friends through Sons of Norway. I truly love this organization and our members.

Thankful

I flashed upon something tonight that happened several years ago. I have no idea what brought it to mind.

My cousin, Suz, was visiting from out of state and we hadn't all been together as a family in forever. It was Thanksgiving. My favorite holiday. What is better than a holiday than we all do nothing but get together and give thanks for everything we have in life? No gift obligations. Just pure celebration.

We were all hanging out waiting for the turkey to be done and Mom decided to bust out the champagne. I was totally into it, thinking we were celebrating the return to our family of my long lost cousin.

We all raised our glasses for a toast and Mom said "Here's a toast to Janie, who just got her broker's license". You could have knocked me over with a feather and I was an emotional mess. I cried my eyes out as my entire family toasted to me. Wow. It wasn't that big of a deal, but I had studied hard and passed the test. That license allowed me to open my property management company, which has grown through the years and continues to grow.

Thanks to Mom, Daddy and the rest of the family for giving me an "atta girl" when I so, so, did not expect it. You'll continue to be proud of me and I won't disappoint you.

Dog tales

Since my dad died two years ago, Mom has been awfully lonely. They were married for over 50 years and she has said she wants another heart beat in the house. We visit often and sometimes I take my dog, Lucy, over for the day when I'm at work, but it's just not enough.

Mom has been wanting a beagle and we've been looking at the Northern California Beagle Rescue site for some months now.

We got an e-mail this morning about a six year old female in Mountain View, about 15 minutes north of us. I took Mom up there this afternoon and I think it was love at first sight.

When my sisters and were growing up we had a beagle named Ginger. Ginger was one of those epic dogs. When we were all tucked into bed and Mom and Daddy were watching TV in the evening, one of them would tell Ginger "go check on the kids". They'd hear her nails clicking down the hall and she'd go into each of our rooms to check on us. Then she'd go back to where Mom and Daddy were and look at them as if to say "they're fine" and lay back down.

Today when we walked into the house where the rescue people have been fostering her, Mom got teary eyed. This dog's face looks just like Ginger. She has big feet and short legs and is a bit overweight - we think she may have some Basset Hound in her. But that face!

While we were at the house I looked at Mom and said "she looks just like Gin in the face". Mom just smiled and nodded.

The dog's name is Kansas (which we think is kind of a dumb name for a girl) and she is as sweet as the day is long. We stayed at the house for about an hour and Mom decided to take her home. They have a two week "sleepover" program where the adoptive family decides if the dog is a good fit.

We went to the store and bought her a bed, food, bowls, toy and snacks. I put her bed in Mom's room and patted it and the dog dove right in.

The acid test was if she and our dog, Lucy, got along. Lucy spends a lot of time there and if they don't like each other it'll be a deal killer. Laura brought Lucy over and they got along just fine. Sniffing and playing. Laura curled up on the couch and the beagle jumped right up. Lucy was a little jealous at first, but soon snuggled up with the two of them.

Mom has been calling the dog "Rosie" which I think suits her better than Kansas. They are settling in together and I hope that Rosie will be a permanent pet for Mom.

Goddess of Christmas

One of my friends called me the Goddess of Christmas today. It totally made my day.

Let me back up a bit here. We found out that one of our dear friends is dying of cancer. He has just a few short weeks to live. We adore Fred and his wife, Marilyn, who are both in their 80s.

Fred's nephew put the call out to me for some lefse a week or so ago. They don't know how to make it and Marilyn can't make it any more, as she's in the early stages of dementia.

I had some lefse for the family and we tried to meet for the hand off. Norman and John (nephews of Fred) both live about an hour from me in opposite directions. I had a Facebook chat with Norm on the 23rd to try to arrange for a meeting for the hand off. It just wasn't working out.

I finally told Norm, I'm coming to your house.

On Christmas eve in the morning, I drove the hour to Norm's house to deliver the lefse, a loaf of julekake and a dozen krumkake. My gifts to the family were much appreciated. Poor Norm was hobbling around on a cane, recovering from recent knee surgery, trying to make a nice Christmas for his family.

I feel so good about this little mission of mine. When someone you care deeply about is dying, you feel so helpless and you want to do something. Most times there is nothing you can do. My laundry and baking were done. The house was clean, the gifts wrapped and ready to go. I had the time and the goodies to deliver. I helped make Fred's last Christmas on earth happy and that makes me happy. God bless you Fred. We love you. As the Wizard of Oz said, "A heart is not judged by how much you've loved, but how much you're loved by others". Fred, you are loved and we will miss you when you're gone, but enjoy you while you're still here.