Sooner or Later

This post is being written in the Cleveland airport as I wait for my flight back to Tucson. I had an absolutely fabulous time in Youngstown. One of the things I love about my life in Tucson is how frequently I run into people I know. Let me tell you the uncanny tale of my four days in Youngstown.

On Friday, Tyler and Riah and I went to the Rose Garden at Mill Creek Park to have lunch in the café. (We’ll ignore the fact that the service was interminably slow, something Tyler knows I despise.) Before walking into the café, we walked over to the fountain next to a broad expanse of grass filled with plantings lush with tulips. We stood by the fountain for a few minutes, laughing as the wind blew the spray from the fountain onto Riah and she squealed with delight. We then turned to walk back to the café, and I heard Tyler says, ‘Well, hello there.” I turned around and it was our friends Ron and Marcia Gould. Ron was Tyler’s major professor and mentor in his four years at Youngstown State, and Tyler remains the fourth Gould son. I adore these people and cherish every moment we are able to spend together. We had been invited to Ron and Marcia’s home for dinner on Saturday night, but what a rare delight to get to spend an extra hour with them over lunch on this trip. It made the interminably-long lunch more bearable. (Marcia and I decided that once I move up there, she and I will audition for the Cleveland Symphony Chorus and carpool up on Monday nights.)

The next uncanny story also involves Mill Creek Park. To set the stage: When Boston heard about our experience with the fountain on Friday, he wanted to see the fountain, too. So Saturday morning I took Boston and Ridley back to the Rose Garden. Unfortunately, the fountain was turned off, but they had a great time racing across the grassy expanse and back. Then we got in the car to go explore some more and see what we could find. As I was driving around trying to find access to a playground I had seen at a distance, I saw Lily Pond, where Canada geese, wood ducks, and mallards were paddling and turtles were sunning themselves. I parked the car and we got out to look at the geese, and a kind grandpa with his two young grandchildren offered to share his bread with Boston and Riah so they could feed the geese. Then we went and found a playground. Lunch at McDonald’s followed and then we went home so I could meet the realtor to go real estate browsing.

For some reason, all afternoon and evening they kept asking me if we could go back to the park the next day and take more bread to feed the geese. So we got up, had breakfast, letting the parents sleep, and took off for another exploratory drive through Mill Creek Park. I was able to find Lily Pond again, and we fed geese and ducks and saw three Canada goslings, darling little six- or eight-inch-tall balls of yellow fluff. We walked a little farther along the path and I noticed a woman walking her dog in our direction. I looked at her, she looked at me, and we both smiled and said “hi.” This is unusual for me — I frequently smile at people, but I rarely speak like that, so open and friendly. I looked at her and thought, “Is that Maureen?” While I was weighing whether to ask her if she was Jaci’s friend, Maureen Collins, she looked at the kids and said, “Is that Ridley?” We just laughed at the coincidence of running into each other in the park. I had met Maureen at Jaci’s bridal shower in 1998, and we were planning to go to the production of her children’s theatre workshop on Sunday afternoon.

In four days in Youngstown, I went out four times, and half of those times ran into people I knew. How right does that feel?

My friend Eileen, my predecessor on Chula Vista, e-mailed after my last post that I need to just pick up and move and everything will work itself out. I tend to agree with her.

I looked at two condominium units in Liberty Township, less than five minutes from Ron and Marcia. I also looked at two 1950s center hall colonials on Gypsy Lane, overlooking Stambaugh Golf Course, two minutes from Ty and Jaci. One of the houses on the golf course is in pristine, move-in condition, and lists for around 160K. It belongs to a friend of Tyler’s who is retiring to Scottsdale. Unfortunately, he wasn’t interested in trading my Tucson house for his Youngstown house. The other house could be had for about 100K, I believe, but needs a ton o’ work. I could easily put 50K or 60K into this house to have a really lovely home. There are also several homes within three blocks of Tyler and Jaci that list for under $100K and could be doable, although maybe not exactly what I want. But at $100K or less, I could live easily if I had a job, or live frugally but happily without a job!

As Eileen sensed in the post that prompted her to write her note, it all feels right to me. I’m happy when I’m with the kids. With my presence, Ty and Jaci were able to go out to a party and sleep in and generally take it a little easier — something they had not been able to do since February 9th. Jaci is not a morning person, frequently doing her best work very late at night. I think she enjoyed having me take Boston to school during my stay so she didn’t have to get dressed and out so early in the morning. I like enabling my children to have a little ease in their lives. I am happy when I am helping my kids. Read whatever psychological mumbo-jumbo you want into it, but helping my kids makes me happy. So analyze me!

A couple of other notes: we mentioned to Maureen that it was Tyler’s birthday, and she had the entire audience sing Happy Birthday to Tyler, mentioning how everyone at Easy Street Productions was so happy to have them back in Youngstown. I was able to meet a number of Tyler and Jaci’s musical and theatre friends, some of whom I had met years ago, some who were new, all of whom were thrilled to have Ty and Jaci back in Youngstown.

As much as I questioned the move when it was first presented to me in November, I have to tell you I’ve never seen Jaci so happy, so contented, so comfortable in her own skin. This move was absolutely the right thing for her and, consequently, for her family. I salute her for being prescient enough to recognize the resonance within herself when she went back to Youngstown in November.

Their home is absolutely incredible, and they are very fortunate — blessed, if you will — to have a house of this caliber and magnitude at ages 32 and 38, respectively.

Now when I find my little house up there, figure out the job situation, and get moved, all will be right in my world.