In 1974, I started an "Expedition", unlike any I had ever done in the past and unlike any that I would experience in the future. However, it is an expedition taken by millions of women over the ages, and hopefully, will be taken by many more in the future---child birth!
Even though I had taken a full semester class in college called "Child Development", the depth of my ignorance enormous! Little did I know, as I held the newborn male child in my arms, all the things I was going to learn and experience in the days/years ahead!
I had never done any baby-sitting in my entire life, so I volunteered in the church nursery on Sunday mornings, to learn from their seasoned caregivers, some of the basics. After all, my son was in the church nursery room for babies under one year old. If it had not been for a home visit from the director of the church nursery , who was also a Registered Nurse and the wife of the physician who had delivered my son (the doctor corrected me once when I introduced him as the physician who delivered my son, humbly saying all he did was "catch him", as he made his appearance on earth!), I probably would not have felt confident letting go of this precious little bundle, to turn him over to someone else.
I never regretted all those Sundays of taking my son to church and the efforts to get him to Vacation Bible School in the summer. My heart overflowed with gratitude, when he made the decision to accept the forgiveness of sin provided by the death of Jesus on the cross, knowing that meant we would be together in Eternity, no matter what happened in the meantime. He followed up that decision with a full immersion baptism ceremony, in front of all the church, and at the same time his Aunt Kelly was being baptized
Fast forward half a century, and I can see his fiftieth birthday on the horizon, so I started making plans for an expedition across thousands of miles, in the middle of winter, so that I could be with him on this milestone occasion.
I flew out of the Tulsa, Oklahoma, airport, and enjoyed seeing the decorations they had throughout their terminal:
It was not a non-stop flight, so I had the opportunity to see the Denver airport from the air:
Likewise, I had the opportunity to land in San Francisco, and see their famous Golden Gate Bridge. Believe me, it was much easier to see it from the air, than it was to make a round trip WALKING across the bridge, which I wrote about in a blog in xxxx, called "Golden Gate Expedition":
Finally, my plane landed in Redding, California, giving me an opportunity to explore their new-to-me airport, and then my son picked me up right on schedule:
He had asked me in advance what I wanted to do for lunch, and I replied that it did not matter. He had a big list of supplies needed from Costco, so we headed there first, knowing I would get all the calories I needed from their famous "hot off the grill" food samples found on almost every aisle in the grocery section. Plus, my son had read in a business journal, that the new CEO of Costco, wanted to keep their famous "$1.50 footlong hot dog with beverage included" price, and suggested we try it. I always enjoy a bargain, so it sounded like a good idea to me! photo below:
After getting in hundreds of steps on my Fitbit, we headed to another favorite of people out west--Trader Joe's. (The first time I heard of Trader Joe's, a friend and I were taking a culinary class at Balboa Park in San Diego, in 2002. The chef, kept referring to Trader Joe's, and I finally showed my ignorance by asking "Who is Trader Joe" (my father was named Joe and was a trader, so my curiosity was peaked!) It seemed that the dozen other students in the class were absolutely amazed that I had never heard of Trader Joe's! ) Photo below:
When we made it to his home in Mt. Shasta, it was a wonderful reunion with my daughter-in-law:
My son had made it clear he did not want a big party (he had recently been the surprised subject of a big retirement party, as the health care workers at the hospital where he worked honored his years 20+ years of service as a physician):
The guests were limited to Stacy's daughter and her family, Stacy's mom, and Stacy's son: group photo:
Everyone gathered at their house, and we enjoyed a variety of activities over the weekend, including board games:
Family walks:
Entertaining a toddler, who calls my son "Pappy G":
Making bread: (plus my new image for the phrase "Breaking Bread together")
Bowling, in nearby Weed, California:
and finally having BIRTHDAY CAKE with the birthday boy, on the tradition-laden, red "You Are Special" plate!
I took hundreds of photos on this trip, and each one with my son is a reminder of the verse from Philippians that says, "I thank my God, upon every remembrance of you."
I am eternally grateful that I was able to celebrate this Half Century Expedition, as it gave me "MILES OF SMILES"! Tricia
