Liz's New Job

Liz has posted this on her blog so now I think it's okay if I do too. It was her news to tell, although I did share it with my quilt friends. Hey, I had to tell someone or I might have burst with the excitement! Liz, as some of you know, is a law enforcement park ranger in Boston. She has long wanted to get back to Alaska, where she went to college and then lived for a while. I can't blame her, Alaska is gorgeous--at least in the summer time when I've seen it. I'm not sure how I'd feel about the winters. BRRRRR!!! You have to plug in your vehicle so the engine doesn't freeze solid. The tires on your car can freeze flat on the side that is touching the ground! Now that's cold. But back to Liz's news. She put in for a job at Denali National Park and GOT IT! Of course they would have been crazy not to hire her, seeing as how she is so incredibly awesome (no brag, just fact. LOL) She is flying there on Sunday to meet everyone and be officially offered the job. They are even having a party with all the rangers and park employees on Monday night, in her honor! Everyone wants to meet the new ranger. This is her dream job. It is even subject to furlough, which means she gets a couple months off every year to travel. I can't think of anything that will suit her better. It will be nice to have her on the west side of the U.S. again. She'll be living in a small one room cabin with no indoor plumbing--just like she did when she lived in Alaska previously. Personally, trotting out to the outhouse in something-below-zero temperatures in the dark of night and dead of winter, with moose and other critters wandering around is not MY idea of a good time, but Liz is made of sterner stuff than I am and for her, it is all part of the adventure. Liz's life is an adventure. She is going to Nepal and India almost as soon as she gets back from her quick trip to Alaska next week.

Meanwhile...I am contemplating a road trip. I mentioned to Liz on the phone that it is too bad I can't drive a stick shift; if I did, I could come along on her drive from Boston to Denali and help drive. She jumped on that with both feet, declaring I wouldn't have to drive, but she'd love the company! Yipppeee!!! How sweet to have grown children who like me. I remember some of their teenage years when I must have had huge Mom-cooties, because they certainly didn't like me much then. What a relief that has changed, well, most of the time anyway. Oooh but a road trip! Not sure when this will happen since Liz will be out of the country and the movers have to be scheduled and all, but happen it will. Having Liz all to myself on a trip across country, wow! Special times like that don't come along very often. Back in 1992, I was fortunate enough to go on a trip to Norway with my mother-inlaw. Just the two of us. I had, through doing family history research, discovered she had cousins alive and well in Norway. The family ties had been severed when WWII broke out. We went to meet them, and to explore the country of her ancestors. It was a wonderful trip and I'll always treasure those memories. Ma, all to myself! Of course driving from Boston to Denali isn't as fantastic as exploring Norway, but it will be fun too. Not sure where we'll be stopping along the way, but we plan on coming here--my house--to pick up Tom for the last leg of the journey; the Al-Can highway part of the trip. No sense in him missing out on all the fun, after all.