So, This Happened…And This is Happening!

HAIR!

Okay, so the hair is the first "this."

The story behind the hair: Hannah has wanted to dye her hair green for a while and I'd said "no, no, no…okay." And then she asked me if I'd dye my hair with her. And, to my surprise, I said "okay!" It's quite an offer for a mom to get from her 17 year old!

So, I've never dyed my hair before. Ever. A few times I got highlights, but never dyed. So now my hair is dyed "mermaid." What can I say? I saw it on the internet. Note the subtle shading and updated ombre coloring. Heh heh. Actually, "mermaid" in my case consists of light blue, grey, dark blue, and purple. I feel the grey screams "I-know-I'm-54-and-I'm-not-trying-to-be-18-okay?-so-just-let-it-go-please!"

MAJOR ROAD TRIP!

The second "this" is an even bigger deal (as if mermaid hair isn't enough!) Tomorrow, we leave on a cross country road trip. It is Hannah's high school graduation present. It's hokey, I guess, but I suppose every parent wants to give their kid the world. At least, I do. Memories, times, and shared experiences over things.

I know I 've not blogged for a while. That is because for the past several months I've been hard at work on outfitting an old cargo van for our trip. It is now basically a small - and IMHO exceedingly cool - RV. I have always wanted to build a house from scratch; for the past 10 years, I've also been very interested in tiny house living. So the van is two dreams come true for me! Actually, it's three - a cross country trip as a family is a dream that fills my heart to brimming! (Assuming we don't kill each other living in such a small space together for 30 days straight!)

Here are a few pictures of the van as it was been being built:

I researched and designed it over the course of about a year and it was a very creative and fun project! These days, I am really only able to concentrate on one thing at the time - multi-tasking seems to be a thing of the past for me - so it was almost like a part-time job. I loved every single minute of it and I learned a lot about solar power, plumbing, RVs, and electricity. Actually, I would be kind of sad that the process of building it is over if I wasn't so excited that we are actually able to use it now!

So, tomorrow we begin our journey. Marshall and I took an epic cross-country trip in 1994, after we both took the bar exam. We headed out with a tent in the trunk of our tiny Honda Del Sol. That was when I discovered just how gigantic the United States is. And how gorgeous and geographically diverse. I am excited to show Hannah!

When people ask us where we are going this time, Marshall has been answering with one word: West! To be a little more specific, we are heading to San Francisco by way of the Grand Canyon - so, we're taking the southern route out and the northern route back. Other than that, we're not 100% sure!

I have decided to blog about our trip and will try to post something every day we are gone, including pictures. I am so thrilled that we are able to do this as a family. It means so much to me - to all of us, really, especially now, just before Hannah heads off to college in the fall. I'm guessing there may be some bumps along the way - like 125 degree heat in a van with no air conditioning or just the fact that three adults (more or less) will be living full-time in less than 100 square feet! But there will also be much time for conversation, games, s'mores over an open fire, hikes, stargazing, family bonding, and taking in some incredible scenic beauty in the National Parks.

Along the way, I hope to catch you up on some of the other health-related things that have been going on for me…the unexpected journey continues. But you know, I don't think we'd be taking this trip right now in our lives if I hadn't been diagnosed with brain cancer. We're doing the things we've always wanted to do NOW. I think there is a lesson in that somewhere.

If you have any suggestions on where we should go on our trip, please let me know! The next few days we will be Virginia and Tennessee! We have our sights on Graceland!

Let the cross-country trip commence!