Hope is a desire for better things to happen. This week through different happenings, I have thought on that little word so many times. If I didn’t have hope, there would be no reason to go on, and to be totally hopeless must be the most terribly sad thing. My Grandma Jul, and now my Mom, have both given me the same advice as life has thrown things at us and that is to always “just think positive”. As annoyed as that made me when I was younger, I no longer scoff at the advice. I have found myself using that positive thinking the more my mental health has improved this year. Positive thinking is envisioning good things to happen, which i guess is the difference between that and hope, since hope desires rather than envisions. I definitely have friends in my life that would argue this and say that positive thinking is just being in denial and living in a fairy tale. I couldn’t really function without occasionally positive thinking my way through events where I have to be with unkind people. If I didn’t think positive and have the hope it might be better than last time, I wouldn’t leave my house. But the next person believes they are just lying to themselves. We had a conversation with friends about this all and it’s very interesting to think about, although deep thinking isn’t really my thing. I’d be curious what each of you thought!

We are so busy. We are hanging out with friends and working and downsizing our belongings. Yes, we still have things to get rid of which may be a surprise to some of you. We have sold everything we own except what we use in the bus and winter gear and our three boxes of sentimental stuff and our headboard made of skis. Everything else is gone and we feel free as birds. Its liberating to know exactly what and where the few things we own are, and even more so when we realize that we are still happy even though we don’t have really any “earthly goods.” We have had to start buying a few things tho, like shoes to teach school in, and shirts, and dresses sewed so we have accumulated in the clothing area.

Our bus is currently at Eli’s where he and Morgan have been working on welding the back deck and the top deck on the bus! We are so excited to be on the next step towards our summer trip and finishing the bus. Next weekend we will hopefully start painting, and please don’t ask what color because we haven’t decided yet, unfortunately. Was it my job to figure out paint colors? I mean, maybe. I had originally wanted a white bus, but there are two other kinds of white buses in our area, prison buses and the buses that haul migrant workers to the fields. I do not want to be parked at a corner and have 20 farm workers or prisoners as the case may be, try to get in my house with me. So we are leaning towards some slate blue color which I think will be beauty.

Tuesday was Moms Grade 3&4 field trip and I got to go along! We left school at 730 (I picked up Natalie cuz she rode along with me) and drove to Monterey where all 19 students, aide, teacher, and 17 parents got onto a boat and proceeded to go whale watching! We were gone around three hours and saw dolphins, grey whales, humpback whales, sea otters, and sea lions. The whales were so so cool. We saw several pods, and the most active was the last one we saw before heading back to dock. We watched one whale swim on his back and slap his fins on the water before breaching 6 or 7 times. He was just so joyful playing in the water. The kids all watched for the whales tail fins when they would come up for air before their dives down. The tail fins are like a fingerprint so they can tell which whale it is by spots or colors on the tail fins, and of course each whale has a name. One of the whales we saw has only been spotted 32 times since 1999! There was a small bit of seasickness but most everyone handled the waves fine! Sorry, Kansas kids, that this isn’t an option for you. Haha. After we got back, Natalie and I got lunch overlooking Monterey Bay and then headed home because I had things to do and couldn’t stay the whole field trip. 10/10 would recommend whale watching for your next field trip:)

Last Saturday Mom and I had a vintage booth at the spring market that was held at Steve Jantzs. Mom is such a decorator so it was cute and she sold quite a lot of things so less for us to pack and move. There were lots of other delicious things being sold at the spring market too, like coffee and cookies with edible flowers and kittens and homemade paper. It was a good time, although I felt like I’d been baked at 475* by the end of the long day. Last night was Grace Home Fundraiser where we ate pulled pork made by MagBBQ. We ate with Jons and Jakes which was fun since we are all adults with jobs and never see each other cuz all we do is work and sleep. Don’t grow up kids, its a trap. Today Mom and I had a yard sale and finished getting most of our things sold. Tonight Morgan is practicing songs for the giant men’s group that is singing tomorrow evening for the Grace Home church service at Livingston, if you’re interested in listening. The singing is always so good.

We are excited too because Madison comes home next weeeeekend♡ and the next weekend which is the end of school and Play Day here, Dillon+Renae+Max arrive and my favorite people will be all together for the first time in a long time. Hence the reason we are packing and Mom is too, so we can relax when the fam gets here. We have a couple things and weekend trips we want to do in June with Madison before her and Mom start heading East again.

I have thought of so many people this week, maybe because when I am once again jolted with the realization that life is so short and time isn’t promised, I think through all the lovely people I have met and know and I am so thankful for. So you have probably crossed my heart this week. And please know that morgan+me are here, just living the best we know, and if any of you should need anything then you know where to find us. I feel like those things are not said often enough, and now I am sounding sappy but remember I love you, friend. Xo chey