10/17/12

Dear Temple,
I hope this note finds you well and happy. Today I've got bathrooms to clean, laundry to fold and put away, dishes and vacuuming. Last night I picked up a bed and mattress for your new cousin. The bed needs to be put together, which I'll do during the little one's first nap. Your Aunt Crystal will be out of town tomorrow and most of Friday for a conference, so I got the boys all to myself. I don't plan on doing anything different really. Her trip is during the week so our schedule will go as normal.
We're going to take her Beetle in to have the tires checked. We just got her car's oil changed and we have AAA in case something happens on the road. I'm sure she'll be fine.
She gets pretty bored on these trips and I don't blame her. Hotels are much more exciting when you're a kid. When you're an adult and have to spend a lot of time in hotels due to work, it gets a lot less fun. My most exciting hotel stay was on a road trip to Florida with my high school buddy Brian. I think we spent thirty bucks to stay there. The room was dirty and the door didn't even lock. We kept getting dubious calls from dubious people all night long. Not great for getting a good nights sleep, but it's something I'll always remember.
Come to think of it, we spent a night in a worse place on a mission trip to Texas. That place was infested. Our room was okay for a night, and I mean ONE night, but the girl's had to be put elsewhere. Think about flipping the mattress and seeing all sorts of nasty things scurrying for cover. I should have slept in the van.
Sometimes life gives you a dirty mattress, Temple. Think twice before flipping it, what's underneath might be worse. Just lay down and try not to think about the crunching sounds you hear when you roll over. Pray for daylight and put a few hundred miles between yourself and that motel that next day. Just check your shirt first - you may have taken a few friends with you.
I'm also working on trying to consolidate Crystal's school loans. It's a fun process. Mine are all paid off. Crystal's would have been to by now if she wasn't so into all that fancy book-learning. We are reaping the benefits of all that knowledge crammed into her pretty head so I'm okay with the cost. When I was younger you could put off your payments forever, but now the Federal Student Loan people wield the powers of mighty Thor and can garnish themselves to oblivion. They are not to be trifled with, so we don't.
I have to mow the lawn too. I'm hoping it's the last time for awhile. Although I remember last year doing it once in January.
I love you much and miss you always,
                  Uncle Justin