W Week

 Oh hi kid,

We are currently at 35,000 feet somewhere over the middle of the country. We’re on the last row, I’m squished up against your mom, life can’t get better. I just skimmed last weeks letter, it seems so long ago, life already seems so different. This will be a longish letter, I’ll sort it out by days. I’ll also put some photos together from the days.

Monday: Departure 

Monday was a pretty hectic day. Your brothers left right at six. Mom sent them off with some breakfast burritos. It was poignant watching them drive down our street. I have mixed feelings about the whole thing. But as they say, “Nothing ventured, nothing gained.” I have a lot of confidence in you boys, whether it’s schooling, missions, or jobs. I know you’ll do beyond well.

I had three calls between my freelance work and the franchise search. I learned about the home restoration company. It has potential, and good territories, but I don’t know. I cranked out a bunch of freelance work, I hope I can keep it going. After that all got finished up, I got packed and ready to go.

Our neighbor Brandon Nelson took us. He’s Ryder’s dad. Ryder’s coming home in September. They have a couple of hunting trips planned so his homecoming might be later. Ryder has plans with a buddy to do work on foundations for his buddy’s dad. Doesn’t sound like he has school in his plans. I think with the advent of AI, a lot of kids are rethinking college. Brother Nelson is super nice and it was fun to get to know him better.

As brother Nelson dropped us off your mom and I looked at each other with the realization that it had been over 25 years since we traveled alone together. It seemed like we were leaving something behind. We had an all night flight with a layover in Charlotte. Everything was on time and the flights weren’t bad. The advantage to a red eye is that the airports are a little less crowded.