Six years ago...

Six years ago, I was celebrating Mother’s Day in Silicon Valley with Alesi. She had taken a new role in The Bay Area and we loaded up her Toyota Corolla with all it could hold at the beginning of May and headed west. Duane and I tried our best to bite our tongue and not offer advice when she was offered the role and when she asked what she should do. Duane, being the Sherpa he is, offered the following, “Go, and if you hate it, load up and come home. But give it six months.” As many of you know, she is still in California. Many have asked how we could let her move and our answer is always, how could we not? After all, we had always encouraged her to pursue her dreams. We just never realized that could mean leaving the great state of Texas! This was my first trip to the west coast so of course I wanted to tour all the landmarks. The Bay Area is beautiful with its redwoods, the Pacific Coastline and the weather is fabulous almost year round. After about two weeks, she was settled into her apartment and started her new job. My work there was done and it was time for me to board a plane from SFO bound for Austin. Aside from losing my Daddy, I believe the trip to the airport that beautiful May day six years ago is one of the hardest days I’ve experienced. You see, as the song says, I left my heart in San Francisco. This year, thanks to Covid-19, my “Cali Girl” is spending time here. I’m not sure how long she will be able to stay, but I am doing my best to soak up each moment.