Taking Mikayla Back to Tacoma

Mikayla and I had a perfect weekend. Things just seem to work out for her. She naturally thinks they will, and they do, which reinforces her expectations of everything working out for her.

By the time we landed at the airport, gathered all the luggage, took the shuttle to the off-site car rental and got the van, we were hot, tired and hungry. The shuttle driver happened to mention that he was going to his favorite lake when he got off work. I asked him where it was and he said it was close by. He confirmed that it would be an ideal spot for lunch. We followed his directions, going to a part of the Sound that we have never been. The lake was large, stretching around knobs of land so that we could not see the whole thing. Sitting at a picnic table on the lake’s edge eating Gardenburgers and fries rejuvenated us. We watched the speed boats and jet skis playing on the lake like a motley flock of birds. Mikayla was wistfully wishing she could go jet skiing. One of the highlights of her summer had been going jet-skiing with Ben and Michelle just a couple of days ago. Even though she was sore from being thrown off several times and skidding on the water, she longed to go again. The weather was in the 80s, the sky was clear and the lake flirtatiously sparkled. After lunch, we took a walk on the dock and watched people taking off in speed boats and jet skis. We walked to the end of the dock. While Mikayla looked longingly at the jet skis that reared up and doubled back, like unbroken stallions, a handsome (“hot” as Mikayla said) young man rode his jet ski up to the dock, and asked her if she wanted to join him! She replied, “It’s tempting.” He took off, spraying us with a rooster tail and showed us how much fun it really is out in the wide open lake, jumping wakes, doing doughnuts, and dancing with veils of spray. A few minutes later he came back and asked Mikayla if she had decided, and she said yes. She climbed on in her jeans and they took off. Together they carved up the lake like an ice dancer, pirouetting in showers of spray.

Just before he returned her to the dock, she jumped overboard and swam in, jeans and all. It was exhilarating to watch her as once again she seemed to create just what she wants.

We both felt more energized and ready to take on the tasks ahead of us. Mikayla changed in the van and we drove to her through the beautifully manicured University of Puget Sound before stopping at her house. A plumber was there, fixing a few last minute things. She was excited to see it empty and cleaned up. She loved her room, and even though she was last to choose of the seven roommates, she feels she got the best room. I agree with her. It is the brightest one, with corner windows. It is a good size and has a nice walk-in cedar lined closet.

We spent the next few days moving her into her house. She was so excited to move into a room that she could decorate herself from scratch, or from bare as she said. The landlord did not paint the rooms but did clean the floors and put in new windows. Her walls are gray-green with white trim. We went to Target to buy some necessities. Since Mikayla was a little girl, she has always been very decisive. Since she has hardwood floors, we looked for a rug. Before looking at all the rugs, she immediately selected a pretty brown one with large green-blue flowers. Since she was so certain it was the right rug, it was perfect. She also chose white sheers for the windows which went well with the white trim.

We went back to the house and hung the brand new shower curtain and put together a few other things. It was getting late, so we picked up some salad, tofu and a piece of marionberry pie at the nearby health food store, which we took back to the motel room and ate while watching the Olympics.

The next morning, we headed over to the house, and met up with her roommate from the dorms, Hannah. It was a happy reunion. We helped Hannah and her parents move in some furniture, then drove over to Gig Harbor where our storage locker was. It was amazing how much we fit into the Chrysler minivan that I had rented. We crammed a desk, the frame of the bed, a large headboard, the mattress, an office chair, boxes of miscellaneous things, a full length mirror, laundry baskets, and a monster-sized suitcase. We were pleased to be able to make it in one trip. I was nervous driving with all that stuff not fastened down, thinking that if I stopped fast, everything, especially the wooden bed rails, would come crashing into us. We had moved the front seats forward to try to adjust the back seats and had forgotten to move them back as we loaded the vehicle. When we tried to climb in, we had to pretzel ourselves into our seats. I drove with my arms completely bent and my knees right up to the dash.

We grabbed lunch in Gig Harbor and crossed the majestic Narrows Bridge back into Tacoma. I was very relieved when we pulled up to Mikayla’s house. It was nerve-wracking driving that way.

Mikayla was uncertain if we could carry the desk up the stairs and around all the corners into her room by ourselves. I was positive we could do it. It went easier than we both thought it would. It took a dozen trips to bring everything in from the van. After a trip to Lowes to get screwdrivers, picture hangers and other things, we set to work putting together the bed. It is an Ikea bed, which takes a lot of assembly. We put it together like pros and were proud of our work. We worked late into the night hanging curtain rods, putting up a shelf, arranging furniture, and unpacking. We were hot, tired and hungry and went out to a nice Thai restaurant for a delicious dinner. Afterwards, we returned to Target to get a few more things and went back to the motel. It was almost midnight. After showers, we fell right to sleep.

I woke up and knew our main mission was to get a dresser for Mikayla. She had nowhere to put her clothes. This was my last day, and so it had to be accomplished. First thing, I went onto Craigslist and scanned the ads. There was a dresser advertised for $50 in the very neighborhood that the motel was located. I called on it and arranged to meet the owner at a storage locker. Mikayla was still sleeping when I arranged all this. When she woke up I described the dresser to her, omitting that it was purple. She may not have wanted to look at it knowing it was purple, but I just had a feeling that it might be okay. As we were waiting for the owner to meet us, I told her it was a very light purple. She rolled her eyes. We laughed. It turned out to be exactly the right size and the color was more of a mauve than a purple. They also had another, smaller dresser that would fit in Mikayla’s closet. We bought them both and easily fit them in the van.

We stopped at Costco for a last minute things and shared a slice of pizza for lunch. We both were very conscious of the time and that I was leaving in the afternoon. I think with the loss of my friend Mary, and now saying goodbye to Mikayla, I was very emotional. In three whole days of being together every minute, having dozens of errands and chores, there wasn’t one second of tension or conflict between us. Everything flows with us. We have so much fun together. We laugh a lot and just groove together.

After lunch, we went to her house. Another one of her roommates showed up with friends. I lined all the drawers of her dressers so we could unpack her suitcases. We worked up to the minute I had to leave.

Leaving her was very hard. We were a team – a team of movers, builders, shoppers and designers. Together we created a comfortable space for her to live.

I don’t cry much but I did cry when I left her. I know she is a very capable, resourceful young woman who will complete all that it takes to pull her living space together. She will figure everything out that she needs to. But I miss her. I miss her positive attitude. A couple of times as we were driving from one errand to another, I asked her what she was thinking. One time she was thinking about the spectacular sunset we had just witnessed. Another time it was about how great it was to find the perfect rug for her room. She doesn’t let the negative enter her. She dwells on the positive, and leads a charmed life. I am so lucky to be part of her inner circle.