January 2, 2015

It was a frozen morning.  Olivia had left to meet a coworker before going to the signing & Brian was still in bed.  He asked me to go to the office to grab some remaining papers & I wanted to get some  final tortillas.  I used to get these from  the little 2 tortillas-at-a-time machine we had in the back at La Bodega.  Now it's a huge million-plus dollar machine that spits out 12 thousand a minute.  My, how times have changed.  My tire really needed air, so I slowly drove to a gas station.  A big tree was down on Andrews Highway.  That might've been a sign.


The ride was, perhaps, a little risky...191 was open but bridges were still icy.  Trucks were hauling ass, but I went slowly.  It was amazing,  seeing the oil wells all covered in snow.  Once I got to the office, I was saddened.  People laugh, some may think me silly, but I truly attempt to inhale all these moments, maybe because I know I'll soon forget the details, so I try remembering and cherishing as much as I can in the moment. I went in to grab the papers needed, I left the keys on the desk and then wrote Jose a note, thanking him for all he has done.  I've known him since I was a little girl, he moved my stuff to my very first apartment when I was going to TCU.  I ended up seeing him, which made me happy, and I hugged him, tears flowing.  I won't see him again.  It's hard, when you know it's the last time.  I think it's best that we don't know, so we don't live our life in a constant state of mourning.







I got back to the house, after getting lost, of course.  Yes!  I know it's my hometown.  Yes!  I know these are the streets I used to drive around aimlessly as an angst-ridden teen, but getting disoriented  was not for naught.  I found myself on Neely and drove past Lee High School, past the parking lot where I first parked the Samurai, then the Rabbit.  I saw the building which housed our indoor swimming pool, where I swam many a lap.  Those were my glory days...for a while.  All three high schools I attended have affected me so greatly: I've met incredible people and had such electric experiences, but Lee is the only school I physically see, though I hope to change that soon.

We waited for Olivia.  Finally, I received the text.  The signing was complete.  Other than a few odds and ends needed from others, her part was over.  Midland now belongs to Sweet Margarita, the best person for the job, and the commissary belongs to to Mr. Bernal.  Hopefully, we'll soon have a buyer for Odessa, we'll find out soon.  There have been close to 39,000 views on the Odessa FB page since it closed on the 29th.  .  La Bodega was certainly a part of West Texas.  Once Olivia arrived at home, we headed to Target for Ethan to exchange his bike helmet (he bought a jambox, instead).  We then "celebrated" at Rosa's Cafe, where I ordered a large basket of chips.  I wanted to tell the cashier, "You know, I was at the commissary where these are made this morning."  Rosa's buys 80%of our tortillas..well...Mr. Bernal's tortillas.   I also noticed the same music and a lot of the same art we have at La Bodega on the walls.  Bobby Cox (the owner of Rosa's) was quite inspired by La Bodega.  I got into so many arguments with my dad about my going to Rosa's when I was a teen.  He hated that I loved it.  Ha. 

 Finally we are home - and then the excitements begins.  We were getting unloaded when Olivia's neighbor comes over - a large tree in my sister's yard had just toppled and was now in their yard.  Live electric wires were under the tree.  We heard branches breaking everywhere:  neighbor's trees were going down like bowling pins.  We moved cars to a clear area and my brother-in-law is concerned, thinking we'll need to go to a hotel, but this is every winter where I live.  No big deal.  I love the adventures I have with my sister....  One day, just the two of us.  That'll be a blast.

 Pictures: An icy-bubbled view from my car window; A message Olivia wrote to my father about 11 years ago that no one ever erased; A frozen oil rig; Icy garments worn by the trees; The tribe, celebrating at Rosa's Cafe.  Shhh!  Don't tell my dad what happened today.