Out Rotations

 

 Our family is home from our out rotations.  Actually, we have been home for a month, it just took me awhile to readjust to life at home!  We spend March in Joplin and two weeks of April in Dallas.  Nothing makes you appreciate home like being away.  Joplin was quite the experience.  First of all, the city is still devastated from the tornado.  I had heard all about it and could even picture what it might look like because I had spent so much time there.  I couldn't believe how much worse it looked in real life than in the pictures.  You could literally see a mile long line of destruction where neighborhoods and businesses once stood.  I could stand at wal-mart and see the hospital, which is a mile away.  It would have taken me 15-20 minutes to drive there through traffic and I could see it.  The good news is construction is in full swing.  Many businesses have been rebuilt and many more are on their way.
     Out rotations always bring our family closer together, literally!  We stayed in a one bedroom studio apartment this time in Webb City, located just outside of Joplin.  We were lucky enough to have a kitchen, but the rest of the apartment was one room which made it interesting at naptime for little Violet.  Jeff is a great problem solver and made a semi-door to the bedroom by nailing a sheet to ceiling so she couldn't see us.  It actually worked great!  We were able to tuck it behind a table when she wasn't sleeping which made a cute little curtain effect.  It didn't provide much in the way of a sound barrier, so we learned to be very quiet.  The first week we sat on the couch and read when she went to bed and didn't even dare get up!  The couch was pleather and squeaked when you got up and down so we sat still for a good hour so we wouldn't wake her up. Crazy I know, but the truth.  After that she was much more used to noise due to the constant motorcyclist, so we loosened up and even turned the TV on.  She is much more adaptable than we give her credit for.
     Jeff was in Joplin a few weeks before us and he was somewhat concerned about the house across the street from our apartment.  Men would come and go at all hours of the day.  Only men, never women.  He thought it was some sort of drug operation. We were relieved to see a soda machine on the side of the house and noticed that it was the same men that were coming and going, give or take a few.  We assume it was a half-way house and were much more comfortable with that scenario.  We actually became friendly as they like to watch Violet toddle around looking for dandelions and always waved to us.  We did make some friends in the apartment complex.  Especially an older man who was always outside whittling something.  It was odd that he was washing a bright orange full length jumpsuit, but I am just going to try and forget about that!
     Joplin is only 5 hours from home, but spring comes about 3 weeks early!  The weather was gorgeous the whole time we were there.  We spent most of our waking hours at the park.  Joplin is full of parks and we tried them all!  Violet learned to walk on wood chips and climb stairs at the park.  She played on the toys some, but most of her time was spent picking dandelions.  She would pick so many that both her hands would be full.  She wouldn't let them go and insisted on taking them home everyday.  I didn't mind.  I have been dreaming of my child picking dandelions!  Joplin was unforgettable, especially since I have a nice fungus on my leg that I got somewhere in Joplin (prob the apartment) that won't go away!

     From Joplin we traveled down to Dallas and were lucky enough to stay with Jeff's brother and his family.  I was so excited to stay in a home!  Violet got to play with her cousins everyday!  She loved following them around and was excited about new toys.  Dallas is a fantastic city and we got to go to the zoo, the planetarium, and a really cool park.  She also got to go to story time at the library, which was probably her favorite.  We spent Easter in Dallas, but unfortunately Violet was sick so she didn't get to enjoy much of it this year.  The other kids had a blast!  I am so glad we got to spend so much time with family on an out rotation.  It made it so much easier, and it couldn't be easy sharing your house for two weeks.