Now THERE is a gap for you! I’m not even sure if I was transcribing from written text...or if I was composing on the computer by the time I did that last entry. If I find another book somewhere, I’ll fill the gap - otherwise, it’ll just have to be like this! Michelle is 18 and a senior in high school. Margaret (or Marz as she is called now) is 16 (17 in April) and a junior. They are both driving. Martha and Ruth are 15 and learning to drive. My nerves are coping. usually. mostly. ok, sort of! And today is Wayne’s birthday. 52. We finally did make the move back to Sacramento, thanks to a retirement plan at Edison that we could NOT refuse! Now, Wayne is working for Raley’s - still computers. And I am still staying up all hours - reading, working on the computer (woohoo! that’s a new skill isn’t it?!) In fact, I should shelve this...press save...and go to bed...finish it later. Yeah, that’s the ticket! More later!
February 11, 1999
Looking back a little, Wayne came home from work one evening - some three years ago - and asked me how I’d like moving a little closer to Sacramento. Since we were living in Pinon Hills at the time, 400 miles from Sacto, I was definitely interested. We had already been talking about the Central Valley - still in his Edison Desktop Support territory. I asked how much closer...and he responded...well...Sacramento! My first thought was that he had been canned. But, he tossed a booklet onto the desk and I had my first glimpse of the Voluntary Retirement Offer. What an offer, stock buy backs...sick time buy offs...acceptance bonuses...medical, dental, and optical plan retention...to say the least, it was overwhelming. So we started making plans. I made phone calls to school districts in the Sacramento area, and kept hearing what a good job they were doing in Roseville/Eureka school districts. Of course, Mom could confirm that as she was only recently retired from Roseville herself! I called Roseville Joint High School District and learned that Granite Bay High School would be opening in the Fall with an enrollment of Sophomores (Michelle) and Freshmen (Margaret). Perfect! Everyone would be starting off together in a new school. And I remember going horse back riding in Granite Bay. A nice rural area near Lake Folsom. We registered the girls and continued making plans. However, the VRO proved a little more attractive than Edison originally anticipated. Too many people decided to accept the offer, and caps were placed on certain job areas...including Wayne’s. We might not get to move after all. Wayne was determined though, and through perseverance, and the fact that he started sending a daily e-mail to his boss (along the lines of “LET ME GO!) he was released as of August 30. And we moved north! We ended up at Mom’s for a few weeks while we found a house in “rural” Granite Bay... once school started, I took the girls the 25 miles to GBHS, and cruised the area. What an eye-opener! When did Granite Bay become such an exclusive address???!! Everywhere I looked, gated communities, huge homes, expensive cars, and damn few rentals! However, MY determination and perseverance prevailed. I found a house (albeit on the small side) under a thousand dollars a month, well within the boundaries for both Granite Bay High School and Cavitt Jr. High. We moved from Mom’s in early October. After a year in that house, dealing with a rather unco-operative landlord (and a moldy ceiling, and a leaky air conditioner in the attic above the family room, and a fence that fell down with dreary regularity...) we moved again. Now we’re about a quarter mile from the Lake, in a two story house with a nice big yard, a pool, lots of storage, a terrific office (for the sewing machines, the computers, and most of our books) a fish pond with 20 Koi, and about 40 rosebushes. Not a house I’d choose to buy, but perfect for the next few years - at least until Martha and Ruth graduate from Granite Bay High School! Gosh it’s tough to play catch up like this. And it is almost 3 am...time to call it a night and get some sleep!
December 20, 1999
I'm so mad I could spit! I did this once and the computer ATE it. Now, I have to try and remember all the wonderful and evocative phrases I used to convey what 1999 was all about for us as a family. *SIGH* computers...
