Lydia

I wanted to record a few thoughts about Lydia, especially from the road trip we had with her from UT to CO a month ago. We met up with Aunt Jack and Lyd at the motorcycle shop where Adam was waiting for his HD. After Aunt Jack hugged Lydia and I good-bye, she suggested we have a talk about life goals on our drive. I think Lydia might have rolled her eyes, but I was determined to do as Jack said. The kids were unruly for parts of the trip, but I was so so grateful Lydia had patience and skills to distract them. In moments of calm, her and I did get to chat about her life in Crested Butte and future goals. She told me that not too long after moving to CB, she was getting desperate for a job. She was in the grocery store, talking with a manager about her application there and bemoaning the fact that someone else got hired for the job she applied for. Another person overheard her conversation and said they had a job for her and hired her on the spot.
I was amazed that Lydia started up conversations with people every where we stopped. I never just start up small talk with total strangers, but maybe Lydia's mindset is that there are no strangers. The gas station employees, the guys working at Subway flirting with her from behind the counter, fellow travelers on the road of life, everyone seemed drawn to her. When my kids balked at doing their homework, Lydia would sit next to them and help them with word puzzles and talk about how exciting it is to learn new things. They responded so well to her enthusiasm. Lydia was reading a book during the quiet moments, a fairy tale about a witch who ate children, a spin-off of the Grimm Brother's I think, and she would read parts of the book out loud to my kids (I especially liked the parts about how the children who didn't listen to parents were most likely to end up dropped off in the witch's forest).  She gave some real life parallels to the story and when Sierra showed interest in the book, Lydia just gave it to her.
We talked about her ambitions to go back to school, to study art or maybe become a counselor so she could give back and help.  She had a specific counselor she looked up to and wanted to be like.  I was impressed with her mindset to help and lift others.  While we were driving, she had a phone conversation with a friend who seemed (from what I could overhear) to struggle with a lot of anxiety.  Lydia was very calming and logical in her words, I was impressed by that.
I am so grateful my kids and I had the experience of traveling with Lydia and having her all to ourselves for 8+ hours. We all love her dearly.