Back To Us!

Let’s rewind back to when we moved to the Twin Cities. Lawyerboy moved in with my cousin, Steph, and her husband, Mike, in the middle of August. Orientation started the week before actual classes started for One L‘s. I stayed back and finished working at my summer job and packed up our apartment. Lawyerboy was so nervous. He didn’t know what to expect. I was excited to hear how his first day of orientation went. He said it went well. I asked if he met anyone and he said, “Yeah. One guy and I talked.” I was happy to hear that and said, “That’s good. ” Lawyerboy said his name is Mike and he seemed really nice. (Another Mike in our life!)

The next day, Chad said he had another good day. He was really enjoying his seminars. Plus, he saw Mike reading the newspaper when he got there. Lawyerboy went over to him and initiated conversation again. They then sat by each other for the rest of orientation and pretty much all of law school.

Mike is normally a reserved guy and we found out later that he had told his wife that he knew he had to meet people to help him get through law school. He saw Lawyerboy and decided he looked like a good guy to start a conversation with. Mike jokes that he should get the credit for the friendship since he made the first step. Lawyerboy says that the follow-up, going over and talking to him while he was reading the paper the second day, was crucial in how their friendship was able to evolve throughout law school!

It was time for me to move to the Cities. My brother came early Saturday morning and helped me haul down all my clothes from my closet and load them in my mom’s Tahoe. We had decided I needed to take down as much as I could, so we traded vehicles. My brother and I went up and down and up and down the stairs. When the Tahoe was full, we hugged good-bye and of course I cried my eyes out. I remember him saying, “Oh” and squeezing me tight.

I stopped by my best buddy’s house to say good-bye to her and her three boys, her second, Isaac, is our godchild. I was dreading saying good-bye to them. (More on her and her family later!)

Then, I was off. The drive went quickly. I didn’t realize how anxious I was to see Lawyerboy, since I was so wrapped up with getting ready to move and missing all things home. I almost crushed a small car when I got to the cities. After passing by St. Cloud, Chad had given me instructions on how to get to my cousin’s house. I thought I knew where I was going and didn’t understand why I was taking the 35-E exit. I was looking for the exit that you take on I-94. For some reason, I wasn’t registering that I was on 694 and therefore had to take a different exit. I almost missed my exit and as I veered over I got my first honking at! It was actually more of a’ laying on the horn’ honk! It took me by complete surprise! It was a little red car and I had so much stuff in the Tahoe, I honestly didn’t see her! I felt bad if that helped… probably not though!

When I got to my cousins, Lawyerboy came out to greet me! It felt like it had been forever since we’d seen each other! After a hello hug and kiss, we got to work. We had a lot of items to unload. We were either putting it up in the room we were using or downstairs in their basement, so up and down we went until the Tahoe was empty.

When we finished, I saw the sign on the table Lawyerboy had made me. It said, “Welcome to the Cities!” and he had gotten me a Starbucks gift card. It was super thoughtful and sweet.

It was surreal to be here. It made it even more real. Lawyerboy asked what we should do. We ended up going to Target and getting a feel for the area. I don’t know why, but I felt really happy at Target. Even though we couldn’t afford to buy much, it felt good to see that Target was the same everywhere, probably even better in Minnesota! We had a relaxing evening with Mike and Steph when they got home from work. We spent the evening outside eating and drinking.

Lawyerboy and I decided to try another adventure beings it was our first weekend here in our ‘new home’. We saw the Twins were in town and thought it would be fun to go. They were playing the Yankees so of course the tickets were more expensive than usual! We’ve been to the Cities a lot, but this was the first time we were in charge of our activities and the driving! We usually got to my sister Kathryn’s, and she took over! We got down to the Metrodome smoothly. We saw parking for $20 and I was sure we could get cheaper. It only got more and more costly! We ended up getting lost and parking in a $25 parking ramp after driving around! Not off to a good start!

The game was entertaining, as was us leaving. We missed our turn and ended up driving and driving! We had no idea where we were or where we were going. We called my cousin, Mike, to see if he could help us. He wanted to know where we were and I didn’t know what to say! We finally came upon some signs and he was able to get us headed in the right direction back to their place! I didn’t know if the two of us should go out on our own again!

In a way it was a relief the weekend was over. Lawyerboy had his first full week of school and his first actual classes the following morning. Like most One L’s, in his first semester, Lawyerboy took Civil Procedure, Criminal Law, Torts I, Contracts I, and Legal Research and Writing. Once again, he was nervous. I was nervous for him! I couldn’t wait for him to get home. I kept myself busy by watching my favorite show, ‘Live with Regis and Kelly’, studying for my Minnesota teacher’s license exam, and then getting lunch ready for us.

Lawyerboy told me all about his first day. Of course, he and his new friend, Mike, sat by each other. Mike had gotten there a half hour early to pick his seat and save Lawyerboy one, too. It is that kind of friendship. 🙂 They had to sign a sheet where they were sitting because this would be their assigned seat the professors could use to call on them. That was everyone’s biggest fear… getting called on! You got tons of reading material to read in order to be prepared for class. The professors would call on students to go through a case they had read. In a way, you wanted to get called on so it would just be over with! Once you were called on, you at least knew it won’t happen again for some time because the professor checked your name off the list.

Steph and Mike had some friends over on a Saturday for Mike’s birthday. One of their friends was a teacher and she gave me the number to a temp agency to be a substitute teacher. I called right away Monday morning and had an interview the next day. It was over by the Mall of America. It was more of ‘explain what you taught at your other school and when can you start’ discussion. I was put on their list of  people to call. Then and there started the days of sleeping with my phone.

Our month of September went something like this: I drove Lawyerboy to school in case I’d get called to sub beings we only had one vehicle at the time. I’d have the house to myself during the week while Steph and Mike worked. I’d go pick up Lawyerboy and he would then spend his time reading, reading, highlighting, and more reading. I would practice math problems and read science and social studies text books. We were having nice weather and sat outside a lot. That was pretty much it.

We went out one night in September with another guy Lawyerboy had met at school. His name is Jeff. He was from Iowa and just out of college and newly married. He and Lawyerboy made plans for us to meet up for Bar Review one night in early mid-September. Jeff and his wife, Amanda, were very nice. We offered to give them a ride home since they had taken the bus to meet us. As we left Sally’s Saloon on the University of Minnesota campus and were walking back to the vehicle, our lives got threatened. A guy walked by and asked us for money. Amanda and I were laughing about something and hadn’t even heard him. I guess he thought we were laughing at him and he said, “I could kill you, you know!” Welcome to the city!

We dropped them off at their apartment. Little did we know that in a couple of weeks we’d be moving in!

I took my Minnesota teacher test on a Saturday in September and we also made the decision to move into an apartment. Since we had been here, it was all a whirlwind. Now that we finally had our own place, I thought I’d have time to bake. Unfortunately, it didn’t happen. I didn’t even have time to bake banana bread which is simple and yummy!

Banana Bread

Preheat oven to 300 degrees – Prep Time: 10 minutes – Bake Time – 60 to 65 minutes – Makes 12 to 16 slices

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 cup sugar

2 to 3 bananas, ripened

2 eggs, beaten

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 cups flour

1 cup walnuts, optional

In a medium-sized bowl, mix butter and sugar together. In a small bowl, beat the two eggs. In a small bowl or on a plate, mash the bananas. I use a fork. Add the bananas to the eggs and stir. Then, add them to the butter and sugar mixture. Add the flour and baking soda. Mix together, but don’t over mix. Add walnuts if desired. I prefer banana bread without nuts!

Pour the bread into a greased bread pan. Bake for one hour at 300 degrees. Check it with a toothpick. If it comes out clean, it is done. It usually takes an extra five or six minutes. Let it cool in the bread pan for 15 minutes. Then, gently shake it out onto wax paper or cooling rack. It is really yummy fresh out of the oven! Let it cool for a little longer before slicing it and enjoying it warm. Lawyerboy likes it with butter. I like it just the way it is! I also love the ends!! It is still very good for two days following its baking date. After it has cooled, keep it in an airtight container.