Family Mellmann

I had the most lovely afternoon with my daughter today. She moved, somewhat unwillingly, into her own (first) apartment last Saturday. Despite having more than a week to get ready (months actually), she moved out unprepared. She didn't have flatware, dishes, glasses, pots or pans, or anything useful for living on your own. For those of you familiar with inattentive brain ADHD, planning ahead or having a vision for the future - even if that future is only 48 or 24 hours away - is not a thing. Without tools and strategies for planning and executing tasks, NOTHING gets done. Nothing is important until it's...too late. So, alone in her disorganized tiny apartment, Katherine started to figure out what she was missing. Most notable, she couldn't cook meals - unless they came in a microwavable package, which she has decided is fine once in a while but not every.single.day. Ahhh. The brain starts to learn what happens when you fail to plan. Anyway, Grandparents (and paren...

Today is a big day for this family.  Today, we moved Katherine into her first apartment.  For those who know her, this was not a day of celebration but of anxiety and fear.  But she did it. We took her temporary bed over this morning and got it set up for her.  All of her bedroom furniture is buried in one of our storage units and won't be accessible until we move into our new house, so she is borrowing a spare bed from Grandma and Grandpa.  With the bed set up - it takes up most of the space, we moved the rest of her things from our apartment to hers. This apartment is a blessing.  It is in a converted motel that now has efficiency apartments.  It is very tiny, but there is laundry on the premises, a grill and patio for community use, and it is located across the street from where Katherine works.  This is particularly important since she does not drive (if you've ever known someone with ASD and ADHD you'll understand why).  She will continu...

Today, we enjoyed a short visit with Patrick.  In his flight duties as First Officer for Sky West, his route brought him to Montana with an overnight layover in Bozeman.  Bozeman (a bit more than 30 minutes from Livingston)!  How could we let him get this close and NOT go spend some time with him? A few of us went early to pick him up from the airport and then we spent some time chatting and catching up.  After work, Jörg brought Katherine and they joined us for a lovely dinner before we returned Patrick to his hotel and headed back to Livingston.  What a fun day!

It has finally happened.  It is Christmas Eve Day and BOTH of our children have to work!  Patrick sent us some pictures from his morning preparing to fly, and I snagged one of Katherine after she got all decorated for her shift at the grocery store which she expected to be extremely busy.       Once Katherine was done working, we began our evening activities.  First action was the annual Christmas picture by the Christmas tree.  As this year is anything but normal, we opted for a tree in front of our apartment with the mountains in the back. With the pictures done, it was time for singing, the reading of the Christmas story, dinner, and a few presents.  With our fondue supplies in storage, we mixed things up with the menu as well and enjoyed a lovely Pork Wellington.  It was a lovely break with tradition and a fun evening.

Some people have a cubicle in an office and no windows. Some folks have large windows in fancy offices but no view. This guy has an office window with a view that changes all the time.  And apparently it even opens! Patrick continues to enjoy his pilot life.  He gets to travel all over the western half of the continent including a few landings in Canada and Mexico.  We miss him a bunch and yet it is so rewarding to see him doing what he enjoys.  

Katherine has been working full time for a couple of weeks now and has settled in quite well to the new routine.  She reports that she is even starting to recognize "regulars".  Now she's looking forward to receiving her first full paycheck.

Katherine has put in her first full week of work, and it will come as a surprise to those who know her that she is actually enjoying the job.  She reported that it's "fun", yet she admits that standing in one place all day long is hard on the legs and feet (no surprise to anyone) but hasn't complained at all.  She even pointed out that she hasn't complained because she realizes her lack of physical conditioning is a problem of her own making. I managed to convince her to put her hair in a ponytail so now she's (finally) learning to manage (beyond just brushing) her own hair.  I think her new look makes her more...approachable.  I like being able to see her face. 😃 As we sat in the local Thai restaurant, waiting for our take-out meal to be ready, we talked and talked and talked.  This whole working thing seems to be helping to bring her out of her shell and it also gives her some new material about which we can talk.

It has taken us a while to get to this stage, but Katherine has herself a job.  Her first ever, full-time, work-for-someone-else job.  She started training on Monday and by the time I got there to get some groceries today (on Tuesday), she looked like an "old pro".  She is still learning the art and science of bagging groceries so things don't get crushed and the food is separate from the non-food items but she was quick and friendly (even to me).  Maybe next time I'll pay in cash so she has to make change. :)

While Grandma works at the Chamber of Commerce, Patrick had a chance to hang out with Grandpa with an afternoon in Bozeman. They "geeked out" over their shared interest in tea at a nice tea shop in town.  And eventually we ended up in the music store.  Patrick tried out some beautiful guitars but the highlight for him was to finally get to try an electric upright bass.  Since taking lessons on the (acoustic) upright bass during high school, he has had an interest in playing more.  As a practical matter, the acoustic bass is not a good option for his current life - apartment with close neighbors and he drives a small car.  The electric upright offers all the right benefits; small and easy to transport, plugs into headphones for "silent" practice or a into an amplifier for public performance, and it (this particular one) has a very rich bass sound plucked (with the fingers) or bowed - both of which he was able to try during this visit. Three more benefits of this ...

A little dinner at a local favorite while Patrick is here for a visit.