I resolve to go back to the Gorge

When I started this site over 10 years ago there wasn't Facebook, texting, Twitter, and really cheap communications. It wasn't quite as bad as my childhood with long distance fees and postage but there still wasn't a cheap way to keep people informed. 

Since 2012, I’ve gotten behind on galleries and general posting because it is so simple to text friends and family and post to Facebook to communicate more broadly with all your social circles. So the site has evolved for the biggest things. It’s also became an obligation that annoys me at times. Anyone who frequents this site knows we went to 30A for Thanksgiving.  Between myself, Jenna, and Melissa everyone interested has seen the sights and sounds in posts, photos, and videos. So why post here?

As social life evolved so has this site. I have a record of the entire history of my little adventure in one place. A place I control. Text messages have to be purged to make space on your phone. Want to leave Facebook-hope you have a whole day to download important memories. I don’t even acknowledge Twitter anymore for personal use. It has become so vitriol I hate myself for even checking it. 

The Sullivan Adventure has evolved to a place for Jenna and I rather than a place for our family to “catch up.” I used to get in trouble with my the grandparents if they missed a birthday party and I didn’t immediately post it here. Today they’ve Facetimed the kid’s within minutes of the conclusion. Then it was to inform, now it’s to enjoy. Jenna and I sit at the computer sometimes and will just look at the posts from a year and shake our heads how fast our little train is speeding out of the station.

Control has starting to become something more important to me as well. I’ve been happy with the control Squarespace gives me. It costs more than Wordpress or Blogger but I’ve never had a DOS attack or any intrusion at all. I’ve never had a minute of downtime. The pages can load slow if I have too many fancy posts (slideshow galleries particularly kill the speed) on the front page but generally it’s solid. Most importantly they give me tools to export out if I so choose.

So this year’s resolution is to catch up on the galleries and the vacations and the excursions and the birthdays and the everything. I also resolve to post big memories here first and link them to other social sites rather than defaulting to group think. I’m starting with a gallery from September of this year. A small little trip Jenna and I took to the Pacific Northwest. Enjoy.

Congrats Holly and Mark!!!

It's always nice to see people you love happy, but this weekend was spent watching my baby sister postively glow. We came out to Tucson to watch her get married with practically everyone I'm related to. It was a unique mixing of two completely different cultures when the entire families meshed the past 3 days but it felt we'd known each other forever. We fly home tomorrow or today as I look at the clock now and of course any trip over 2 time zones is hard but factoring in Arizona in June, a 3 year old with relatives all around, and 3 days of open bars and...I can't wait to get home :)

I'm not going to get all mushy because frankly Holly wrote me the most touching letter I've ever received and the emotion of telling you how proud and happy I am for her is a little raw on the emotion meter right now. I will say the wedding was absolutely beautiful. Outside at sundown looking out over the desert was a sight to see. Watching Noah come down the aisle with the rings had me beaming from ear to ear. Seeing my Dad dance to a fast song for the first time in the 35+ years I've been on this earth still has me speechless. In fact I felt like I was in a MasterCard commercial last night.

Another memory was watching my Mamaw sit on the front row crying. I've now stood for 5 weddings in our family and I can remember looking at Mamaw in each one of them. This time I knew she was thinking about Papaw and that made me happy and sad at the same time. You can argue the validity of that paradigm but I'm sticking to the story.

I did get choked up during the ceremony. I can't help it. I'm a sap when people write their own vows. When Holly got choked up at the end of hers I know I looked like a leaky kitchen sink-drip, drip, drip. I didn't wipe my eyes and my back was partially to the people so I thought I was safe, but I was wrong some of Holly's coworkers came to me during the reception to say "That was so sweet when you cried." My man pride was hurting so I went out and killed a coyote in the desert with my bare hands (obviously BS but we did see a coyote during the pictures after the ceremony).

I didn't get to give a toast. Only the best man and matron of honor got to toast after the ceremony. If I had I would have said this:

I still call Holly my "Baby Sister." My wife who is the same age finds this odd, but she's obviously a girl and doesn't know what its like to have a little sister tagging along behind you growing up. Testosterone does crazy things to the male brain and having a "baby sister" was the first thing I ever felt was my responsibility to protect. I was never the mother bear type but believe me, I hurt when she hurt. I haven't lived with my parents since I was 18. I haven't lived with my older sister since she was 18. Holly and I have lived together twice as adults. We were not always good roommates but we were always good friends. As the years have gone by I would have told you I knew Holly better than anyone else in this world. I think the opposite is true as well. After watching her and Mark's relationship grow over the past few years I can say this- Mark brings out the best in my baby sister. She has never been this happy and she has never been this beautiful. I'm proud to pass the role of her protector over to Mark because she deserves all the happiness this world has to offer and she finally found it.
Cheers!