March Forward
I haven’t written since February and it’s safe to say that a lot has happened since then. So let’s get to it, here is March forward.
March began with a very quick trip back to the States. I woke up early on the 4th to take a train into the city and transfer onto the line to the airport. The flights back were uneventful, I had a short layover in Dublin before I was on my way to Minneapolis. I spent a couple hours just messing about in Minneapolis as I waited for my siblings to show up. We spent the night at my aunt and uncle’s house (who were already out in Colorado for the wedding) and woke the next day to catch our flight to Denver. The four of us, myself, Erik, Arc (Rachel), and their partner Kendra, had a blast hanging around Denver together before we headed into the mountains to Keystone. The wedding came and went, it was pretty cool going halfway up a mountain for it! There was, of course, some family drama but no one was surprised to see that.
By the 9th I was already back in Munich getting ready for one of the kid’s birthdays later in the week. It was about now that COVID19 started becoming more prominent in Europe. I was encouraged to stay out of the city and to delay any of my travel plans for a while. Arc was supposed to come to Munich to visit at the end of the month, this was soon cancelled. My anxiety was spiking like never before and soon I pushed to make a choice - stay in Europe without a clear return date or go back to Minnesota. After many panicked conversations with Arc, I eventually made the choice to go with the knowledge that I could stay with them and their partner in Grand Marais.
Four days. That’s how long I gave myself to pack everything up, say goodbye to the family, and make my way back to Minnesota. The flight itself was an experience. I got to the Munich Airport around 6am and it was a ghostscape. Everyone in line at check in were American citizens trying to get home, at this time airports across Europe were closing and people were anxious to get out while they could. As I checked my baggage, the women checking me in gave me some potential bad news. She looked at my boarding passes, Munich to Newark and Newark to Minneapolis, and said that I wasn’t going to make my connecting flight. She wrote a question mark on my boarding pass, which I kept because now it cracks me up. I was still determined to make the connection, since Arc was picking up in Minnesota and I didn’t want to make a mess of all that.
I wandered around the ghost airport, starting towards where my gate would be. However, that area was shut down for a little while longer. I managed to find a sanctuary and meditate some, my nerves were still at an all time high. Once boarding began it was clear that this was not a full flight. I counted maybe 80 some people on a plane that could hold at least double that. I ended up asking to move up, so that I could space myself out better. My request was quickly approved and I was shown a three seat row that would be just for me. I settled in for the nine hour flight, stretching out to try and get some sleep on the long journey.
Eventually we landed in Newark and so the stress came back ten fold. We were let off the plan in sections, very slowly. Once I exited the plan, I was guided through the CDC where they checked my temperature and asked the, now considered usual, questions. Then I went through customs and rushed over to baggage claim. After waiting around for the bags for about 10-15 minutes, I saw mine and ran to collect them. With a 90 liter duffel bag strapped to my back and my backpack attached to a small rolling suitcase I set off for my next gate. This, of course, wasn't an easy task. I had to change terminals using the airport train system, recheck my baggage, and go through a ½ mile long security line. All while being overly aware of the pandemic hanging over our heads and with barely anyone wearing masks, as that wasn’t the norm yet. It ended up taking close to 30 minutes to get through, time that I didn’t have to waste as my next flight was likely already boarding. Once I was cleared I ran, yes actually ran, to my gate only to find that it had changed. I now had to backtrack to find the nearest flight board and my gate had changed to one at the very end of the terminal. And so, I was off running again. I got to the gate area just as they were calling for the final boarding group. Once on board, I sank into my seat with a hefty sigh that drew the attention of the flight attendant, who then came by to ask if I was alright. I quickly explained that I ran to get on board and was just happy to have made it in time. And yes, I did cry when I finally landed in Minneapolis.
Arc picked me up at the airport, after stopping in at our Aunt and Uncle’s house to pick up literally everything I owned from their house. We headed in our seclusion at a nearby hotel for the night, ordering room service for a little celebration of my return and Arc’s birthday which was the following day. The next morning, March 23rd, we drove north to Grand Marais where I stayed for the next two months while waiting to see about my summer job. I didn’t do too much during this as there wasn’t anything to do. I hung out with Arc and Kendra’s dog, Jetty. Lived in their unfinished loft on a mattress directly on the floor, pulling my things out of bags and boxes whenever I needed them, just chilled for two months waiting.
The call came about two/three weeks before the assumed start date of staff training for camp. Up until that point there had been no information about whether we were going to be operating this summer or not. I was one of the first among the staff called to be told that we were going to be opening, but with limitations. These limitations included a smaller staff team and an extra week added on to staff training, which now meant three weeks to create a bubble with a team of a little over 20 people.
The summer started out with high stress. After the murder of George Floyd and the beginning of protests and riots in Minneapolis/Saint Paul, the staff team got antsy. We all had friends, and some had family, attending those protests. Most of the kids I was working with were from Minneapolis and they up in the woods, hearing about their city burning. As much as I wanted to be involved in the progress that was beginning at camp, I was unable. I had just learned that the job I was hoping to have come fall was filled. I was thrown into another unknown. Everything around me suddenly felt unstable.
I spent the rest of the summer in the phase of uncertainty. For a while I played with the idea of moving to Minneapolis, I even applied to over 20 jobs. Never heard back from a single one of them. Around late July, I started to think about moving back to Billings. It felt like a good idea to be where my people are. I started looking into apartments and applying to jobs. My friend, Emily, even went to a showing for me and turned in an application. Yet again, it didn’t pan out. The end of summer came and I had nowhere to go. So, I asked to stay at camp for the off season. They were expecting to be busier than past years, so it would make sense to have extra hands around. Once summer closed out, I headed to Grand Marais to detox the summer while also waiting to hear if I had a job or not.
And I’m still here at camp, now in January. I’m working under three job positions. I’m still heading up things in the camp store, taking on extra responsibilities. Back in November I built a website so now the store is online, it’s been fun learning all the background stuff for product shipping and financial stuff. My second job is under our maintenance department as a cabin cleaner, when it comes to cleaning cabins at camp I head up the ordeal. The third job is working in the kitchen, I do this the least out of them all since we don’t have constant meal service like in the summertime. It looks like a lot, but the variety has become fun and switching things up helps keep me light on my toes.
That’s already a very long life update. More to come as the new year rear begins.
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