Bri-Yo: Full-Time Uncle

When I left Michigan, I was fond of saying that I was going "Grapes of Wrath" style. That is, I was putting all of my belongings in my car and heading to California in the hopes of finding a job and starting a new life. Well, I can report that my experience ended a lot better than The Grapes of Wrath did (I'm not on the run because I killed a policeman, I didn't resort to getting nourishment from the breastmilk of a mother of a stillborn child, etc.) but it has in fact ended.

When I moved in with my sister and her family in the beginning of August, I only intended to stay for a month or two at the very most, during which time I would secure employment and find an apartment of my own. The L.A. job search turned out to be a lot bleaker than I imagined (I might still blog about some of my more colorful job-hunting misadventures), and after three months I found myself with neither a job nor the means to pay expensive Southern California rent. Meanwhile, little baby Jack is now over two months old and it's about time to move him out of the bassinet in his parents' room and into his own room, a.k.a. the room where I was staying. All in all, it was time to move on.

Fortunately, I have another sister who volunteered to let me temporarily stay with her in Portland, where the job market is a lot more friendly and rent is a lot more reasonable. I've been in Oregon for a week now, and in that short time I've noticed a completely different atmosphere here. Every person I've talked to about my employment situation has given me the names of three or four people I should contact and/or information about some great resource of which I wasn't aware. I did meet some useful people in California (most notably my sister and her husband) but nothing like what I've experienced here so far in just a week. It's encouraging and I'm optimistic that something will come through.

Looking back on my three months in California, it would be very easy to label it an outright failure. I didn't get a job or my own place and I had a notable lack of a social life. However, the lack of activity on the job and social front resulted in a tremendous amount of time spent purely being an uncle.

A shot with all the kids (one in the background) plus sister Amy at Zuma Beach

On my watch as resident full-time uncle I watched Jacob (who just turned 7 last week) play his first season of soccer, start piano lessons, and start the first grade. I probably spent the most time with 4-year old Allison, since she has yet to start school and she doesn't go down for a nap in the afternoon. I saw her start her very first dance classes, and we passed many afternoons singing Primary songs with my guitar ("I Am a Child of God" and "Here Comes the Ox-Cart" are her favorite Primary jams). When I got to Moorpark, 2 1/2-year old Gideon was speaking strictly in two word, but by the time I left he was stringing together big sentences ("Didin's. Fav'rite. Animal. Ghost." was my favorite oft-repeated phrase - read: "Gideon's favorite animal goats.") And of course, I was there for the birth and blessing of baby Jack.

There were a lot of tears when I left, both the kids' and my own, but I told them that they were letting the Hacking Family in Portland have their turn with Bri-Yo (the Omer kids' nickname for me). I feel so blessed to get to know a new set of nephews (no nieces this time), but hopefully this time it won't be my only gig. The kids all just said their bedtime prayers (except Sam, the 4 month-old) and asked that I might get a job, so that's a good start.