Imojim
I was so blessed in my childhood to have been raised by my mom, dad, grandma, grandpa, AND by my great-aunt Imogene. Imogene, or "Imojim" as I fondly call her, is my grandmother's sister. Imogene helped out a lot when I was younger. She babysat me, picked me up from school, ensured I was well-fed, always had a famous roll with apple butter or loaf of bread to give me, and always wanted to hear about my life. I have distinct memories of being dropped off at her house late in the evening so I could watch Disney Channel movie premieres, swim in her hot tub, and then stay the night in "my room" filled with baby dolls. Every time that Imogene picked me up from school, we'd stop at Sinkland Farms to get ice cream. The owner always knew my order when I walked in - mint chocolate chip in a cone. Imogene was at every family gathering and sunday lunch and even went on some vacations with us.
For these reasons and many more, I have long considered Imogene to be one of my grandmothers.
About two weeks ago, at age 96, Imogene's health really started to decline. She was admitted to the hospital and later allowed to go home. The family got her a couple hospice nurses as we all went to visit, hold her hand, and tell her all about our lives. She kept asking me about Alaska - if I was packed yet, when I was leaving, what the weather would be like, etc. She told me all about a trip that she and her husband had taken many years ago to Juneau, Alaska.
On June 4th, as I was flying past Juneau, looking out the window at the islands of the inside passage, Imogene took her final breath.
I will forever be grateful for the time I got to spend with Imogene and for the fact that I got to say goodbye. The day that I left home to start my journey, Imogene told me that she wished I weren't leaving, but that if I really want to go to Alaska, then she wants that for me. She has always been so supportive of me and my dreams. Now she's reunited in death with her husband, uncle Colen, who passed away 25 years ago on a day that they were babysitting little one-year-old me.
I saw four rainbows on my drive away from home - a reminder that life is so good and there is so much love in the world to be shared.
The Land of the Midnight Sun
I'm spending the next three months in the arctic circle living and working as a Geospatial Information Systems (GIS) Technician at Toolik Field Station! Toolik is run by the University of Alaska Fairbanks and partially funded by the National Science Foundation. I will be collecting spatial data, organizing and analyzing that data, and displaying it on maps or in tables/graphs for various researchers. This will be a huge learning experience for me as I'll be living in a remote location, I'll truly experience an abundance of mosquitoes, and I'll also get to learn about new geospatial concepts and tools.
I am still jet lagged and on east coast time. I woke up at 4 am Alaska Time yesterday to an already risen sun. I'll experience 23+ hours of sunlight this summer and am hoping I'll get used to it sooner than later.
I've gotten many questions about this experience that I will be answering in a later post.
Today is my first day of quarantine in Fairbanks before making the trek north. I feel like I am being my true authentic self by accepting this opportunity and facing any challenges head-on - and for that, I am very proud of myself and hope to continue making myself, and Imogene, proud.
Lyndee