Out of Order
At this writing, our government is going on its 6th week of a shutdown. Momma was the reason her three kids went to college. Betty was the penny-pincher. But as good as she was with saving, I don’t know if we could have stretched those pennies out over 6+ weeks of no pay. As the daughter of a federal agent, my family might have had to stand in those food assistance lines. All because our government is Out of Order. The adults in government - I blame both sides for this - didn’t grasp the most important lesson they should have learned in Kindergarten - how to play well with others.
Things in the Anderson home are also Out of Order. For example, this greeting card. It may be one of the first you receive instead of its historical last place! It’s written Out of Order; not the typical Preston-Nathan-Kurt-Bev order and it doesn’t contain the lengthy, lengthy prose (OK, maybe it does) but has links to further writings should you desire to read more.
So let’s get messy.
Nathan 1st
Big little brother Nathan usually gets touted 2nd to Preston in these writings, but not this year. Big news: Nathan and Emily are engaged!
Yep! They’re getting hitched next Fall. What does brother think? Soon after Nathan popped the question, Preston moved Emily’s photo over from the Personal Assistant (PA) side of his table to the Family side of the table. ♥️ Preston knows what’s going on. What Preston may not know is how lucky he is to have a future sister-in-law who loves him so much that she is insisting on having a second wedding ceremony just for Preston and his adult friends with disabilities.
Let that sink in.
Emily loves Nathan and the world that brother Preston has opened up for her so much that they are planning a separate ceremony just for Preston and his friends. A ceremony where each special adult has an important role in the celebration. I think they are more excited about planning this ceremony than the official one. Now, if we can just train Preston to hold back on the big sloppy licks-on-the-side-of-your-face kisses so the bride’s beauty can be spared ~at least until after all the pictures are taken!
Kurt 2nd
Kurt started 2025 with a ski trip to Colorado. His travel thirst not yet quenched, he rode in Florida’s 210-mile Coast-to-Coast tour in April. This tour, and and his next ride across Heintooga Ridge were practice runs for his bigger goal of a scheduled Telluride-to-Moab tour in late September. But alas, his left hip had other plans and demanded it be replaced. With two titanium hips, Kurt can now officially audition for an Iron Man role.
He received his 2nd hip replacement in June. Recovery was much better with his left hip. The difference? Without being an official spokesperson for Journavx, Kurt swears by this drug. Interestingly, Kurt’s brother remembers the research on a nerve-blocking pain agent when he was in medical school 40 years ago. That research culminated in Journavx recently being on the market as the leading (if not only) non-opioid pain medicine. Kurt tells everyone he knows who has chronic pain about this new drug and I’m pretty sure he’s the reason some hospitals and surgery centers in Knoxville now prescribe Journavx.
Strong recovery allows Kurt to build strong adventures. Literally the day Kurt was released to ride his bike, he ventured off to Colorado to make memories with his recently retired brother. Clint described the visit as an “adult camp” where they would play during the day and relax at night. One of the highlights? A concert at Red Rocks which has been on Kurt’s bucket list for years. It did not disappoint.
Kurt planned and executed two National Park adventures. The first trip was a mere four weeks post-surgery with highlights of 4th of July fireworks at Niagara Falls and the New River Gorge River bridge in West Virginia to name a few. His National Parks scratch-off poster now has 20 of the 63 National Parks revealed. Ten of those were recently done in a two-week span. Ever the Optimist, Kurt mapped out a gruelling itinerary , and was able to stick to it~despite the shut down’s impact on national parks.
He has several tales to tell, but one of the most interesting was his being pulled over by a park ranger. Apparently, when you travel alone and your car is packed to the ceiling with what appears to be bedding and other various items, and you are less than 50 miles from the Mexican border, law enforcement might think you’re a Coyote smuggling humans across the border! You can get a glimpse of his National Park adventures in these albums:
I’m not gonna lie. When I saw the pictures of the Grand Teton and Yellowstone, it made me think, “Now why am I in a high school with 2,000 teenagers and not in that breathtaking park with Kurt?”
But separate travel works for us. Preston as a third, or Preston’s care if we both travel, makes for additional complications. Kurt can venture on his own and then take me and Preston back for a select few. I’m totally good with that. It may not work for all, but it works for us.
Bev 3rd
My brother Corry basically says that I’m Out of Order. I’m a working/retired-adult. It doesn’t make sense. Have I ever made sense? I enjoy the option to work. The ability to say Yes or No. I said Yes again to a fall only position at another high school. Last year I worked with 250 freshmen in a rural school at the far northest edge of Knox County. This year I work with 335 10th - 12th graders as the STEM Counselor at a school in the far west end of the county. I enjoy being a guest in a building and learning a whole new culture. I like to think it keeps my brain functioning at a higher level. I know it does. When the interim offers stop, I feel confident I can get a job at Buccees as a bathroom attendant supervisor. With my acquired skills of continuous clean-up-after-Preston, starting pay could be as high as $19/hour.
I like to wind down my day with a glass of adult grape juice and an episode or two of a medical drama series. Preston voluntarily joins me on the couch and stays seemingly engaged with the show. He mimics CPR on my thigh as the actors portray the life-saving skill on screen. He waves his hands in the air and exclaims, “Oh No!!!” when there is a fiery crash. And most impressively, he drapes a warm blanket across my body, wraps his arm around me and whispers, “I love you, Mommy!” Every night! ♥️Every night!
Preston Last
Now to that sweet soul, Preston. Like his father, Preston enjoys a full social calendar. If you glance at our color-coded shared google calendar, it’s hard to tell who’s busier - Kurt (red) or Preston (purple).
Preston continues all his activities from last year: ACE, BLOOM, KOININIA We Adapt, League of Angels, Challenger Sports, and Spell to Communicate. His weekdays are full, and a full calendar seems to bring calm to his days. It’s when he’s home for long stretches of time that he tends to linger longer in the bathroom and this has become a breeding ground for regressional hygiene habits.
Specifically, from age 5 to 27, he consistently raised the toilet seat and practiced good aim. Since 2020, he has stopped raising the seat. This year, he started to aim Toilet LEFT, leaving his never-ending stream to the left of the basin. This results in soaking wet pants and a toilet basin that appears to scream, “Out of Order!” The demands for repeated bathroom cleanings, Clorox bleachings, and any product that can mask urine’s odor are intense. All calls for help to the three uncles who live within a day’s drive have gone unanswered. For some reason, they seem to think they are not up to the task of playing Drill Sergeant in Preston’s Potty Bootcamp. Uncle Clint gets a pass since he’s 1,200 miles away. But Mark, Corry and Jay? I have full confidence in your ability to be the Sergeant Carter to Preston’s Gomer Pyle.
His shop bed (where he watches videos) is, at first glance, chaotic. He has a scattering of 21 VHS tapes, 13 CD covers, 35 paper VHS covers and several prized dental bags. Upon further inspection, however, you’ll find what appears to be Out of Order to the common eye is very much in order to Preston: his placement of tapes and covers are in their assigned spot. Every. Single. Time.
One Person's Mess is Another Person's Order
Preston is gifted at making a meticulous mess. Specifically, he sorts through five (5) identical white bath towels and 15 matching washcloths to select the specific ones that are just right for tonight's bath. I see a meticulous mess. Preston sees order.
“What about that 15 year wait for a teeth cleaning?”
Talk about Out of Order. I say this with all due respect to all the Dentists in all of Tennessee. It’s not you. It’s the great Abyss that lies between the healthcare industry and the dentistry profession. An Abyss that’s flooded with a myriad of regulations; none of which work together and none that put the patient first. The result is a broken system which sets up people like Preston to potentially wait 15 years between regular cleanings. Fifteen years? Good Grief. All he wants is to get his teeth cleaned.
So there you have it. Out of Order? Yes. A mess filled with adventure, heart, and stinky pee. I hope by the time you read this the adults in our government have learned their Kindergarten lesson and figured out a way to make things work. I know Dad would have found a way. Any aerial gunner who fought and survived 52 missions in WWII including an attack by four Japanese Zero Fighter planes could find a way to survive a government shutdown. He may be proud and not willing to take a handout, but he would figure it out. He would devise a clever alternative means to an end. He would not fear the Goo-Goo.
So during this holiday season, put a little extra in the Salvation Army tin cup. I have a feeling a lot more people will be experiencing hunger this year.