...and in June of 1975 a trip to sunny, southern California was at the very top of my list! How cool was that?!

Mom & Dad bought me a brand spanking new set of luggage, a few new clothes, and Mom made me a very professional looking suit in which to travel. After all, back in those days people still got dressed up to travel, doncha know? It was still a very formal, professional, and respected thing to do. Only grownups traveled alone and I was feeling very grown up.

So, the reason for my trip was that my Aunt Roberta and Uncle Bill offered me an opportunity to be their live-in nanny for the summer. The agreement included room and board plus $25 a week salary. Yay! I was in heaven! I mean seriously, who wouldn’t be excited about a trip to the land of palm trees and miles of beautiful, sand-filled beaches? Ok, in Michigan we used to call it the “land of fruits and nuts,” hahaha, but who cares? It’s Cali-freeking-Fornia!

Ok, never mind the fact that up to that point I’d had a total of eight hours of experience with baby sitting. Never mind that I was gonna be responsible for five kids ages nine through 16... and I was barely 17. Oh yeah, and I hadn’t seen or talked with any of these people in at least ten years! But, well if Mom and Dad thought I could do it, I guess I could do it.

So on June 7th, 1975 I was off on the greatest adventure of my life that would surely change the course of said life. This girl would not be stuck on a car factory assembly line for the next 40 years no matter what! Sweet!

The most lingering thought upon my arrival in sunny Southern California was, “Oh my gawd! So this is California?! I was thinking that all the way from Lindbergh field in San Diego to Bill and Roberta's house in El Cajon. I mean, it was dark so there wasn't a whole lot to see. And I was really nervous so I didn't have much to say either. Hmmm...although that double row of palm trees as we drove down Washington street was lit up and a pretty damn cool sight.

I'll tell ya, I really had visions of Annette and Frankie and beach blanket bingo running through my head and I couldn’t wait to join the party! And bonus, the kids were all excited to tell me about their built-in pool! Yayyy!!!!

I’m not gonna lie... this was not exactly the heaven on earth I imagined. When I think back on it now I’m realizing how amazing or crazy it was that Roberta and Bill even made this arrangement.

There were seven people living in a three bedroom, one bathroom house: Mom and Dad in one room, three boys in another and two girls in the last one. Very, very cozy.

I was presented with a sleeping bag on the floor in the girl’s "dorm" and my clothes pretty much stayed in my suitcases for the summer because there really was no spare closet or dresser space. On top of that, the kids, my cousins, were not happy at all that I was there.

It turned out to be one of the hardest summers of my life (and their's too, I imagine) emotionally and physically but we all lived through it. Then after my summer "contract" was up I was able to get another job, three roommates (with Aunt Roberta's help), enroll in junior college and move out by the end of November when I turned 18. (I’m sure there’s another book in there somewhere, LOL!)

Over the years as my cousins and I grew up we all eventually became friends of a sort and Aunt Roberta became my favorite Aunt. (Uncle Bill passed in 1993) She and I had a lot of good visits and a lot of very good chats. My kids and I always looked forward to getting together whenever we could for birthdays, holidays and other special events.

No matter what; as challenging as that summer was, I was, and will always be very grateful for the opportunity I was given to be out of the fast track to factory work.

As many of my long time friends know I was able to go on to college and eventually get in on the ground floor of a great career in computers by 1981. I truly believe that this is not something I would have, or could have done if I had stayed in Michigan.