Those of us that live with Travis know that he can be an odd creature at times. He is sarcastic, funny, handy, stubborn, loving, generous yet cheap, and quick to break out the guitar. Lately, I’ve been thinking of a few Travis-isms that may, or may not be, unique to him. 

The man can sleep anywhere, and frequently does. He came off a particularly grueling Christmas weekend this past year before our annual Haldeman midwestern ski trip. He fell asleep anytime he wasn’t moving down the hill. There was a locker area with tables, where we frequently ate lunch. Travis could be seen on his back on the hard benches, fast asleep. We went into the lodge for an end of day cocktail or hot cocoa. He fell asleep sitting up, surrounded by conversation and a room full of people. He had one pretty bad wipe out during the trip. I surmise that maybe he was trying to sleep while skiing, but I have no proof of that. I used to think that his ability to sleep was a function of his long and irregular work hours, but then I remembered that Travis’ dad has this same ability, and he is not an ob. So, there must be a genetic component to this particular skill.

Travis likes to change the oil in his cars. This extends to Trent’s car too. So, when Trent needs an oil change, we get to see him for a weekend because he has no space for the necessary equipment in his Indianapolis apartment. I like this side benefit. Sometimes, Travis decides it’s oil change day, and lines up all five of the family fleet of cars. Or however many of the cars happen to be in town at this point. We force Taryn to schedule visits around necessary oil changes too. I used to find oil changes a tad annoying, but now I see the side benefit of getting the kiddos home for a weekend. With three of the four living in apartments out of town, I find that the frustration of oil change day has flipped to joy. Well, except when he knows that I have to be somewhere at a certain time, and I find that my car is drained of oil because he forgot to mention that he was changing the oil that day. Or company is coming over in a hour, but he needed to change the oil. This may also be a genetic trait, since I specifically remember a time when Trav and I were first married doing a similar thing. We were all heading out the door to go somewhere together, and Merle said, “Okay, well I’ll just change the oil quick and I’ll be ready to go.” Peggy, my mother in law, shut that down. I can learn a lot from Peggy.

For better or for worse, Travis has become the guitar man. This past week, Tessa was shadowing doctors at Trav’s hospital and one nurse commented that they are waiting for him to show up for a delivery with a guitar on his back. He keeps a guitar in the hospital call room, among other locations. He’s been playing guitar for about seven years. He started with ukulele, but switched over to guitar when he saw that Trent didn’t touch the guitar he asked for for Christmas. I don’t think we even own that guitar anymore. Which brings up the habit of collecting guitars and other musical items, like microphones, amps, etc. I have no idea how many guitars he owns. His office gets him a gift card to Guitar Center for Christmas every year. Aside from having his kids home for the holidays, Guitar Center is his favorite gift. He lights up with the potential in that card. And he is allowed to enter the store. I have to put restrictions on Guitar Center shopping, not that I can stop him. How many guitars does a guitar player need? Just one more. And there is no place that a guitar can’t go. Vacation, bring the guitar. Visiting with friends, bring the guitar. Going to the beach, definitely grab the guitar… and sunscreen. I must admit that I like that he brings the guitar everywhere. There is always a potential for live music. 

Travis is sarcastic to a fault. Sometimes, I feel bad for the nurses at the hospital. With Travis’ deadpan humor they don’t know when he is kidding. I have encouraged him to follow up questionable jokes with, “I was kidding.” By questionable, I mean jokes that might be taken seriously. Or just comments that they may not understand as a joke. Now that we’ve been in Indiana for eight years, I think the nurses are starting to get him. Maybe. At least his office team gets him. He has a great team. We’ve been married close to 31 years, and sometimes I have to give him the side eye to figure out if he is kidding. Or to tell him that he is kidding. 

Those are the top four Travis-isms. Perhaps I should follow up with Lamb-isms, as my kids insist on calling me Lamb instead of Mom. I may have to poll the family for these, as I may not be self-aware enough to cover them. Have a great week everyone!!