The days leading up to the dedication of the clinic were a tad stressful. Most of Kirk's family were trying not to get COVID and one member of his family was trying to get over it in time. We were also trying not to get COVID while everyone around us seemed to have it. We were doing everything that we could to make it to the dedication of my mom's clinic on January 8th. It was no easy task and it was down to the wire but we did it. As the day approached, everyone was COVID free and able to travel.
Kirk, Meki, their kids, and our friend Julie all left Salt Lake at 3:30 AM the day before to drive up here. I wish they would've flown but with COVID going nuts and flights being cancelled constantly; they opted to drive. They traveled on truly the worst possible roads. Terrifying actually. The roads were ice packed and it was still snowing. They passed four wrecked semis along the way. We were praying our guts out. They checked in with us at various check points along the way. It was nerve-wracking.
At 1pm they got as far as St. Regis, Montana, which is about two hours from Spokane and 9 hours from SLC, when they closed the highway. A huge avalanche had come down at Look Out Pass (the biggest pass to go over between here and SLC). The avalanche came down and took out the ENTIRE freeway. All four lanes. Kirk was told at 1pm that the freeway would be closed for the rest of the day and most likely the next day too...if not the whole weekend. They tried to change routes and go the Clark Fork way but that route was closed due to black ice and extreme avalanche danger too. They were stuck and the snow was still coming down. We were all in a panic. They managed to get the very last motel room in little ol' St. Regis and decided to hunker down for the rest of the day and night while hoping and praying that Clark Fork would be passable in the morning. Things did NOT look good. We were all freaking out. The avalanche warning for all of that area showed it lasting for the next 24 hours. The dedication was scheduled for 2 pm the next day.
They stocked up on snacks at the gas station and played games and hoped that things would clear by tomorrow. We were all SUPER disappointed. They were so close!!
Meanwhile my cousin, Paul, was traveling to Spokane from Portland. His roads weren't great but they weren't quite as bad and he didn't have to go over any major mountain passes. He arrived in Spokane safe and sound that evening. Tyler and I met up with him and we all went out for dinner at The Maxx. Paul was fun and kept us laughing and distracted from worrying about Kirk and Meki. We had a great time and went to bed that night hoping and praying for the best.
We woke up the next morning to a text from Meki saying that they were almost to Thompson Falls, MT. Hallelujah! Kirk monitored the roads and weather conditions throughout the night and they left super early that morning. They had to go a longer route that took them further north into Montana and then they had to cross over into Idaho and on down to Sandpoint. Then they had to drive two more hours to get to Spokane where they were hoping that they would have time to shower and get ready before driving back to Sandpoint! I was a nervous wreck and the roads were garbage but they did it! They arrived in Spokane around 10am and we were so darn happy to see them!!
Kirk, Meki, Julie, and my cousin Paul were all staying at the same hotel. We met up with them at 11am. We had time to visit with them and talk about managing our expectations, emotions, and anxiety for the day. Then we all caravanned up to Sandpoint. We met up with Reilly and Hunter at the clinic. Our group was the first to arrive. It actually worked out really well that way. We had some decompression time. Emotions were heightened with all of the travel difficulties, weather, and stress. Kevin and his wife Lori were the next to arrive. Kevin is my mom's replacement and the current CEO. My mom had been prepping him for years to take over for her when she retired. He was all smiles and let us into the clinic. I was glad that we were the first ones to arrive because as we walked in the door we immediately saw this:
Each of the three panels are poster sized. It kind of took our breath away.
Seeing my mom's beautiful face and reading the words, "Welcome to the Victoria McClellan King Clinic" made us all quite emotional.
I was glad that we had time to read the panels, hug one another, and be emotional. The clinic is absolutely beautiful. We got to walk around a bit as we waited for the public to arrive. My cousin, Justin, and his wife Hannah were the next to arrive. It was nice to have them there and to feel their support.
Then the public started filtering in. Community members, city council members, patients, employees, and my mom's colleagues. My sisters arrived with two of my uncles, an aunt, and a cousin. I've seen Stacey and Kelley since all of the lake stuff went down but Kirk had not. We greeted Kelley and Jordin and exchanged hugs and small talk. Stacey ignored us and refused to speak to us. My nieces were there and it was good to see them. We really miss Elle. It was good to give her a big hug. Ailey, Bryn, and Kaiya were so happy to see their cousins and they all went off together. Stacey's husband, John, and their son Dane didn't come. Ailey and Kaiya were sad about that. They were really hoping to see Dane. Kelley's boyfriend, Chris, wasn't there either and neither were Jordin's husband, Ramon, and their kids.
Then it was time for the ribbon cutting ceremony. We all headed outside to participate.
Left to Right: Hunter, Reilly, Bryn, Kirin, Meki, Kirk, Me, Tyler, Kaiya, Ailey, Jordin, Elle, Kelley, River, Stacey.
Kevin asked for my mom's family to come forward for the ribbon cutting. I was disappointed that my aunt, two uncles, and one cousin also came up. This honor was for our mom. This was a symbolic act for my mother's children and grandchildren who were there representing her. Our other cousins stayed in the crowd, observed, and took pictures. The two siblings of my mom's, while I can understand them wanting to come and honor her, they were not siblings who were particularly supportive of her career...especially her sister. My mom's sister wasn't supportive of anything that my mother ever did. If anyone else should have come up it should have been our cousins who stayed in the crowd because their dad was a wonderful supporter of my mom's career. My mom and her brother, Mike, were professional cheerleaders and career sounding boards for one another. My mom always said, "Mike is the only one who gets it!" *It* being the corporate world. It felt fraudulent that his children should remain in the crowd while these other family members jumped up to participate. Annoying. I cropped them out of the picture. I know in my heart that my mom and her brother, Mike, were both there in spirit and that they are still supporting one another. Gosh I miss them. Then it was back inside the clinic for several speeches. Kevin gave a very touching speech about my mom.
Afterward we were given a tour of the large and beautiful clinic. It is such a blessing to this community. It is an integrated health clinic that in addition to providing medical services also includes dental, behavioral health, pediatric, and VA care. They also provide outpatient opiate-addiction and substance abuse therapy and have a mobile clinic for rural areas. I was blown away seeing so many of my mom's plans, hopes, and dreams for this community come to fruition. She would have been so proud of her team and their accomplishments!!
There was a photographer taking pictures of the event. She wanted to get some shots of Mom's family. These are pictures taken by family members while the photographer was taking pictures of us.
The photographer kept wanting us to get closer and closer together for the pictures which was awkward. Kirk jokingly said, "Maybe we should be doing this in one of the behavioral health rooms." We all laughed except for Stacey. She couldn't even rally for just a few hours. She struggled to smile in any of the pictures. This was the best of about 20 different pictures of the five of us. (I later heard that she asked the photographer to take a picture of her by herself and wanted it photoshopped into the group picture.) She spent all of the time that we were there crying and had to be taken outside "for some fresh air" by our aunt. She refused to speak to any of us including our spouses and children. You could see that all of her anger, bitterness, and hatred were only hurting her. She oozes unhappiness. Kirk and I actually felt pity for her despite all of the incredibly despicable things that she has done to us. My mother would have expected... nay demanded... that we rally and put aside our differences for the event. It's unfortunate that some were unable to do so.
Awkward family photo.
(Most of these people aren't speaking to at least someone in the picture. Reilly kills me cheesing at the extreme awkwardness of it all.)
Back Row: My cousin Justin, Kirk, my cousin Paul, Tyler, me, River, Stacey, my Aunt Marji, my Uncle Dennis, my Uncle Steve.
Third Row: Justin's wife Hannah, Kaiya, Reilly, Kelley, and Kellen
Second Row: Meki, Ailey, Bryn, Elle, Jordin
Front Row: Kirin
I talked to and hugged all of my cousins and my Uncle Dennis. My Aunt Marji was standing right next to Dennis and refused to speak to me and gave me the death stare. My Uncle Steve avoided me and my family. Whatever. It is rather unbelievable though that both my Aunt Marji and my Uncle Steve wanted to sell the lake house and wanted to be paid out for their share when THEY inherited the lake property... and they WERE!! Yet they are furious that Kirk and I requested the same? It makes no sense. Their anger and incivility...what does it avail them? Absolutely nothing.
On a happier note...I was glad that my kids and their cousins were able to have some fun together. They are the true casualties of this dysfunction and they don't deserve it.
TikToks were made!
After the event was over; we went our separate ways. We went with our group to Matchwood Brewery to get something to eat, drink, and to take a bit of a breather.
Julie, Hunter, Reilly, Paul, Justin, Hannah, Tyler, Me, Kirk, and Meki
Those who needed one got a drink and we ordered a bunch of appetizers and processed what we had just been through. Kirk and I could finally take a deep breath. We were glad to have been there and to have participated. It was wonderful to be a part of this incredible honor for our mother. It was a privilege for us to represent her. We are so proud to be her children. It was also an unexpected gift to have one more reason to celebrate her.
After that we said goodbye to Justin and Hannah and we all drove back to Spokane. We had late dinner reservations in town and it was nice to be able to put all of the events of the day behind us and to laugh and enjoy ourselves.
Don't leave your phone lying around. LOL.
After dinner we all hung out together (Paul included). Ailey and Kaiya drove off to hang out and squeeze in as much cousin time as they could get before Kaiya had to leave the next day. They rolled in around 1am. At 6 am the next morning Kirk and family and Julie headed back to SLC and later that day Paul headed home to Portland. I was so glad that everyone got home safely and had uneventful trips. I was so grateful to have all been together even for a short time. I appreciated the love and support shown to us by friends and family.
You don't realize the emotional toll that highly charged events like this can take on you physically but the toll is real. I've learned over the last two years to just submit to it. Don't fight it. We all stayed home from church the next day. It was complete mental, physical, and emotional exhaustion. We had a down day. We did absolutely nothing. We slept, relaxed, lounged around, and had food delivered. We took care of ourselves and we recuperated.
We later found out that Stacey's daughter had COVID while at the dedication. Her daughter tested positive the very next day. Thank heavens none of us got it and I hope that no one else that was there did either. The clinic was full of all kinds of people of varying ages and health situations. No one did the responsible thing of letting those who were present know that they had been exposed. I happened to randomly hear about this later from someone who wasn't even at the dedication. Disappointing.
As I've had time to reflect on this event over the last several weeks; my over arching emotion is one of joy and celebration. A celebration of an incredible woman and her incredible career. I'm grateful that I didn't allow the behavior and actions of others to tarnish a special day in my life. I am extremely grateful for my mother and the guiding light that she has always been in my life and and continues to be.
Way to go Vicki Jo!! We love you!! Always!!
