Today I walked/hiked down a snowy hillside, baked an elderberry crisp and pulled thorns from a dog. This is an improvement over last year when I was administering a standardized test and commuting home through heavy South Florida traffic. How? God.
While I dreamed for years of moving to the countryside, I felt that taking root in a community while my son grew up was important. What’s eighteen years? While we stayed in one home, our lives were far from static (dear friends for each of us, school, and soccer); and it did fly by. It was also easier to forego figuring out a cross country move. The longer I waited, the easier staying became.
My son was aware that upon his graduation, my goal was to get away to a simpler and quieter life. He was welcome to join me or take his own direction. He has been my partner in crime for nearly two decades and leaving him was harder than I imagined. But, without me hovering over his life, it also allowed him to grow and for us to appreciate one another more than we knew we could.
As my self-imposed deadline grew nearer, an unexpected romance continued to surprise me with steadiness, a partnership and eerily similar long term goals. We grabbed hands, jumped in the deep end and surfaced in rural Missouri.
The real estate market was entertaining. So many old homes with great bones that just needed varying amounts of love and investment. Some pictures were Photo-shopped to a magical degree and other people posted house pics of rooms with trash in them. Through an angel of an agent, we found the right one for us. A cabin on a hillside with it’s own creek and spring.
I will get used to pulling thorns from fur as our dog makes her way through blackberry branches on our walks. A small price to pay for her companionship and protection. I am also learning how to hunt and gather groceries in a new setting. I baked the crisp with jam made from locally grown berries, purchased at a nearby university shop.
I have always enjoyed writing and was encouraged by those who know me best, to publish more. Now I have the quiet and the inspiration to pursue what God put on my heart to do so long ago.