2010 - A Year Of New Beginnings

Our move to the Chicago land area comes at a very appropriate time. Out with the old and in with the new, as some people like to say about the New Year.

During the waning days of 2009, we shed ourselves of burdens old and embarked on yet a new adventure with a little lighter debt load. It had been a hard three years, culminating with the sale of our home in Vancouver, WA and starting over in a new city in a home we are renting. It is like going back in time, circa 1970's except we have a lot more stuff than back then. Two weeks after moving in, there are still boxes in almost every room that have not been unpacked. My heart sank when, while trying to get the desk in the upstairs office, Sam whipped out the circular saw and cut off 2 inches of the desk feet so it would fit through the door. The movers were stunned and I lost my last piece of nice furniture.

There is no more just letting the dogs out the door when they need to go out, they must wait until we put our coats on, put their leashes on and grab the poop bag. I have to live with the landlord's choices for curtains and blinds, the small shower stall where if I want water on my back, I am kissing the tile on the wall. (Imagine how Sam feels.) It's a lot like a phone booth.
But really we are quite fortunate to have found a spacious place that will take the dogs and is not a horrible commute for Sam. All this in the name of becoming debt-free.

We are fortunate in many ways, as Sam is employed, we are both relatively healthy, and we are much closer to family and friends. Things are more familiar here, but more expensive. There is a 10% sales tax, car licenses are double what they were in Washington State, you must pay to travel the roadways, and here, unlike Washington, there is a State Income tax.

The very fact that we can drive to Kalamazoo in three hours, makes it all worth it to me. Being able to watch my grand kids as they develop into young adults is priceless.

Starting over at this stage in our life is not what I had envisioned, but with it comes the opportunity to right some of our financial wrongs, spend more time with friends and family, and reduce the amount of yard work and snow removal, as it is done for us.

Happy New Year everyone. Here's to a year that brings jobs, and some new found prosperity to us all.

Winter Wonderland

It is the Sunday morning after Christmas, and I find myself on the sofa as usual. Except my sofa is in Hoffman Estates, IL this particular morning and I have just spent a lovely holiday with my family. Instead of a four hour plane ride home, it was a three hour drive. Instead of tearful goodbyes, there were hugs and kisses knowing that we would be seeing each other very soon again. (God willing).

I am looking out the patio door and seeing a beautiful, winter scene, with the snow lying heavy on the evergreen branches, realizing how much I have missed an honest to God winter. Most of you will say that I am crazy, (my husband will be first in line for that one) but there is something about the silence of a snowfall. It is very peaceful to me and takes me back to my childhood where we had a lot of fun ice skating on Wall Lake, and sledding down Bever's mountain every winter.

Last weekend we drove back to Kalamazoo and pulled in our Son's drive just in time to see the Grandkid's sledding down their hill. They had built a ramp of sorts and the joy on their faces made my heart skip a beat. The more things change, the more they stay the same.

The joy of being closer to home for me is something I have longed for and is finally a reality. I thank God every day for answering my prayers and I am going to make the most of this opportunity, for we never know what tomorrow will bring.

"So Long, Farewell,,Auf Weidersehn, Goodbye"

Well here it is, the time I have been anxiously awaiting practically since the day I got here. Everything has fallen into line and our move is imminent. So why, pray tell am I a little reticent to leave? If you know me at all, you are aware that I don't handle change well. Not only am I swapping time zones again, I have to say goodbye to my friends out here. Friends it took me a long time to find, but friends that I will have forever.

To my dear friend Mary D. From the moment we met in our first creative writing class, I knew you were special and we have shared our secrets and dreams for the future. Your book will be a best-seller.

To Marg, who has been asked to endure more than any one person should. You are perhaps the strongest woman I know and you are in my thoughts and prayers daily. I will never forget your kindness when I first moved to this city and you will always be my friend.

To Sandy my choir mentor/ coffee buddy and so much more. You are always there to lean on and give an encouraging word when needed. My faith is stronger because of you.

To Lisa my writing protege. Your accomplishments are too numerous to mention here, but suffice it to say I am impressed. You are an artist in everything you do. Even though we have political differences we are still friends, and that somewhat amazes me. I will miss our weekly coffee at Starbucks.

To the girls at "The Barn". OMG you guys are the BEST! You wormed your way into my heart and hopefully I did the same with yours. I miss you so much already (not to mention the 40% discount). PLEASE come visit me anytime you are in the windy city!

To Anna, Kathleen, and Kate my neighborhood friends. I will miss, walking and talking with you, and Kate you were a life-saver for us, helping out with the dogs when we had to go house hunting. I wish God would have brought you all into my life a little sooner.

And finally to my writing coach Christi. You gave me permission to be a writer. Even if it's not the great American novel, I will continue to try and publish some of my work. You are an angel and I will forever be grateful for your encouraging words.

I have learned much about myself in these past five years. I believe I have grown as a person and seen that there is life west of the Mississippi (albeit a little stranger than what I was used to).

Everyone I have met has enriched my life in one way or another and I would not have missed this "adventure" for anything.

My goodbye is bittersweet, as it is hard to leave you all, but there is joy on the other side as I will be able to see my family much more often. As I've said many times in the past, "lay in the beer, I'm coming home".

We Give Thanks

It is early Saturday morning, the sun has yet to rise and I am in my familiar position on the couch in front of my computer. After lying in bed for an hour I get up and make my way to the bathroom being careful not to trip over Sophie (or is that a pillow? My eyes ain't what they used to be) make a pot of coffee and take what will probably be one of the last quiet moments here to write.

Thanksgiving is upon us (again I ask, "Where does the time go?")and I am mindful of how appropriate the season is this year. Sam and I are getting ready to embark on yet another adventure (that is how we refer to change now) although we have been praying for it for the past few years. We are going home, more or less, to Chicago where the people are more recognizable, the weather is seasonal, and our Grand kids are closer. We can see our family more than twice a year. Instead of a grueling four hour plane ride, we can make it to Kalamazoo in about two and a half hours by car.

Getting to this place in our lives has not been easy. We have been pulled from the brink of financial ruin through the grace of God and the short-sale of our house. It has been a long and hard road, littered with daily calls to both financial institutions, whining and crying, and various other means of getting their attention. After what will be four long months when it is all over we will have reached the point where we can finally breathe.

Why am I telling you all this?(my Mother will be horrified)and after all we could just say it was a job relocation. But it is so much more. It is divine intervention. I know some of you out there (you know who you are, Steve) are rolling your eyes right now. But you tell me, is it just dumb luck? I think not. "For every time, there is a season" as scripture goes "and a time to every purpose, unto heaven". (Or something to that effect.) Please feel free to correct me. Really, I mean it.

We have been given a second chance, albeit late in life, to right our financial wrongs, get out of debt and quit living like the Jones family. We are taking it and running. This is just one of the things for which I am thankful.

I am thankful to the Lord and Leigh Anne for giving Sam a new kidney six years ago, so we could get to this stage in our life. I am thankful for the life-long friends I have made out here, and the beauty that is the Northwest. (How many of you thought I would ever say that?) The last five years have been a God given time-out for me. Lessons have been learned, tears have been shed, and joy has been immense.

This year at our table of Thanksgiving, the food will smell a little better, the laughter will be a little heartier, the love will be much deeper, and the gratitude for all we have been given will be infinite.

Confessions Of An Aging Blogger

When I first started my blog, I wanted an outlet from which I could comment on things I saw going on around me. Inane infomercials, current events, causes that were important to me, etc. I wanted to draw my readers in and generate conversation.

It is still a work in progress, as I wait to be inspired by what is going on around me or what is on in my head. It really is quite an intimate look at me. If you read my blog, you pretty much know who I am.

Some of my postings may be redundant, although never the same, there will probably be a thread that runs through it from another post. That thread is spiritual. Trying to
tie God into what I write. Not all the time, but it does seem to pop up in a lot of my writing.

So here is what I am getting at. If you read my blog, even if you do not agree with what I say, comment on it. I do not know you are reading it, if I don't hear from you. Click on the comment button and say something. Anything. Tell me of a similar thing that may have happened to you or how you see the situation I am commenting on. The world would be a very boring place if we all had the same opinion. Try not to be rude, but if you must you must.....Thank you for your support.

Ghosts Of Halloween Past

Halloween has changed so much through the years. Not the concept, but definitely the treats and sometimes the tricks. I woke up last Saturday morning to find that half of our yard (the neighbor's half) had been "forked". About 200 white plastic forks were sticking up in the yard. Forget the toilet paper, we got forks!

Today, I am reminded of my Halloweens of the past, when I was a young girl. Our costumes were always homemade, well not always, but I remember the homemade ones the best. It was usually mayhem down in the basement laundry room, with my brothers, getting dressed and putting on our faces for a spooky night of Trick or Treating on the streets of Delton, MI. We lived on the edge of town, so it was a veritable gold mine of candy on the way to town. We always walked (even in the rain). One year, I was Cinderella's Fairy God Mother, right down to the magic wand. Somewhere between our house and town I lost the star, which was a cardboard cutout star wrapped in tin foil. I was quite proud of it and equally upset when I noticed it was missing from the wooden dowel it was thumb tacked to. Oh for some Krazy glue.

Then there was the year I dressed up as a Hobo. I borrowed my little brother's striped railroad engineer hat, under protest, wore bib overalls, and put some things in a handkerchief and tied it to a stick. A pretty convincing hobo, I thought. Well that year evidently there were a lot hobo's. When we got to Ila Francisco's house, she accused me of being there before and would not give me any candy. I was heart-broken.

We'd get home and go through our loot. The good stuff was always the candy bars (full size back then), there were always popcorn balls and apples too. That was before we worried about what sickos do nowadays. There would be a candy swap and we would eat a few choice morsels and go to bed.

I remember looking forward to Halloween. There was something almost magical about walking the streets in the dark, under the stars, trying to guess who was who in their costumes.

If this post causes some of you to go down memory lane and talk about those memories with your friends or loved-ones, then I have accomplished my goal. For you see, I don't think any of us do that enough. We are too busy worrying about things that we cannot change or doing mundane tasks that do not make any memories.

'Tis A Gift

Once again, after attending Mass yesterday, I am prompted to write about what the choir sang. Their music adds so much to our liturgy every Sunday at 10:00. They sang a version of "Simple Gifts" based on a song by Elder Joseph Brackett, Jr..

Even though his version was written in 1848, it still rings true today. Perhaps even truer. It's hard to imagine that everything was not simple back then; how often do we long for a simpler life? These days our lives are so complicated. Running around, working, taking the kids to soccer, committee meetings, homework, volunteering and the list goes on. I am not suggesting we go back to the days of life in the mid-19th century, but what I am suggesting is to maybe be a little less materialistic.

Yes, this from the woman who had to have a BMW or Lexus motor vehicle to haul her real estate clients around in. Or a different house every two or three years. (Strictly for investment purposes?!) We could afford the payments, so why not? Well I will tell you why not.

You are not saving for your retirement, not taking time for the important things. Spend, spend, spend. Perhaps things have changed now since the crash of 08. I know they have for us.
But anyway, I digress. Simplicity is a gift from God. "The gift". An ability to be happy with what you have. Thankful for what you have and not constantly competing for more. Free.

These last five years out here in God's country have given me time to think and to shed a lot of material possessions. Going back to Chicago, my load, as well as my heart, will be much lighter.