Since moving here a week ago Saturday now, I've been very focused on the things that I needed to do in order to establish myself here. At first, it was move all the stuff out of my old home in Hutchinson and get it over here in Valley Center. Then it was the methodical unpacking and putting away of life's necessities and treasures here in my home on Abilene Avenue. And then of course, the daily commute from Sedgwick County to my teaching job at Lincoln Elementary in the south part of Hutch. All in all, not so bad....find your place in line with the other "ants" and just head west. The drive now is just marked by the amount of time it takes for one Kenny Loggins or Dan Folgelburg CD to play all 14 songs.
Many people have been worried for me as I make the 40+ miles drive each day but I say to you all, it's really an easy journey. Sure does offer a huge chunk of time to think about life and what you want to choose to do with it. So, please take heart in knowing that I'm not afraid of the trip in the least. I'll be fine. By the way, I am "sold" on Honda Civics now. With an average of around 38 mpg, the high cost of fuel doesn't have near the "bite" it used to when I was driving the Chevy Colorado.
Little by little I've learned more about this place, the home of the "Hornets", and all that it has to offer people who live here. It's an "ok" place to be~peaceful and so far, very quiet. I now know 12 people which is probably a very good thing for Tom "the mail man". Yesterday I was feeling particularly lonely and homesick for the "days of yore" and had turned on the tv just for the noise it would provide. With my front door open, I saw Tom (coincidentally the first person I met last weekend) coming up the walk with my mail. Without even thinking, I swung open the door and yelled "good morning" never imagining how he might perceive it. I was so glad to actually have at least "minimal" contact with another human being here that I didn't care. He said "good morning" with a puzzled look on a face that had written all over it-"lady, it's just a piece of junk mail".....So hey, if I was the only person on his route who offered a hearty "good morning" well then at least I did.
Normally speaking, I would always say that for me "keeping my focus" should be at the top of my list of priorities. I know of many things I want to do in this life and I know the path to get there. Deviating from it, even one little bit, sometimes gets me in a lot of trouble! Just ask my friends, they'll tell you! :) But this morning, well this morning I decided to do things differently and the results were actually very rewarding.
Usually as I walk my mile route each day here, I just head straight down Abilene Avenue to the south and go to where I know a mile will be by the time I return home. I put my music on and out I go. I'm interested in going rather quickly, keeping the focus on doing that 5,280 feet in 15 minutes or less. Very seldom do I look at the scenery around me as is evidenced by the fact that I walked right by Abilene Elementary (one block away) and never even realized there was a school there. Geesch, still trying to figure out that one. Today I said "to heck with routine...I'm going a different way"...so I did.
I learned a lot of things about my new community in just a short amount of time. Just two blocks north of me is a beautiful park where families were gathered today for Easter egg hunts and picnics. Just a little further down the way is the middle school and the ball diamond where the high school kids have their games. No wonder I heard voices on loud speakers a couple of days ago. The neighborhoods are pretty here and the houses well cared for. I got so lost, kind of happens when you lose the focus :), that I walked 6 blocks out of my way. And as I learned as I rode my bike, you can go 10 miles all you want but you still have to turn around and come home. Yet, I didn't care because in that probably 2 mile walk, 6 people passed me on the street, smiled and said "hi". So glad that I didn't stick with my original walking route.
But perhaps the best thing that happened to me occurred when I got back to my own front yard. As I walked up to my porch I heard a little voice from the house next door say "hello" to me. I looked over and there he was~this little boy who looked to be about 7 was smiling at me. And I noticed one other thing that made my heart and spirits lighter...he was sporting a cast on his right arm. In my mind I said to myself, "Oh little kid, do I ever know what you are growing through!"
I walked over to meet him and his family...good folks who have been Valley Center residents their whole life. Like Hutch is to me, Valley Center is to them. The young boy, Carter, is a first grader at West Elementary. He had the misfortune of breaking his arm while jumping on a trampoline. He saw "old lefty's" scars so I told him that I too had done the same thing to mine. When I mentioned that I had broken it by trying to jump a curb with my bicycle, he got the sweetest little grin on his face. Thankfully he didn't roll his eyes and say "Uhmm, you are an old person. Why did you do that?" Turns out his grandmother broke her wrist last summer as well but at least she had the good sense to fall off a kitchen chair. Now THAT one can be explained.
As the evening hours start making their way here to south central Kansas, I am finishing up this day with a heart and mind just a bit more at peace. Tonight when I lay my head on my pillow to sleep, I will know the folks living right next to me. I know that if I need help, then they are friends that I can call on. I waited an entire week to make contact with them because I was so intent on keeping the focus, never veering off the path from my car to the front porch. I almost missed the opportunity.
Carter doesn't know how his "smile and hello" affected me this day. Two tiny things coming from one little boy with a cast on his arm, had the power to make my day much more tolerable....even almost pleasant. And for the record, and this I do so believe, it was no accident that he and I should meet on Easter Sunday, April 8, 2012. God knew just what He was doing when He "lifted a few of the scales" from my eyes so that I could meet a new friend.
Keep your eyes open friends for all of the tiniest of things that we may all be passing by. And for the very, very least of all these things I do so give thanks. Peace always to you guys.
I think this may be my favorite room in the house here. Just a part shown here...a good place to "think" about what I want to do when I get older. I'd say when I grow up, but my good friend LeRoy Willis will set me straight on that one every time. According to LeRoy, we only have to grow old, not up!
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