The greatest thing I learned about me this week was just how fortunate I am that I married a man like Mike Renfro. Friends, I gotta tell you that the first 3 days here were filled with a whole lot of tears. I was very sad and missing everything that I had ever known in my life back there in south central Kansas. The slightest thing, the mention of a certain word, a song on the radio, or the sight of fresh baked donuts/pastries on the shelves of our version of Dillons called "City Market", easily put a lump in my throat and tears in my eyes. As sorry as I felt for myself, I felt even worse for poor Mike to have to be subjected to it. But you know what? He understood what I was going through, encouraging me all the while that everything would be ok. Mike stood by me, just as I knew that he would, and will continue to do for the rest of our lives. Not sure that I could ask for anything more than that, nor would I want to. Each day, the feeling of sadness has lessened a bit and even though I know it will take a while, ok, ok maybe even a LONG while, sooner or later I will begin to feel more at home here. I'm not very good at waiting, patience is never going to be a virtue that I have, but I do continue to try.
One lesson that I have learned quickly is that summers here are not like those in the Midwest. I wake up in the morning and the first thing I do is find a long sleeved shirt to put on. My "hey, it's 40 degrees outside" Kansas sweats are at the top of the stack of clean clothes and I probably won't even bother putting them away to wait for the arrival of winter in another 6 months time. If Mike had a dollar for every time that I have said, "I can't believe how cold it is here!", well, then he'd have a lot of dollars. The weather and climate are most definitely not what I am used to but then for crying out loud they are not supposed to be~611 miles to the west and a rise in altitude of over 3500 feet can certainly tend to make the difference.
After visiting the Social Security office and the driver's license bureau to change over my name on those two important documents that we all hold pretty sacred, I found out just how naive this "flatlander" has become over the past decade or so since September 11, 2001. Normally I haven't had the occasion to frequent either of those two places but because of the changes in both my last name and residency it was necessary to pay a visit to get things "squared up". Was I ever surprised at what I found I had to go through. When I got to the Social Security office, I was greeted by the security guard there. After asking me a series of questions about what kind of drugs or weapons I might be carrying upon me, a thorough search of my purse via the security guard's gloved hands, and a brief encounter with questions on a computer screen, I was finally able to meet with someone who took care of my name change. I was actually pretty glad to get out of there in under 30 minutes times and for the least of things, I definitely gave thanks.
The driver's license place was, for all intents and purposes, not a whole lot better. I was fingerprinted, screened with a bazillion different questions about my driving history in Kansas, and then finally photographed for my new license. I was wearing my beloved Haven High School alumni gold hoodie because, well because I was homesick. It made me feel better, you know? The lady behind the desk said to me, "Uhmm, about that hoodie you are wearing. Do you have another shirt on under it? If not, then you're gonna have to tuck that hood part in and pull the neckline down." What the heck was she talking about? She proceeded to give me a crash course in how the camera's sophistication can help with facial recognition and that there are points along the collar bone that it needs to be able to scan. Geesch, what an ordeal. When it was finally over, I had to surrender my Kansas license to the state of Colorado. The examiner punched a series of holes in it, rendering it useless any longer. "Hey, say good-bye to Kansas 'cause you are definitely not there any more!", the clerk said. And then it was over~
This morning as the beginning of the second week here has its start, I'm getting a little more used to things and life here. We're taking a trip up to Grand Junction, about an hour away to the north of here, to meet our good friends Mel and Margaret Southam. Mel was the very first friend I ever made up here and he has known Mike for many years. I met them for the first time back in April as we enjoyed lunch together in down town Grand Junction. Mel extended the "hand of friendship" to me, sight unseen and I will never forget how much that meant to me. To know that he trusted me, a total stranger by the way, made me most grateful.
Well, it's that time~much to do today and since I don't know exactly where to start, well I guess I'll just start at the beginning. Have a wonderful weekend everyone and please remember to get out and do something fun and meaningful for yourself. Life's fragility, its brevity admonishes us to not waste a moment that we have been given. I love you guys all and you are in my thoughts and prayers each and every day.
Not only does he like to cook, garden and hike, Mike Renfro also likes to have fun. I have yet to figure out this game called "cribbage" but I might be able to get the hang of it about Christmas time of 2019. I actually did beat him once, but it was only accidentally. He is a patient teacher~so glad to be able to add in my head :) Tomorrow we are going to try this bowling thing once again and shoot, what the heck? I may actually grow to like it enough to take it seriously for a change. Not sure that it will ever make my "Bucket List", but who knows? Stranger things seem to have happened for me lately. For the love of a wonderful husband such as he, I give thanks every single minute of each and every day.
Mt. Garfield, along the way to Grand Junction today~
The Grand Mesa~as you travel northward toward Grand Junction~
No comments:
Post a Comment