~and as we continue to imagine~

We were so thankful to see our friends pull up in front of our house last evening towing behind them the last of our earthly possessions that were still back in the mountains of Colorado.  Later this morning after everyone has awoken, we will begin the process once again of sorting through things and putting them in their proper position here in our new home in Burkburnett.  It will be fun to see what we forgot about in the past 30+ days or so.  Turning the lock to "open" on the back of that trailer will be like tearing the wrapping off of Christmas gifts.  

800 miles is a long ways to go just to help us get our stuff here but our dear friends, the Morris Family, did just that.  We are beholden to them all.

The month of July officially shows up on the calendar tomorrow and for goodness sake it just seems like yesterday when I realized that it was nearly June.  Summertime waits for no one, never slowing down.  Not one little bit.  I hope that "the 20" are enjoying the good times that await them back in the mountains.  Soon enough their vacation days will be gone and the business of being second graders will be at hand.  For the days that lie ahead though, I hope they can do one thing.

I hope that they can just be children.

My memories of being a kid in the summer are many and it seems strange in its own way how the brain is able to store up so much data about years long passed.  Of course I can't remember it all but I can remember much of it.  I guess those would be called the "good parts".

As a little kid and the 6th child out of 7, I recall many hot summer days playing outside with my sister as we had fun doing things without the modern technology of today.  We made mud pies and set them to bake on an old board in the afternoon sun only to throw them against the tree when they were finished.  Then we started all over again.  Our imaginations went wild as we made do with things that were ordinary in their nature.  Yet in the hands of 6 and 8-year olds they became things that they were really not.  The one and only tiny black and white TV that we had was never turned on much.  Our folks expected us to be outside and enjoying the day and we did just that.  I like that about my childhood and I'm grateful that's how it went for me.

As I grew into my teenage years, my imagination was still put into play.  At night as I lay in bed I would listen to the radio on my bedside table.  It was back in the early days of FM stations but there were AM stations aplenty.  My favorites were WLS out of Chicago and KOMA out of Oklahoma City.  I was just a farm kid, a young girl from the prairies of Kansas.  At that time, the only other state that I had ever been to was Oklahoma for crying out loud!  Yet listening to the  music on the radio would take me to other places.  Some day I imagined that my world would become bigger but until then I lived vicariously on those long summer nights in that larger realm through the sounds that emitted from that little blue transistor radio.

By the time we were older and had moved to Haven, our summer days and every other day of the year for that matter, were spent working in our family restaurant.  I would have to admit that my imagination probably took a different form in those days.  From the time I was 11 until the day I turned 21, I was involved and doing my part in keeping the family business going.  Although it seems as though we sure did a whole lot more working than most of the other kids around had to do, my days there at Scott's Cafe taught me a whole lot about life and myself.  It was there that I learned my work ethic, one that was pretty much summed up in my mother's famous words.

"Hard work is not going to kill you."

And she was right.
I am still alive and well.
My imagination is still intact.

The little girl that I used to be imagined that she was a world famous baker whose mud creations were pastries fit for a king or queen.

  The teenage girl that she grew up to be imagined a world that one could travel to all by turning a simple dial on a radio.

The grown up person that I now am still imagines the adventures that yet remain.

~they called me "teacher"~

Life continues here on the plains of Texas and it feels pretty good each day to find ourselves feeling more to home here.  I have kind of/sort of gotten used to the fact that I'm going to be hearing a whole lot of "y'all" around these parts although I have yet to find myself saying it.  People are good, kind, and decent folks who generally speaking will do most anything for one another.  

A couple of weeks back when we had gone to another small town in the area for a car show, Mike and I came across a gentleman who was standing along their main street.  We ended up talking to him for a bit and as we introduced ourselves to him, he did the most remarkable thing.  He shook hands with Mike and then turned to shake mine as well but before he did, that kind man removed his hat.  In all my years I don't think I've ever witnessed that type of respect shown to me.  Actually it was kind of nice.

We have wondered all along what would happen to us here.  Of course a major concern we had was where we could find jobs and how we would get to know the people here and make their acquaintance.  Things are being taken care of along those lines being crafted by the hands of someone way smarter than I will ever profess to be.  Little by little, each piece of our life's puzzle is being slid into place as we begin to learn just why we are here.  It's so amazingly incredible to believe that as each day passes by lots of things are happening which will sooner or later have a great effect upon our being here.  

You know I never really imagined that Texas would be the place where I would celebrate my 60th birthday later on this year.  Truly never in my wildest of dreams did I think that I'd even be living here at some point in time.  Yet this part of the world is where we felt led to come and so we did just that.  We have no regrets for having done so.  

Texas will provide the backdrop for my "swan song" as a teacher.  It is here where I will finish my days in education.  I'm hoping for 3 more years in order to make it to 40 years of service in all but if I'm willing, healthy and able I will be glad to add a couple of more years to my time in the classroom.  When that day should finally arrive that I desire to make retirement from teaching a part of my life, then I would pray to never worry that I did the right thing.

None of us know where life will take us.
For us, the destination was shown on the 26th day of May this year.
From the land of lone stars, sweet tea, the former drought, and a whole lot of "y'alls", we are alive and well.

I was positive on that day in May of 2010 that my time in education was through.  It didn't take long to see how very wrong that I had been.  Thankfully I saw that there was still some "teacher" left within me.  I loved these boys and girls so very much.  They called me "teacher".

~and Pat was one of them~

I received word that a woman I once worked with back home at Avenue A and Lincoln Elementary Schools in Hutchinson had passed away yesterday morning.  Pat was a library clerk at each of the buildings and was always such a sweet and kind lady to be around.  She loved her job and all of the kids who would bring up their books to her at the counter to check them out.  It's been a while that I've seen her but I will remember her smile and the laugh that she always had.  She is one woman who will be missed by so many people on this earth.  If I were going to say the one thing I recall about her the most then it would have to be the day that she came into my classroom of first graders and helped to teach one of the things that I love the most.

That autumn day she helped to teach my favorite subject of all.
Life's lessons.

During the time I was teaching first grade at Lincoln, now nearly 15 years ago, Pat found out she had cancer.  The experience of trying to fight that battle was not a fun one but Pat kept such a good spirit about her.  When chemotherapy took her short brown hair, she took to wearing a wig.  I remember one day at school while I was visiting with her in the library, she spoke of how she really hadn't liked having to do that.  I will always remember what she told me that day.

"This wig itches!  It's hot and I don't really like it.  Sometimes I just wish I could take it off and go without."

We continued to visit a while longer and before leaving her to go pick up my class from PE, I asked her if she would mind coming in to talk with my kids.  I wanted her to explain a bit about what she was going through and if she felt comfortable enough, to take off the wig to show my students why she had to wear one.  I wasn't sure what her reaction would be but with a huge smile on her face she said she would be glad to.

That very afternoon Pat came in to our classroom.  I'd visited with the kids for just a moment before she arrived explaining to them a bit about what she wanted to do.  I had no idea what their reaction would be but when it was all over they did just as I predicted they would.

They loved that dear woman even more.

In my book, Pat had a lot of courage and she showed it that day by doing something that I'm not sure I could do.  As she told the kids that her wig was hot and scratchy, she reached up to pull it off and exposed her very bald head.  It was as if a weight had been lifted from her shoulders and we could almost see her breathe a sigh of relief.  I'm pretty sure that the kids, now college age, don't have one memory of what their teacher taught them that day but I do know that they remember what Pat taught them.  

Until my own dying day I shall forever maintain that children deserve to know the truth.  They need to be taught the lessons of life and believe me when I tell you that you will never in a gazillion years find those lessons in a teacher's plan book.  There are no state standards that call for them to be exposed to students.  Perhaps when everything is all said and done, it's better that way.

In just a few weeks I will begin my 38th year of teaching and it's remarkable to think that more than nearly 4 decades of my life have been devoted to the education of youth.  I didn't get to this point in time on my own.  I could not have done it without the help, guidance, and love of a whole lot of people.  

Pat Story was one of them.

I met Pat while I was a "Lincoln Eagle" and for her and all the others who became my friends for life back at USD 308 in Hutchinson, I give thanks.

~and I mean it~

Greetings dear friends and family from the plains of northern Texas.  It's the early morning hours here and save for me and Crosby the cat, everyone is sound asleep.  Even the jets that race across the sky from the nearby Air Force base are still sitting on the runway.  The sun shall rise soon so it won't be long until this entire area becomes awake and active.  Welcome to this day!

Mike and I have learned rather quickly here in Texas that one thing is for sure, no matter what time zone you might find yourself residing in.  Time flies when you are living your life.

The calendar on the refrigerator announces the arrival of June 26th this day.  We have been here in Burkburnett for exactly one month now.  Believe me when I say that a whole lot has happened to us since we came here.  99.5% of it has been wonderful and that little tiny .5%, well we survived it in spite of everything.  We have settled comfortably in and are learning the ropes of living in this land called "Texhoma".  

It seems so strange to think that nearly 4 years have already passed by since the day of my accident on August 4, 2011.  There really isn't a day that goes by that I'm not reminded of it in some small way or another.  The "Frankenstein" like scar that runs up and down the inside of dear "old lefty" is always a constant reminder of it and since my arms are now tanned with the exposure to the summertime sun, it is even more of a reminder.  My arm's appearance is different now and I seem to notice the misshapen look more than anyone else does.  My left hand is perpetually numb but over the passage of time I have gotten used to it being that way.  When the good Dr. Chan told me that I would never have a normal wrist and hand again, he meant it.  "Old lefty" has its own new way of normal.  That I even have a usable left hand and wrist again is a miracle to me and one that I am most thankful for.

Back in the days that followed that unfortunate early morning bicycle ride, I steadfastly maintained that going through the ordeal of having a broken arm for literally 9 months was the very best thing that could have happened to me.  Today in the summer of 2015, my feelings about it all have not changed one bit.  I say it again today and I will probably say it in my final days as well.

"Jumping that curb on my bike, landing smack down on my left side on the lawn, scooping my hand up off of the ground so I could be taken to the hospital ER, enduring 3 different surgeries and wearing a beautiful long arm cast for 9 months, was the very best thing that could have happened to me."  (and I mean it)

Now mind you, I would not want to go through that all again.  I had my share of fun with it but the lessons I learned about life and more importantly about myself, were invaluable.  After going through all of that, I found out that I could do anything that I wanted to.  Anything.  

So much has happened to me in the days, weeks, months, and now years that have passed by.  My life continued to change.  Since then I have gotten married and moved away from my home in Kansas.  I don't ride a bike these days but who knows?  Maybe I will start again sometime here on plains of Texas.  If I do start riding there will be one thing I can guarantee you.

I won't be jumping any curbs ever again.
And I mean it.

The flowers I left along the roadway in Missouri to remember a man named "Darryl" whose death provided the gift of a bone segment to repair my shattered left wrist.  He died of a heart attack at the very young age of 45 but even in his passing Darryl left gifts for others who needed them badly.  I was one of those blessed people.  

Don't think I could do that one again if I tried!  
Not planning to either.
And I mean it.

~as we wait and see~

It's still a far piece from this place in Texas to where home used to be back in south central Kansas.  Although we did shave off over 300 miles in traveling distance from our old house in south western Colorado by moving here, we are still 330 miles or about 5 hours of driving time away from my old home on 14th Street in Hutchinson.  To get back to Montrose from here in Burkburnett we would have a journey of nearly 800 miles, roughly 12 hours or more behind the wheel.  All things considered, it could have been much worse.  

At least we didn't live in Rhode Island.

I left behind lots of friends in Colorado and they were folks who meant the world to me.  They are the ones who stepped in and took up the slack for a lonely and homesick school teacher who was missing her old life in Kansas.  For two years they were there for me and for Mike as well and as those weeks and months went on they became a second family to me.  Just like the good people I left behind in south central Kansas, those dear Coloradans will forever remain in my heart.  It will be some time ahead in the future, perhaps more years than I want to think about, but I know that I will see them again some day.

Since 2013, I've done a lot of driving back and forth all over this country.  While on the road, I have taken lots of photos, ones that have special meaning to me.  Many of them have been of road signs that I have encountered along the way, signs that tell me how far I must travel to get to where I am going as well as those that remind me of just how far I have already come.  

I used to see this sign while riding my bike every morning when I lived back in Hutch.  It was a 10-mile round trip from my front porch to this sign and back again.  Later on, it would mark the beginning point of countless journeys between Kansas and Colorado.  50 highway took me all the way from my house in Reno County to Montrose.  

I was always glad to see this sign when heading back home to Montrose whenever I'd go back to Kansas.  130 miles doesn't seem like much when you consider a journey of over 600 miles but it was sometimes the longest 130 miles there ever was.  I remember when Mike and I went back to Colorado after getting married in May of 2013, that it was at this point when tears welled up in my eyes and I began to cry.  I realized just how far away from Kansas I was and the homesickness began to kick in.  It got better.  Really, it did get better.

My dear and sweet Kansas~
This sign is at the state line near Coolidge, Kansas.  What a beautiful sight it always was to see, especially during those first months of being married and far away from home.  Now that we are living in Texas, we won't have much occasion to venture into far western Kansas any longer but during any given time in the past two years I could probably have driven that route with my eyes closed.  I shudder to think that sometimes I might have done just that.

There are 105 counties in Kansas.  This one is mine.

Last weekend I had the opportunity to travel a bit into northern Oklahoma to visit my family there.  It seemed so strange after being in Colorado for two years to see a sign like this along the way.  All that I would have needed to do was to keep on going north for just a bit more and I would have seen the sign that announced the state of my birth.  I can't even remember all of the times that I've encountered this mile marker in my life.  It made me smile to see it once again this past Saturday.

And now life is different and as always it feels like a puzzle that is being put together, one piece at a time.  Little by little things are coming together here at our new home in Burkburnett.  Although we still are not 100% sure of what our immediate future will hold for us, each day it becomes a bit more clear.  Until that time we do the one thing that we are starting to get a lot of practice at.

We wait and see.

~and finally it is summer~

And finally, it is summer.

When we left the San Juan Mountains on May 25th to head southeast to Texas, we were worried that the pass at Monarch Mountain would be difficult to traverse.  Late season snowfalls had covered all of the mountains in our part of the state and we knew that old Monarch had seen its fair share of snow as well.  The rains that fell down as we loaded the last half of our belongings that Saturday morning felt so cold upon our backs.  30 days ago in the Rockies it didn't even feel like it was spring.

When we arrived here in Texas, the great 5-year drought was considered broken and the flood waters that the record breaking rains brought with it were just at the point of calming down a bit.  Except for jack-o'-lanterns, kids yelling "trick or treat!",  and brightly colored leaves upon trees, I believe we have seen all of the seasons of the year in these past four weeks.  The high temperatures with humidity that goes right along with it have taken some getting used to but we have made it.  It has been two years since I lived in a muggy climate such as this one but it has been a whole lot longer for Mike.  Even Sally the dog and Crosby the cat are feeling the effects from time to time.  When it gets too bad, they just find a cool spot on the floor as they lie with their bellies up hoping to catch a breeze from the AC or the ceiling fans.  If Mike and I could get up as easily from the floor as our animals do, we just might do the same.  One thing is for sure.

We are spoiled.

Come a week from tomorrow our good friends from Colorado will be pulling into the driveway here in Burkburnett and behind them will be a 12-foot trailer filled with the last of our belongings from Montrose.  They will officially be our first overnight guests.  How wonderful it will be to see their smiling faces and to give them a huge hug.  It will be like Christmas once again as we unload all of the things that didn't make the first trip out.  After being without those extra possessions for an entire month, we've almost forgotten some of what we stored away.

We are thankful for good friends like the Morris Family.

Little by little our lives are coming together here in this new place that seems more and more as if we are "home" every single day.  We are not 100 percent positive of what lies ahead of us in the future but that can be said of anyone, not just people like us who have packed up and moved 800 miles out into the great "unknown".  We may never have life all figured out but if you do, please tell me the secret.  I've been trying to solve that mystery for a long, long time.

Not only does the calendar on the wall announce the arrival of summer it also says that this is  Father's Day.  In this region called "Texhoma" I am often reminded of my own father who was a custom harvester in Burkburnett during the fall season of corn and milo.  I feel his presence from time to time, especially when I drive past farm fields out in the country or by the elevator on the other side of town.  It's been 33 years since he has been here on this earth, over 3 decades have passed since I purchased a card to honor his special day of the year.  Time went on, whether he was here with us or not but one thing remains sure and certain in my life.

For my father, I will always remain grateful.

This is Sunday, the 21st day of June in the year 2015, a great day to celebrate summer and fathers.  It's a great day to be alive in!

The finest man I will ever know here on earth is my dad.  I miss him this morning and the quiet manner he had about him.  When I see this photo, I always smile in my heart.  God blessed me.





 

~it was chosen for us~

We never intended to end up here in Burkburnett.  In fact this small community was never even on the "radar" for us in the beginning of our search for a new home in Texas.  When things didn't go together as planned in Wichita Falls at the end of May, we had to make some changes in our game plan and make them rather fast by the way.  There was only so much we could do with an entire moving truck filled with life's belongings plus a dog and cat who had travelled just about as much as they could without figuring a way to overthrow us.  For a short 12-hour period of time we were "homeless" and that was 12 hours too long for me.  

15 miles to the north and up the road aways we found this place and have been most thankful that we did.  We've learned so very much in our first three weeks here and it is knowledge that has been most helpful to us as we find our niche along the banks of the Red River.  

There are ants aplenty here and everywhere we seemed to look in our front and back yards, there they were.  Initially we wanted to try and get rid of them but after Mike spoke with the man at the lumber yard, we learned that they are really good ants to have around.  Seems as though this kind prefers to eat fire ants, which are also prevalent in these parts.  No need to kill them.  Those little guys do their part for the ecosystem and the natural balance of life.  

We have also encountered the friendliest of people here.  Burkburnett might as well have been called "Mayberry, Texas".  You fully expect sometime to see Aunt Bea coming out of the post office or Barney and Thelma Lou sitting on the front porch swing across the street.  Every single soul we have come across has been so very nice to us.  Walking down the aisle of the local supermarket last night, a total stranger passed by us, looked us square in the eyes and said, "How are y'all doing tonight?  Are you having a good day?"  At the local McDonald's yesterday as we were enjoying yet another ice cream cone and utilizing their free wi-fi, a nice older gentleman came up and began a conversation with us.  He asked us where we were from, what brought us here as well as what church we were going to attend.  I recognized him as one of the members of the "meeting of the minds" club that I came across a few days back.  He invited Mike and I to join his table sometime to discuss life and the world today.  His parting words to us, said with a huge smile on his face, as he left to go home for the day were these.

"Now y'all remember that if you are not doing anything else that you need to come and sit with us at that table.  Shoot yesterday we actually made it to the 1950's in our discussion.  That's pretty good for us!"

Burkburnett and its people are really a combination of every great place that I have ever lived in my life and all of the wonderfully kind human beings that I have had the occasion to know.  It's like Burrton, Haven, Yoder, Hutchinson, Montrose and Olathe all rolled up into one.  We are glad that this is where we were led to live and even though we are not quite sure yet of our future, each day it becomes more and more plain to us.  Little tiny things are right now being set into motion in the lives of a lot of different people, living in a lot of different places.  Those things which are not really coincidences at all, but rather part of a huge life plan that has been laid out for us by someone way smarter than we will ever profess to be, are the ones that will guide us to where we are supposed to be here.  They will show us what we are to do.

People like to visit here and when new folks come to town, they make it a point to greet them and to ask where they hail from.  We have been asked so many times by folks here why it was that we chose this place to come to.  They all want to know why on earth we would ever have given up our life in the beautiful Rocky Mountains to come here. The more I think about it, the more I realize something. 

We really didn't choose it at all.  
It was chosen for us.    

To our dear friends and loved ones back home in Colorado~

And to our friends and loved ones back home in Kansas~

We are doing very well here in northern Texas.  There is not a day that goes by that we do not think of you and hope that you are doing great.  Peace be with all of you from us here in Burkburnett, Texas.

~from one life to the next one~

I have come to the conclusion that I was a most spoiled person with regards to having internet access.  It has now been 3 weeks since we were "connected" to the outside world with our own personal internet service at home.  We've been waiting rather impatiently for it to be installed here in our new house but with a thousand reasons, mostly the flooding and lack of available technicians, we still are without.  The latest "guesstimate" is this Friday and so with fingers and toes crossed, Mike and I must wait.  Right now I'm sitting at a back booth at the local McDonald's, just adjacent to a table of 5 elderly men who are having their afternoon "meeting of the minds" as they attempt to solve life's problems over their cups of black coffee.  They look intent in their purpose and I have to laugh to myself as I hear their conversations.  Perhaps some day I shall too sit at a table with a group of my peers and do the very same thing.

Three weeks have passed since Mike and I arrived in northern Texas and we have begun to feel more at home here each and every day.  Yesterday we made a journey to see my sister and brother-in-law at Altus, Oklahoma.  On the way there we stopped off at the wildlife reserve in the Wichita Mountains near the city of Lawton, Oklahoma.  I had been there many times before when my three children were little ones but it was Mike's first visit there.  My good husband who lived for nearly 20 years in the Rocky Mountains referred to the Wichitas as "hills" but both of us enjoyed the beautiful scenery.  The photos below show part of our journey.

Well, it's as close to mountains as we will see here.  They are beautiful regardless.

Two years have now gone by since these two kids from "the land of long ago and far, far away" got married.  AND we are still together :)

To be sure, the scenery is quite different from what we have been used to but there is beauty and wonder everywhere on earth.  You just have to be willing to look for it.

As an "added" bonus, the soldiers from nearby Ft. Sill were practicing shooting missiles.  It was a new experience for the both of us and certainly was an "attention getter".  First the sound was like all the thunder in the world booming at one time, then a gigantic hiss and finally the lovely leftover plume of smoke.  Too bad I didn't have that one on my "list of 60 things to do before turning 60 this year".  

The "meeting of the minds" table has now disbanded and all those guys have decided to head for home.  The topic of their discussion, among other things, was the upcoming arrival of more storms that will further fill the Red River.  By this time tomorrow, it will be flooding.  We feel pretty safe in our part of town but all the residents here keep a close eye on it.  Last night and again this morning, Mike and I jumped in the car and made the very short drive down to check for ourselves what what it looked like.  Seems so strange to leave our house and within 4 minutes' worth of time to be driving over a huge river like "the Red" and crossing over the state line into Oklahoma.  

We are doing ok and adjusting to life in this new land called "Texhoma".  The future is not clear but soon, very soon, I'm sure we will see what is in store for us here.  Still no sofa has arrived, the internet at home is just a "dream", and I do not know what school I might be teaching at next year.  But plenty of good things have happened and we are alive and well.  And you know what?

All things considered, that knowledge should be enough.

In the least of things here, we give thanks.

As the sun set last evening here in Wichita County, Texas.  God's handiwork has been seen in so many different places by me.  I have been a witness to it.

Three weeks have now passed from one life to the next.  It's amazing to think that everything that will happen to us in the future is now being put into place little by little.  The "plan" is unfolding right before our eyes.  

~give thanks~

From 'home' in Texas~

It's a long ways back to the Rocky Mountains and the life that we once lived there.  Nearly 3 weeks have passed now since we arrived here in the northern part of the state of Texas and little by little, Mike and I have been able to make the adjustments necessary to begin a new way of living on the other side of the big mountain.  We knew going into it that there was a chance for us to hit a few potholes along the road while getting to where we are in time today.  True to form, we have experienced those little bumps, especially in the past few days, but rather than deterring us from being "ok", they have only served to make us more determined to get along just fine here.

Life is good and we are still happy to be here.

One of the lessons that I have learned here is the importance of supporting the local "small shops" in our town.  There is a general store in town that we frequent on a daily basis, sometimes even two or three times a day, as we realize things that we had to leave behind in Colorado and desperately need here.  It's a great place and only if you are from my hometown of Haven, Kansas will you understand this but it's like a "Hempstid's Variety Store" on steroids.  They have it all and then some.  If they don't have it, well you really didn't need it anyways.  We like the people who own it and those who work behind the counter.  We have purchased several things already from them, like a new box springs and lawn mower plus a thousand other small necessities.  We only wish we would have purchased our new couch and washer/dryer from them instead of going into the city and dealing with huge store chains.  They still believe in the value of customer service at that general store and for that we are really grateful.  So when y'all (lol, I don't really talk like that) see a sign that says remember to shop "small",  that you really ought to try and do that.

The internet is still not hooked up at our house.  The recent floods slowed the entire world here down to a slow crawl so we are most thankful to at least have the chance to frequent the city library in order to "log on" once in a while.  You just don't realized how spoiled you are until you have to schedule your daily life around when you can find wi-fi access in town.  Hopefully we shall see some sign of it tomorrow.  Time will tell but until then, I keep my library card handy.

It's been a rough week with a lot of "hurry up and continue to wait" going on but in spite of it all, we have survived.   I have maintained since the beginning of this journey that as long as Mike and I stick together, that we can do anything.  I stand firm behind that this evening.  We have tried to find creative ways to make do until things finally get taken care of.  This morning we found a thrift store that supports a local cause and so because both of us love finding a great bargain, we decided to check it out.  We picked up an overstuffed chair and ottoman for $25 and found the way to get it home in the back of Mike's car.  For over two weeks now we have been waiting for our brand new couch to arrive and after several glitches, it still hasn't been delivered.  It hadn't been in our plans to buy a piece of used furniture but you know, what the heck?  $25 was a price that was hard to beat and it will definitely feel a lot better than sitting in lawn chairs for another two weeks.  One lesson that I have always known is this.

You do what you have to do in order to survive.
Neither of us are too good to sit on a piece of used furniture.

I thought about "the 20" today and wondered how they were doing as they settle into summer and enjoy their lives as kids.  I looked at their picture and my heart kind of felt sad for a moment.  A month ago today, we were still in school together and enjoying being a part of our classroom community.  The days flew by so quickly as I knew they would.  I hope they are doing ok and pray that they will always remember how much their teacher loved them and by the way, does still.

Lots of things lie ahead here but we are prepared to meet whatever should come our way.  We love this community and have already met several of the great people who live there.  The future is still kind of uncertain but each day things become easier.

For as much as the week has been a sometimes difficult one, many blessings have come our way.  My teaching license was granted, Mike got the new clothesline made for me, the mosquito population is "giving up the ghost",  we have visited Mike's aunt and my sister and brother-in-law many times, and we are down to one final box to be emptied.  And in the least of things, we remember to do this.

We give thanks.

The mailman brought a letter all the way from Olathe, Colorado from my dear little friend Lizzy.

Mike worked hard to get my clothesline up and ready for drying laundry.

Every day we pass by this field of wildflowers as we take Sally the dog for her walk.

Giving thanks to be alive and well here in our new community of Burkburnett, Texas.

~and the answer is "why not?"~

It still seems hard to believe that two weeks have now passed since Mike and I loaded up our moving truck with a small army of good friends to help us.  The skies over the San Juan Mountains were cloudy and with the very likely chance for some rain to fall before we were all finished, people were hustling as if there was the proverbial "no tomorrow".  

We were about two hours into the process of loading up the truck, when Mike's good friend Tim said what all of us had been realizing but no one seemed quite ready to say it.

"Peggy, you and Mike need to start prioritizing what goes into the truck from this point on as to what you will really need when you get there.  I'm pretty sure the rest of this stuff will have to go into storage for the time being."  

And Tim was right.  We were in big trouble as far as enough space in the back of that truck went.  All of a sudden we were racing against the clock and the uncertain weather with not nearly enough room for everything that was set to go with us to our new home here in north central Texas.  So between the raindrops and bites of pizza for lunch, that steadfast crew of workers determined a way to haul the remaining things over to Tim's shed for the time being.  Later on this month, our good friends, Mary and Keith and their children, will hook up a 12 foot trailer to their truck and head our way as they deliver all of the things that we could not bring with us.  Although we don't even remember what all there is back there in Montrose, we do have a pretty good idea.  All of our yard things, including pots, outdoor decorations, and tools are amongst the things we had to leave behind that day.  How happy we will be to finally see everything here once again in just 3 weeks more.

In the meantime we continue on here in Burkburnett and for the past couple of mornings we have taken a break from work on the inside of our new house and concentrated our efforts outdoors for a bit.  With little room in the back of the truck, Mike decided to give away his mower to his friend Bob.  So once we got here, it was apparent that we needed to get a mower pretty quickly.  The yard at our new house hadn't been cared for in some time, so Mike bought a sprayer with weed killer and went to work.  After spraying and mowing a couple of times, the front and back lawn looks so much better.  This morning we decided that we would try to plant the flower seeds that we had brought with us from Montrose.  It seemed awful late to even get a start but what the heck?  Why not give it a try?  After all, in this formerly (as of two weeks ago) drought stricken area of the world no one really had flowers to begin with.  So the Renfros began a new tradition called "you can plant your seeds as late as you want to".  

One thing I learned very quickly was just how red the soil here is in this part of the country.  This is definitely "the land of red dirt" and I've got the soiled sneakers to prove it.  The soil felt so good in my hands as I pulled out the weeds while Mike ran the shovel through it.  I had been used to trying to grow things for the last two years in the clay soil of Colorado with little success.  I am sure that I must have had a smile on my face as I ran my fingers through the dirt.  I told Mike that this soil reminded me of Kansas and he understood what I was trying to tell him.  For two growing seasons he has heard his new wife complain of how hard it was to get anything started in the Colorado soil.  Mike is a very good sport about stuff and for that I am very thankful.

We only had time to turn up a small patch of dirt, big enough for 3 rows of our favorite seeds that were gathered last autumn.  There were no fancy pieces of rocks or sticks or much anything else around to mark the rows with but I did remember that Mike had picked up some paint sticks when he was at the store.  I found them inside and they sufficed quite well.  Maybe, just maybe if we are lucky, the rains will come and the sun will shine down on that little plot of earth.  In the weeks to come, I hope that we will see some beautiful hollyhock coming forth whose seed was gleaned from a patch of flowers in Ridgway, Colorado last October.  In front of those tall and stately flowers, there will hopefully be some zinnias and marigolds of a wide variety of colors.  That little piece of ground probably won't produce the kind of flowers they are looking for to grace the cover of a magazine, but that won't matter.

What matters is this.
We planted them.

I think this morning that Mike and I must have done the equivalent of writing our names in the soil of this land.  By turning up that little area for planting, it is as if we have staked our claims in this place sometimes called "Boomtown."  Neither of us are totally sure of what will happen in the future for us here although little by little it seems as if we are being shown.  

We learn a little bit about this place and a whole lot more about ourselves each and every day.  Our spirits are good and we remain steadfast in our decision to leave the Rocky Mountains of Colorado and begin a new life on the Texas plains.  Every day people ask us why on earth we would have left the beautiful mountains to have come here to Burkburnett.  With a smile on our faces, our answer to them is always the same.

Why not?

As long as we stick together, there is nothing that we cannot do or accomplish here.  Nothing.

Who would have thought that 3 paint sticks planted into the red Texas dirt could signify so much?

~and with a library card you can do ANYTHING~

From the city library of Burkburnett, I send greetings to you all.  We are still waiting for an internet connection to happen for us but unfortunately it will be a few days more.  The recent flooding affected a lot of things and the internet service here was one of them.  So in the meantime, we just do what we have to do.  We eat a lot of ice cream at the McDonald's and have now become regulars at the city library.  Free wi-fi has this way of enticing you.  One thing is for sure.

You never think about not having internet services until you do not.
We have been quite spoiled.

Mike and I have kept our noses to the proverbial "grindstone" since arriving here 10 days ago.  There was a whole lot to do in getting our house ready and slowly but surely everything is getting done.  I'm sure thankful that Mike is handing with carpentering issues and he does a pretty good job in making repairs.  One thing I will say about him is that he never gives up.  It's been frustrating for him because all of his tools and shop equipment remain back in Montrose at his good friend Tim's house.  It will be making the journey out here at the end of the month with all of the rest of the stuff that we couldn't bring with us when we came nearly two weeks ago.  Thank goodness for the kindness of our dear friends the Morris Family who are carting everything out here for us in a small moving trailer.  We are so very grateful.

Little by little the house has come together.  Next week a washer/dryer will be delivered from Wichita Falls and the couch that we surely do miss not having will come to us from Lubbock.  The internet is supposed to arrive by early week or so and then maybe things will seem normal.  Surely we are thankful for the AC to be working quite well.  It feels very warm to us by early morning and it doesn't take long for the heat to be felt inside of the house.  Even as hot as it seems to feel right now, folks around here say it's actually cooler than normal.  Last year on this very day, the temperature stood at 106 degrees.  That was the norm for most of the summer's duration.  Their forecast back then consisted of two words.

Hot and dry.

Moving here has been an experience and certainly has had its share of glitches and bumps in the road.  We remain determined to find our way here, to carve out our niche in this place in the land called "Texhoma".  We do not know what to expect.  We only know that whatever it is, that everything that shall happen will be a part of a much greater plan set out before us by someone who knows way more that we do in this life.

Twice today as we were visiting with folks around here, Mike and I were asked where we were from and why on earth we had come here.  The answer to that is becoming more apparent all of the time.

Burkburnett is where we are supposed to be and perhaps for now that is all that we really need to know in the first place.  The best of our days lie before us and in the least of things, we give thanks.

My dear friend from back home in Manhattan, Kansas says that with a library card you can do anything!  Dennis Ulrey, I believe that to be so very true.

~and I turned on the tap and the water came out~

One of the very first things that we have learned about our new community of Burkburnett, Texas is just how much of an impact a 5-year drought can have on the place that people, just like Mike and I now, call their home.  I have never thought about a drought all that much before, even after living in Kansas for nearly all of my life.  You know how it goes?  You turn the tap on and water comes out.  Sometimes I let it run longer than I need to and waste several gallons of that precious commodity.  When I brush my teeth, often I neglect to turn the water from the bathroom sink off while I am brushing.  Some days when I am tired or aching, I stand in the shower way longer than is necessary.

I waste water.
I turn on the tap and the water comes out.
But here in Burkburnett and areas close by, responsible people don't do that.
They save every bit they can.

The drought was recently broken by all of the record setting rainfall and subsequent flooding  The water was everywhere and so much of it fell over the spillway, making it look something like Niagra Falls.  Some of the water restrictions have been lifted but not completely.  Water remains a precious commodity and wise people still do their part to be good stewards of what we have now received.  We cannot be sure when such an abundance of moisture shall come again.

All of my life, I've been used to having flowers and green plants all over the porch in the summertime and one of the first things we did after arriving last week was to start getting as many plants as possible into containers.  The porch looks pretty good now and to me, it just shows that people who care live in the house therein.  But the strangest thing I noticed was this.

Hardly anyone else in this city of 10,000+ people has flowers or green plants or anything that would require a regular watering.  Not one porch is adorned with green life.  Residents of this part of the state have lived without water for such a very long time and the recent rainfalls, even with the flooding, have not magically brought with them the promise that the days of conservation of water are over.  Rather, people understand even more the need to be saving of this life giving gift.

I read over the Stage 5 water restrictions that the people around here have seen from time to time and none of them sound very fun.  No washing of cars, no sprinkling the lawn, water served at restaurants only if the customer requested it, and a thousand other ways that water could be saved.  They were serious.  Very serious.

The very first day we were here, I filled up a tub in the sink to wash out a few dishes and promptly when I was finished, I poured the dishwater all down the drain.  It was only the breakfast plates and cups, a small offering of dirty dishes that could well have waited until the end of the day when we had more to wash than just a few.  I thought about it, realizing it from the moment the first drops of water hit the drain.  Geesch as I thought to myself what I had done, a new resident of a place quite arid by most standards, I realized just how much how I had to learn about being a "water conservationist".

As time goes on Mike and I will learn more about what it is like to live here.  The lack of available water has not weakened this community and its people.  Rather it has made it just that much stronger. I like that about Burkburnett.

Our new house is coming together quite nicely now and we are happy to be a part of this community.  If I had a dollar for every time a person said to us, "You moved here from Colorado?  Why?", well then I'd have a lot of dollars.  Little by little, we have found our way around and when we have gotten lost, well then we found someone who would point us in the right direction.

We are alive and well in this place along the plains of the great state of Texas.  No need to worry for us as we are making it just like we said we would.

We are sticking together.

Burkburnett is a combination of a lot of nice places that I have lived in my nearly 60-year old life.  We are doing fine here~

Trying our best to make it look like HOME.

~what really matters is that you see it~

And so there is beauty here in the area of the world sometimes called "Texhoma".
It's a different kind of beauty than we were used to in Montrose, Colorado but that's ok.  It's supposed to be different.

The beautiful San Juan Mountains are no longer the view we see each day as we awaken from our slumber or when we lay our head on our pillows at night.  Old Silverjack is only in my memory now.  The Black Canyon of the Gunnison is not in our backyard and the Grand Mesa does not loom in the distance.  Those were all such magnificent things to see each day in our life back there nestled deep in the Rocky Mountains.

But now life is different.
A whole lot different.

This morning when I got up and started the coffee pot to going, I looked out the window and noticed how pretty the sky was.  A thousand shades of blue and pink and purple were on display in the sky.  It was a picture of sunrise that was begging to be taken and so rather than wait for the coffee to get finished, I slipped on my shoes and grabbed my car keys as I headed out of town for a mile or two as I looked for the best vantage point to take a picture.  The picture really doesn't do it justice but I'm glad that I could witness it in person.

I took picture after picture and marveled at how the good Lord manages to put such brilliant hues into the sky.  The Master's palette was filled with a thousand different shades of every color.  Whether that work is on display along the plains of Texas, the prairies of Kansas or back in the mountains of Colorado, really doesn't matter.

What really matters dear friends is that you see it.