Hello Dear Friends!
I made it to Monday and I'm going to say right off the "get go", my 56-year old body is saying to me "What in the heck happened here?" From the top of my head to the tips of my toes, I'm beat! This moving stuff is not for the "faint of heart" to be sure and I'm telling you that I'm subscribing mighty soon to the "100 thing" movement....and believe me, it's NOT going to be "100 SETS of things", it's going to be "100 THINGS". (please feel free to remind me of that anytime you see me thinking about buying ANYTHING else in this life LOL)
After more trips back and forth from Hutch to Valley Center, I finally can call myself "half ways moved". Thank goodness for my two sons who provided the "muscle power" I needed to get the job done and for friends and family who helped in the packing and unpacking. What little we couldn't fit into the UHaul, my good friend Mike hauled to his house here in Hutch. And with that, yesterday late, we were about finished.
Didn't take long to figure out that life in Valley Center would be much different than that in Hutch. Sunday morning I got up very early while it was yet dark outside to make the first of many trips to Hutch and back. I couldn't believe it when I heard the eerie howling of a pack of coyotes somewhere outside of town. I grew up on a farm and am used to their sound but can't remember any time that I was in my 14th Street house backyard and heard it. I figured as long as they weren't ringing my doorbell and waiting to introduce themselves to me, that I was pretty safe.
And then there's the train....I'm also used to the trains that continually run through Hutchinson. In fact, the 3:40 a.m. arrival of the Amtrak each day is a sound that I soon grew used to hearing. But THIS train seems different to me and I am still amazed at how the track runs through the heart of Valley Center...I'm used to seeing trains run across the landscape in a straight manner. This train runs on the weirdest slant that I've ever seen. Can't describe it to you.....you'd just have to see it.
I've started to get a little of the "lay of the land" in my new community. Even though Valley Center is much smaller than I am used to here in Hutch, it still has much to offer the folks that live there. I can't wait to be able to finally look around and find out more about it. One huge perk for me is that the "super WalMart" located at 53rd and Meridian is only 5 minutes from my house. It will take a while to get used to where stuff is at but I figure it will have most anything I'd be needing. Nearby is a McDonald's where I have been stopping each day to pick up the "usual" for breakfast....an egg McMuffin sans the Canadian bacon and orange juice. So you see that I am well taken care of.
Many have asked me about the drive and I must say that even though it is long at 43 miles it is still very tolerable at this point in time. Now ask me some day when there is a dense fog outside or a snowstorm has dumped 12 inches of snow on the ground and I may have a different idea. I figured out this morning that I can listen to one Dan Fogelberg CD in its entirety on the way over to school each day. The new Honda is getting about 37 mpg on the highway and boy does that ever make a difference. Glad that I traded my pickup in for that car and all things considered, I surely cannot complain about the drive. I just get into line behind the rest of the "ants" and head towards my destination each and every day.
After school is finished today, I'll head east once again and make my way towards home. I made up my mind to at least keep one room of the house neat and orderly until I got the whole mess unpacked and put away. Since I kind of like what little sleep I manage to get LOL, I decided THAT room would be my bedroom. I can locate my bed and trust me friends, haven't had to worry about having trouble falling asleep yet.
With all the changes from the past month or so, I've had little time to think about concentrating on the "Miller Bucket List" items, but one thing for sure, my number 1 item "to go to Maine and see a lighthouse" is still scheduled for early June. As soon as I get things straightened around at my home in Valley Center, I'm going to get back to the planning of my trip. One thing is already taken care of by the purchasing of a more fuel efficient car. With escalating gas prices that seem to have no limit at all, I needed all the help I could get in journeying there. I miss my pickup but I think it's a "no-brainer" that a Chevy Colorado is going to drink in way more fuel than I really want to have to purchase.
One last thing....and I never cease to be amazed by what children will say to me. When I told a group of students this morning that I'd moved to a place called Valley Center, this one little boy in particular had the most puzzled look on his face. Later, after all the kids had gone out before him he asked me..."Mrs. Miller, I didn't think you were old enough to have to go into a nursing home." For a second there, it was a "deja vu" kind of moment as I remembered the 5th grader who said to me after I tried to jump the curb on my bike back in August, "Mrs. Miller, aren't you a little old for that kind of thing?"
After I stopped laughing, I explained that Valley Center was a city not a home for the aged and that there was no need to be concerned for me. I'm feeling old these days but hopefully not near old enough to need to be in a care home....least wise not just YET. And as always in this, I take heart and give thanks for the least of things these days.
Have a good Monday evening friends ..... God has been good to me.
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