~Friends I will remember you~

Good evening friends from the Reno County town of Hutchinson, Ks.  How wonderful to be typing this blog post at 5:30 in the evening and still seeing the sun shining brightly in the western sky.  I can remember in the deepest of winter sitting here at the table typing away and watching the last of the sunlight disappear around the 5 o'clock hour.  There's a good reason why one of my dear friends refers to winter as "the dark" and although "this" one has been more tolerable than many others, I will still rejoice to see March 20th arrive on our calendars.  The season of winter and I called a "truce" with one another this year and in my own way, in my own time, I learned to be "ok" with it.  

I can hardly believe how fast the time is flying these days and if the age old adage of "time flies when you are having fun" can hold out to be true, then I must be having one heck of  a great time! And I gotta say, it's not like time just NOW started flying by because it's been managing to do that since about age 30.  Every time I hear some little kid at school complaining because the time on the school clock seems to drag by, I remind them that it is going much faster than they can realize.  Unfortunately they probably won't see that until they gain a few more years of life's experiences and one day they will wake up and ask, "Where did all that time go?"  Ah youth~

For me, the countdown is on for many upcoming changes in life.  I couldn't have planned a busier year if I would have tried.  I'm 32 days out from leaving on a great trip back to the New England village of Owego, NY as well as a few days in New York City.  I've looked forward to this particular journey for sometime now and eagerly anticipate the visit.  It will  be a great experience for me, and thankfully, one that I won't be taking alone this time.  My daughter Ursela is joining me and niece Jessica, now a resident of Brooklyn, NY will be our hostess.  Can't wait to see this place that she now calls home.  And as for Owego, well I vowed the day that I pulled out of there last May, that I would be back sometime.  If a person could fall in love with a village, then I would say that Peggy Miller is in love with Owego, New York.  What a beautiful and fairy tale like place that won my heart over last year.  

But the most life-changing of adventures will be coming just shortly after that on May 24th when I pack up and head for a new life in the beautiful state, Kansas' neighbour to the west, of Colorado.  Some time during the days just before, Mike will come here to Hutchinson to help me get everything that I need moved there.  According to the calendar, and believe me I check it every day, I'll be saying "good-bye" to life as I know it here in Kansas in another 94 days.  There is much to get ready and amazingly little time to do it in.

One of the things that I have had to "rethink" as of late was my current "Miller Bucket List".  Of the 7 things that I had left to do between now and June, I realize that I will be fortunate to get 3 of them done.  The others on the list now have lost their importance to me in life and actually, that's ok.  One of the things that I've always realized about a bucket list was this~some things are made to be done and other things sometimes becomes "not so much" things.  Two things, riding the Bike Across Kansas in June and travelling to Owego, NY and NYC during spring break are already scheduled and little by little I'm preparing for them.  Yet even more meaningful to me than those two are, would be the following bucket list wish~
"To meet each of my Facebook friends in person, buy them something to drink and talk about life for a while."

A long time ago, heck probably as far back as 2010, I made the vow that I would personally make contact with all of the friends that were on my friend list from Facebook.  I thought of it one day when I noticed that a couple of my friends had over 900 Facebook friends listed.  I guess I was trying to figure out, "How the heck do you even know 900 people?"  It seemed almost absurd that you could even keep up with how everyone was doing, let alone remember their names.  Then and there, I figured to just do my best to at least once in time to connect with all of mine and even if we could only sit for 30 minutes to visit, well, at least we could do that.  My aim between now and when I leave at the end of May is to reconnect in person with as many of you as I can.  Unfortunately I doubt that I will make it to all of the faraway places where many of you are, but I will do my best.  Who knows?  I never thought I'd go all the way to Maine on my own~stranger things have happened in my life.

Friends, what in the world would we do without one another?  How would we make it without the support and the encouragement of those people whom we count amongst our closest of confidants?  There isn't a day that goes by in my life that someone isn't there for me.  There is always a friend, many times near at hand, who is more than willing to step up and pick up the slack for me when I am unable to do so for myself.  My "back" is covered by so many people~I am watched over all the time.  Much of the time, it's by folks I don't even know are there.  And I say to you all, again and again, this very thing~Friends, I "owe you one" and will always be beholden for all of your kindness, for all of your concern, for everything done on my behalf by you.  And you know what the crazy thing is?  You all do it, not for what you will receive in return, but rather it is done day in and day out by you all just because you know it is the "right thing to do".  And if asked about it, here's what you would say to me and anyone else who asked you...."That's what friends are for."

Have a good night everyone.  Day is nearly done and all things considered, it's been a pretty decent day for us.  In the least of these things, we should all be giving thanks.

  Four great Facebook friends from the "land of long ago and far, far away"...at Haven during the Fall Festival of 2011~Catherine, Annetta, Toni and Joyce, my dear friends.

Facebook friends and teaching co-horts from Lincoln Elementary-spring of 2011
                Carol, Julie, Dalia, Patti, Elizabeth, Wendy and Andrea
Ladies, your strengths are many.  I became a greater educator because I had the experience of  working with you and learning from you all.

And lest I be remiss to say, you just never know when the finest of things in life will come your way.  In the winter of my 57th year, I received "the blessing".  
                                                      ~Mike and Sally~