Today marks the beginning of summer for me here and I return back to a job that I had all during the summer last year, that of being a CNA for a local home health agency. I love working in health care and have said many times over that when I need it in the years to come, I hope that someone out there will take really good care of me. For June and July, I will be trading in my lesson plan books for nursing scrubs as I go from home to home of my patients. It's a blessing to have a second career to come back to in the months when school is dismissed for the summer time. I consider myself to be quite fortunate to be able to work with both ends of the age spectrum and to be a help to many people who truly need it.
I was looking over my blog posts from last year and happened upon one that was about a year ago today. I had to smile as I read it because the realization of how much I have grown as a person here in Colorado was most apparent. If you would have asked me at this time last year about how I liked living here, the answer would have been short and sweet..... "I DON'T." Today things have changed dramatically and for that, I surely do give thanks. It took a long time to figure out that life would be ok here for me but hey, I did. I'm reprinting that blog post from June 1, 2013 below if you would care to read it. For all of the people back in Kansas and here in Colorado and everywhere else in between who helped me to make it through the tough first months in this new life, I will always be beholden.
Time to get this day started~
Friends and family, wherever you may be finding yourselves this day, please know how much you mean to me. Remembering of you always.
From June 3, 2013-
~Upon looking for the signs~
Hello to you all, dear friends and family, from the windy western slopes, just this side of the Continental Divide. The wind socks that Mike planted along the south edge of the yard have been flying like crazy today and the stately Cottonwood tree, just adjacent to the house, has been making its "whoosh, whoosh" sound all the day long. I hung out clothes this morning and I swear to you that nothing stayed where I clothes pinned it. From time to time the mountains have appeared to be swallowed up by the clouds this afternoon, yet for the most part, the firmament above remains a beautiful shade of what Binney & Smith refer to as the colour of sky blue. The temperature today has been warm here, in the mid-to upper 80's and for once this "flatlander" hasn't had the occasion to announce to anyone who would listen to her whine, "Geesch, I cannot believe how cold it is up here!" What I'm trying to say is that the day has been a little better.
This is day #11 of living here in south western Colorado and I think that it is a very good sign that I actually had to stop and count up on my fingers just how long I've really been here. To me, it's a good indication that sooner or later I will be at "home" in Montrose. During my first week here, especially having suffered through bouts of extreme homesickness, it was always easy to remember just how many days I had been away from Kansas. With tears in my eyes, I'd sometimes mutter to myself, "Dang, have I only been here 4 days? Seems like about 400!" The days have started to little by little get better and only occasionally will it hit me that just like Dorothy Gale, "Peggy" is not in Kansas any more. If I can just remember the advice that I used to give little Nadonna at school when she was recuperating from her broken arm, "It does get better!" then I'm sure things will go much better for me. If it works for those who break a bone, then it probably will work for those who are far, far from home. I'm counting on that :)
I've been a witness to a whole lot of "signs" as I've begun the attempt to "put down roots" here, signs that tell me that there was a reason for everything that has happened thus far in life for me. And you know what friends? They aren't the kind of signs that tell me exactly what I should be doing right now or how my life will "play out". They are not something akin to the "step by step" instructions for assembling a shelf or some patio furniture. Rather, they are signs that show me that I am not the one in charge any way and that someone way smarter than I will ever profess to be has a real plan for me here and just like in the verse from the "Good Book" in Jeremiah 29:11, God's got things already figured out on my behalf. His ideas are good ones, His plans are for hope and a future. He wants the best things to happen for me, not some horrible disastrous mess. I'm going to put my trust in that and know that in time, in HIS time, I'll know what I am supposed to be doing. I will be the first to admit that during my first week here, I began to wonder what in the heck it was that I had in store for me. I wanted answers fast~and since my tombstone will never read, "Here lies Peggy "the patient" Renfro", well you know how that didn't work out so well.
Little by little, I have begun to make a few friends with people and I surely hope to continue to do so. I'm up to 7 people now and hey, that's an average of almost one a day since I've moved here. I found a church that I thought would be "ok" to try out. Yesterday I went to Zion Lutheran, about 10 minutes away from here where I met several people. It was different than going to church back home in Hutchinson at Our Redeemer Lutheran. But hey, you know I could not expect them to be the same in the first place. A couple of interesting things happened to me there, but more on that later. There were so many people in attendance that they all were just kind of a blur to me....but there was a woman there that noticed me and it wouldn't be until this morning that I would find that out.
It was in the local "Wally World" that I encountered her. I was just minding my own business, lost as usual in that store, and trying to find the 72-count tub of Tide Pods. I was looking everywhere, except where they were, when I turned around and nearly ran my cart into her. I apologized, saying I hadn't been paying attention to what I was doing and that's when she told me with a laugh, "I don't remember your name, but I've been stalking you!" Now THAT got my attention. She had seen me come into the store and recognized me as the woman who sat a few pews away from her and her family yesterday at church. She wanted to catch up to me, to ask me my name again and to tell me that she was really glad that I had visited Zion Lutheran. It was so nice to have someone FINALLY to talk to and we carried on over there in aisle 23 like a couple of high school girls trying to decide which boy in study hall we thought was the cutest. :) She was a very nice lady who soon became my 7th friend here. We talked about anything and everything and for the life of her, she had no clue where the 72-packs of Tide Pods were either. But you know, it didn't really matter. We both agreed that it was no accident that we should have met this morning. There are no coincidences in this life, none whatsoever. Montrose is a big place, Wally World is a big place. For two people, such as we were, to have met up this morning at the same place and time, was in "the plan" and both of us knew it. I'm grateful for that "sign" and for the many others that have been shown to me as I have been here. Friends, I would admonish us all tonight to slow down a bit, to look about us and see how all of the things that some people refer to as "coincidental" are really no coincidence at all. My eyes have surely been opened to that this week. I've said many times though, Peggy Miller (now Peggy Renfro) is sure a slow learner.
Have a good evening my friends and family members back home in Kansas and every where else you may be in this world of ours. I'm doing much better....praying that you all are doing well too!
Our first 11 days together~some of the memorable moments in photos
One of two baby raccoons that we found in the front yard. The survival rate was pretty dismal~they ended up being "0 for 2".
Our first attempt at building a fire. It was a beautiful evening to sit out underneath the Colorado sky and look at the starry night. The heavens were breathtaking. How happy I was to have some quiet time alone with "the blessing".
.JPG)
Seeing Mt. Garfield on the way to Grand Junction last weekend~elevation of over 5,000 feet.
Catching a glimpse of this group of nearly 10 mule deer that were crossing over the alfalfa fields near our house. They stood still for the photo~unconcerned about life and the crazy flatlander woman that was taking their photos.
This is day #11 of living here in south western Colorado and I think that it is a very good sign that I actually had to stop and count up on my fingers just how long I've really been here. To me, it's a good indication that sooner or later I will be at "home" in Montrose. During my first week here, especially having suffered through bouts of extreme homesickness, it was always easy to remember just how many days I had been away from Kansas. With tears in my eyes, I'd sometimes mutter to myself, "Dang, have I only been here 4 days? Seems like about 400!" The days have started to little by little get better and only occasionally will it hit me that just like Dorothy Gale, "Peggy" is not in Kansas any more. If I can just remember the advice that I used to give little Nadonna at school when she was recuperating from her broken arm, "It does get better!" then I'm sure things will go much better for me. If it works for those who break a bone, then it probably will work for those who are far, far from home. I'm counting on that :)
I've been a witness to a whole lot of "signs" as I've begun the attempt to "put down roots" here, signs that tell me that there was a reason for everything that has happened thus far in life for me. And you know what friends? They aren't the kind of signs that tell me exactly what I should be doing right now or how my life will "play out". They are not something akin to the "step by step" instructions for assembling a shelf or some patio furniture. Rather, they are signs that show me that I am not the one in charge any way and that someone way smarter than I will ever profess to be has a real plan for me here and just like in the verse from the "Good Book" in Jeremiah 29:11, God's got things already figured out on my behalf. His ideas are good ones, His plans are for hope and a future. He wants the best things to happen for me, not some horrible disastrous mess. I'm going to put my trust in that and know that in time, in HIS time, I'll know what I am supposed to be doing. I will be the first to admit that during my first week here, I began to wonder what in the heck it was that I had in store for me. I wanted answers fast~and since my tombstone will never read, "Here lies Peggy "the patient" Renfro", well you know how that didn't work out so well.
Little by little, I have begun to make a few friends with people and I surely hope to continue to do so. I'm up to 7 people now and hey, that's an average of almost one a day since I've moved here. I found a church that I thought would be "ok" to try out. Yesterday I went to Zion Lutheran, about 10 minutes away from here where I met several people. It was different than going to church back home in Hutchinson at Our Redeemer Lutheran. But hey, you know I could not expect them to be the same in the first place. A couple of interesting things happened to me there, but more on that later. There were so many people in attendance that they all were just kind of a blur to me....but there was a woman there that noticed me and it wouldn't be until this morning that I would find that out.
It was in the local "Wally World" that I encountered her. I was just minding my own business, lost as usual in that store, and trying to find the 72-count tub of Tide Pods. I was looking everywhere, except where they were, when I turned around and nearly ran my cart into her. I apologized, saying I hadn't been paying attention to what I was doing and that's when she told me with a laugh, "I don't remember your name, but I've been stalking you!" Now THAT got my attention. She had seen me come into the store and recognized me as the woman who sat a few pews away from her and her family yesterday at church. She wanted to catch up to me, to ask me my name again and to tell me that she was really glad that I had visited Zion Lutheran. It was so nice to have someone FINALLY to talk to and we carried on over there in aisle 23 like a couple of high school girls trying to decide which boy in study hall we thought was the cutest. :) She was a very nice lady who soon became my 7th friend here. We talked about anything and everything and for the life of her, she had no clue where the 72-packs of Tide Pods were either. But you know, it didn't really matter. We both agreed that it was no accident that we should have met this morning. There are no coincidences in this life, none whatsoever. Montrose is a big place, Wally World is a big place. For two people, such as we were, to have met up this morning at the same place and time, was in "the plan" and both of us knew it. I'm grateful for that "sign" and for the many others that have been shown to me as I have been here. Friends, I would admonish us all tonight to slow down a bit, to look about us and see how all of the things that some people refer to as "coincidental" are really no coincidence at all. My eyes have surely been opened to that this week. I've said many times though, Peggy Miller (now Peggy Renfro) is sure a slow learner.
Have a good evening my friends and family members back home in Kansas and every where else you may be in this world of ours. I'm doing much better....praying that you all are doing well too!
Our first 11 days together~some of the memorable moments in photos
Our first attempt at building a fire. It was a beautiful evening to sit out underneath the Colorado sky and look at the starry night. The heavens were breathtaking. How happy I was to have some quiet time alone with "the blessing".
.JPG)
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