~from a place far away~

I believe the strangest of places that I have ever blogged from might well have been post #15 or 16 out of over now nearly 900 posts in all.  It was the summer of the 2011 and my first night on the Bike Across Kansas.  I was huddled in my tent as I tried to wait out a windy and stormy evening in the far western Kansas town of Tribune.  I had a tiny little "notebook" and as my fingers pounded away on the keys, I kept my post brief and to the point.  My main concern was to let everyone back home in Reno County know that I was alive and well.  In 100 words or less, I did just that.  

Today from a booth in the local McDonald's here in Burkburnett, Texas I wish to do the same.  Our internet connection is scheduled for midweek and so you do what you have to do.  

So much has happened to Mike and I since we left our old home along the Western Slopes of the Rocky Mountains in Colorado, now nearly a week ago.  Last Saturday, just about this time of day, many of our dear friends came over to our house to load up the moving truck.  They provided not only the physical labor to help us but they also offered us something else.  Those special and kind folks offered us their undying friendship and love. 

I will long remember how we ended it all that day as we gathered in our empty shell of a kitchen, made a circle and clasped our hands with one another in prayer.  Mary led us all in giving thanks for the day and for each other.  She asked God to guide us along the way and to help us all remain close to one another, no matter how many miles would soon separate us.  

And with that we were off.

Our original plans did not come to fruition.  The home that we thought would be ours to live in at Wichita Falls, one that we paid a hefty deposit towards, was not even close to ready to live in.   Whether we receive our money back remains yet to be seen.  Thankfully we found a home that we could move into the next day and that is why our journey actually took us to the town of Burkburnett, just across the Red River from Lawton, Oklahoma.  We are in the process now of getting things settled there, a slow but sure process.  

We have found this town to be a wonderful one, filled with people who go out of their way to be kind to us and to each other.  They drink lots of sweetened tea here and they say "y'all" every time that they talk.  Mike and I are finding ways to acclimate ourselves to this community and one of the first things was to visit the local library and sign up for a card.  It's the small things that will help us to begin to fit into life here.  

Little by little, we will make it.  

So from a place far away, but really not all that far away at all, Mike and I are alive and well.  99% of what we have encountered has been wonderful and all things considered.....

Not sure that I could ask for anything more.

Kansas, Colorado, Texas.....home is wherever you wish to call it.

My father was a custom cutter for many, many years.  One of his fall stops was here in Burkburnett where he cut milo and corn.  Even though he passed away over 30 years ago, I feel a strange closeness to him in my new life here.