Changes!!

My goodness, as I was reading blogs tonight I see we have some changes:

Gail and TC’s Travels is now Memoirs of the Trailerhood.

Merikays Dreams are no longer written in Smoke, Her dreams now have Six Wheels. YAY!!

Michael Ultra is selling his house, and it appears that Gypsy BoHo has sold hers (fingers crossed).

Even Al of the Bayfield Bunch is finding that his interests are changing.

And Rick is changing some 2X2’s into something that for now will remain a mystery!

I guess if the seasons can change, people certainly can make some changes as well.  I know we have changed our minds several times lately about where we are going and what we will be doing.  Nothing is ever static and that helps keep life interesting. 

Some changes are easier than others.  Some you choose and some just happen, regardless of any action on your part.  If you are going through changes, hang in there.  Change is inevitable, and can usually lead to something beneficial – if not now then somewhere down the road.

A couple of updates…Rusty dog is doing so much better.  Has his appetite back and seems to be feeling pretty good.  His hindquarters are still weak and his feet don’t always go where he wants them to, but most of the time he is getting around just fine.  He is reluctant to go in the car and makes it clear he would just as soon stay at home.  So we will go ahead and plan on some limited travels in September and October without the dogs and then we will reevaluate and make whatever changes are needed.

About 6 months ago, I had my annual mammogram and had to have a biopsy based on what was seen.  That test was clear, but I was scheduled for a 6 month follow-up ultrasound just to see if anything had changed.  I had that test on Monday and I got the report in the mail today.  I am happy – no, overjoyed – to report that all is well and I can go back to just having the regular checkups.  I just love good news!

I got a photo of the local wildlife the other day.



Yes, we feed them.  Put this little shelf up a few years ago and they love to sit and eat the nuts and seeds we supply.   They get pretty vocal when the food runs out!

Soon many of you will be headed to warmer climes for the winter.  Many of you are already getting thing checked out and cleaned up in preparation for your trip.  The Hollingers, over at RV Life on Wheels, have been doing some maintenance and fixing little things around the RV.  Seems like a lot of change and preparation are  going on right now.  I can feel the change of seasons in the air and it won’t be long until fall, and then winter, is upon us.

I can hardly wait to see what other changes will be coming in the next few months.

Revelations

It has been an interesting week.  No, I’m not having dreams and visions, but, in the midst of enjoying friends and family, a few things have become clear to me.

Every summer for as long as I can remember, we have had some kind of family gathering in our backyard.  We have always kept the yard nice and had beautiful flowers for the enjoyment of ourselves and our company.


We have watered the grass and made sure it was suitable for backyard activities.



And every year we have at least one big shebang and invite all the family, extended family, in-laws, outlaws, and friends.






 July 2010






We set up tents and canopies, cook LOTS of food, let the grandkids perform, haul out all the extra chairs and tables and just open the yard and pool to all comers.

  

The yard and the pool and the family gatherings (and the memories of those times) are a big part of what has tied to me to this place.  I felt I could never give it up because it would be like losing the family ties.  Yet each year we would get more and more worn out, and we eventually had to confess (at least to each other) that we just couldn’t do it anymore.

When we were both still working, we could afford all the extra food, the huge water bill, the required lawn and garden maintenance, the pool maintenance, and we enjoyed it so much.  There is nothing like having family and friends gather together and enjoy what we willingly shared with them.  It’s great to hear someone say, “oh, your flowers are so beautiful”, or “this food is so delicious.”  It’s wonderful to see the kids splashing in the pool or singing their little hearts out for their parents and aunties and uncles.

But we are tired and with just a little less disposable income than we are accustomed to LOL!  So this year we did things differently.  I asked my son, John,  to take over the organizing of the family get together.  I said we would supply the yard and the pool and open the backyard to anyone who wanted to come.  However, we would not be setting up tents and canopies, nor dragging out chairs and tables (although anyone who wanted to use those things was welcome to drag them out) , nor providing a huge selection of food.  In fact, we called it a backyard picnic and asked everyone to bring a sack lunch and their own drinks.  My sisters and I have been doing this all summer for our sisters’ lunches and it has worked great.

John has been after me for years to quit working so hard at our summer gatherings so I finally said okay.  And so our gathering was a bit smaller this year.  But we had just as good a time and perhaps a better time.  I was not running around trying to serve everyone and making sure there were enough plates, napkins, drinks, food, etc.  I did not spend the week before shopping, cleaning, and cooking.  I didn’t make costumes or direct a cousins show.  They are old enough to do that on their own if they are interested.  And you know what, nobody seemed to mind.  Those that wanted to visit showed up and those that didn’t, well, they didn’t!!

I also realized that everything we did in my back yard could just as easily have been done at one of the local parks.  We might have to share the grounds and the pool but so what?  We could still sit and visit and eat and fellowship together.

The point of all this is that I have seen that this old house and yard and pool are NOT what matters.  When we sell this place, the family is not going to disappear.  We do NOT need to stay tied to this big house and huge yard and all the expense of maintaining all that and a pool besides, just so the family can have a place to gather.  As long as we are family, we will have our memories and we will have our love.  And we can do that anywhere…and from now on we will.  I am turning the organizing of family gatherings over to the next generation and I am retiring.

I think I am finally ready to let go.  It will no doubt be difficult as we have lived here for over 35 years and raised our kids here.  This is the only home the grand-kids have every seen us in.  There are a lifetime of memories in this old house.  But the fact is that life changes and we can either wait until we are too old to make those decisions or we can take charge of our future and make changes while we are still able to do so. 

I don’t know the timing of our transition.  I look at all the “stuff” we have collected over the years and wonder how am I ever going to sort through it all.  I cannot even begin to contemplate what we will do with all the junk in the garage/barn.  The attics are stuffed as is every room in the house.  We have started with the office and have thrown or given away much of the clutter that was in there.  It will take time but we are headed in that direction.
 
I should just settle down like Kate and Jeana and Merikay and Jessica and Harry and just get this done before we go off on any more trips, but we aren’t quite that dedicated yet.  We will still take some trips this fall and winter but when we are home it’s going to be for the purpose of working towards getting the house ready to sell.  Where will we go?  I have no idea at this point.  I only know our future is getting shorter every year and if we are going to make things easier on ourselves, and eventually on our children, it is time to make some changes.