It’s time to post again. It’s been four months. Where have I been and what have I been doing?
As you may have read, I lost Earl in June. Since then, it’s been a whirlwind of managing his affairs, moving out of his family’s home where we lived so happily for over 27 years, and planning a move to Texas.
Grief is a funny thing. One day you are fine, the next the Grief Monster, as I call it rears its ugly head and sends you into screaming and crying jags or the paralysis of inactivity, all of which are normal.
The horses traveled safely to Tucson at the end of October to be with my sister. I made the decision to continue with my goal of attending law school in Texas. It took three trips down to West Texas to find a house. Unfortunately, only the third try was a horse property, and I got house #4. It’s a cozy, pretty house that I am in the process of making mine; doing things such as a little paint, some landscaping and other things.
On the last trip down after the movers came, I brought the cats, Matthew, Cowboy Joe, and the inimitable Frank. I’m sure he will discuss the move with you. I also brought my friend, Jeff, son of a teaching pal. He was wonderful. He did the heavy lifting, noticed when I was overwhelmed and told me to rest, then on his own, set up the books. Cowboy Joe traveled the least well. At Amarillo, where I took over the driving for the last time, Jeff cradled Joe in his lap. Joe relaxed the rest of the way. Imagine a huge man holding a cat so gently.
Jeff stayed a week, flew home, meeting his mom and friend at the airport as their planes got in at the same time with Jeff sporting a brand new Texas Tech jacket.
My friend Diane had driven my pickup down in March and was here for a week until we drove back to Colorado. She helped with the inventory off the moving van outside in 75 degree weather while I told the movers where to put things. She also organized my kitchen, and helped with 100 of the 150 boxes. By the way, they are for sale.
I have one more trip to Fort Fun for some meetings, and to drive down the happy, fun car. Then, I will be a Texan after a year. I don’t know if this is a good idea or not, or even if I can study law at my age. We’ll see. I can always walk away. Earl, in his last days, said he wanted to get better so I could go to law school. Neither happened last spring. Let’s see if I can do it this summer.