The Armoire

Yesterday we moved Aunt Lula Mae's armoire. It was a daunting task, one that I had dreaded for several years, but with the help of Georgia and James, we disassembled it, loaded it, then re-assembled it here, with the added help of James' dad. I had actually lost sleep fretting over this move, and I'm not used to it in my bedroom yet but it is home.

It is odd, but it has an almost human presence here. I'm sure it is due to the sheer size of it, yet it stands waiting to be filled with my bits and pieces of life, as it served Aunt Lula Mae for all these years. In my early years, it contained the creative bits, with scraps and fabric carefully folded, rolled, and tied. In later years, it was the depository for remembrances, for gifts rarely used, and for things "that may be needed someday".

It also brings to mind, for me anyway, a sense of connection to church. I think it is because of the classic design that evokes a feeling of old church buildings. The stately nature of the old designs are echoed in the furniture's design. It is a good feeling, a connection to heritage kind of feeling.

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In other changes, we have moved, we have changed churches (also denomination), the only big change not made is retirement. More on that later.

Another Change, New Home!

A major change is now on the way, moving from our home of 36 years to another home. In part, we are downsizing, in part we are moving closer to family, and in part we are moving because most of the things we do are across town, but it is an odd feeling.

Along with the odd feeling, there is a overwhelming feeling of awe. We have long admired the homes in the new neighborhood, especially in the past twenty years since I taught school over there. When the kids chose to buy there, the admiration grew, along with a feeling of discontent about having to drive twenty minutes to arrive over there. Last year, when we began to look a little, it still felt right, although we had some requirements for the new house.

The list of requirements that the new place needed to fill was varied and perhaps a bit odd, along with things I thought "would be a nice touch" . We wanted a front porch. We needed a fenced-in backyard. We needed at least two bathrooms, and at least one with a bathtub. We wanted wood flooring. We wanted a separate place for the washer and dryer. We needed a place for the freezer. The cats needed a place for litterboxes. We needed lots of storage. We needed it to be a comparable price to our current home. We thought it would be nice to have a separate room so we would be able to make it into an apartment of sorts. And, most important of all, it needed to feel like home, and we would know and recognize it immediately.

When we saw the pictures on the web, it didn't show as particularly impressive. The colors looked grayish, and it was hard to identify what room was which. However, when we walked in the door, we saw requirement after requirement being met, along with the "nice touches" to boot. We made an offer that afternoon, and now we are knee-deep in changing our address.

Looking back and forward

There were a few things that I felt needed to happen before I could retire. First we would (obviously) have to have an income that we could live on. My early retirement plus Ken's SS would not quite make it. Then, to our surprise, we started receiving enough from the gas well to make up the difference! Secondly, we would need to have paid off (or at least dimished) our indebtedness to a manageable level...which, also thanks to the extra money, will happen. Less importantly, but still a factor, is the status of my principal, and rumor has it that this is her last year. I have said repeatedly that I do not want to stay past her tenure. Do ya' think God is telling me something like: "Yes, it is time."! And none of this is our doing, so in the immortal words of Queen Elizabeth, "This is the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes!" Exciting days ahead!

Now for the question of moving to east town. There is a house that calls to me, but is not for sale. Our house would have to be sold. And, as always, there is the question of finances. Mark this spot and look for what God will have us do!

Good-bye Wonder Woman

I have always been blessed with the ability to heal faster than the average. If the extimated time of recovery is two weeks, I would be on my feet in 10 days. I just assumed that the recovery from the knee surgery would be the same. I even brought it up when planning the surgery, and the doctor was noncomittal about my plans to return to work in 8 weeks, an attitude I took to mean that he expected me to be ready to return in that time frame. Well, here it is 9 weeks out from surgery, and I still am missing the necessary stamina to return to work. Luckily for me, I have an amazing, understanding principal who didn't bat an eye about me not returning for another month. So, good-bye Wonder Woman, your life in the fast track has now passed me by. I will try to enjoy these last weeks of recuperation, and hope I won't feel too guilty because I am not at work to begin the school year!

Cleaning Closets

It's amazing to me, even though rationally I am aware that I do this routinely, how much "stuff" accumulates in closets. One project I asked for during my convalescence/rehab time was to clean out the "Fibber McGee and Molly" closet in my room. Once upon a time it was my computer station when I had a wonderful old Mac. As the Mac died and went away, the desk was changed into a closet (with a door) and began to accumulate things. It had a bookshelf with books, computer programs, and stationery in the original scheme of things, but the scheme was forgotten and many other things were stashed. Among the things found: a favorite solitare game for the Mac (that will not go on any of the current machines); a boxful of assorted gift bags; and a mysterious $75 in cash that no one knows how or why it got stashed.

And through it all, I am reminded of all the things we accumulate and don't really need. I will not miss the stacks of books, the unused cloth napkins, or the pieces of wrapping paper. I tend to think...oh I'll use those someday, and "someday" just doesn't happen. So they go off to the second-hand bookstore, Goodwill, or recycling, and hopefully will find a more appropriate home.

Surgery progress

Two weeks since my surgery, I am walking without the walker part of the time, my incision site is not terribly painful, the bruising from the surgery is going away, so progress is being made. My range of motion isn't what it needs to be, but it is progressing. My most difficult thing to deal with is that I have a cramp or strain around my hip on that side, and I can't sit comfortably for any length of time. Hopefully that will get resolved soon. Tomorrow I will lose the staples, and my knee will no longer look like a zipper without a pull.

Good bye Sweet Noodle

A change I had been dreading is the passing of our 14-years-old cat, Noodle. I had bee trying to get him well for over 8 months, but he continually lost weight, to the point where he weighed less than 25% of his former weight. He died before I came home from the hospital. He was an intelligent cat, probably the smartest I have ever had. Daddy called him the "big foot cat", since he had seven toes on his front feet. Since I am still recuperating I know his loss hasn't really hit me completely, but I do know there is a noodle-sized hole in the cat population here.