All of yesterday evening, after I got back
home from Ryderwood … and spoke with my internet service and cell service … the
house in Ryderwood kept pricking away at my subconscious: even well into the
wee hours of the morning.
Most of the early morning hours were spent weighing the pro’s
and con’s of the internet situation out there: at the end of the road.
Before I caught a quick catnap before the sun came up, I’d made
up my mind to give that house a chance and deal with the internet issue by driving
back to Ryderwood and quizzing residents about the actual internet service –
instead of assumptions of what I knew about Qwest CenturyLink from decades
ago: we’d had a horrible time with their service on Sparks Drive in
Kelso, and finally ended up cutting ties with Qwest, and signing with Comcast;
a server that has been good with us … and very helpful to me in my solo lobo
life.
But, as I stated yesterday on this Blog … Comcast will not run
service to Ryderwood.
That being the case, I wanted to find out everything about
CenturyLink in Ryderwood, as that is the primary server out there. I needed
to find out how the service has progressed over the passed time; if it has.
So, when I woke up this morning, I
waited until 8:20 AM – and shot off a text to Shay; telling her the house wouldn’t
leave me alone, and I’d still like to do a walk through (even though
yesterday afternoon, I’d said it was off the table). She knows me, so I
think she was kinda expecting a text like this 😉
She has been a good friend to me.
She has been very patient with me.
She understands me.
She knew Bob & I, as a couple.
She knows me as a solo lobo.
She has remained a part of my life.
She loves me – and the feeling is mutual 😊
Shay and I had already had plans to have lunch
at the Country Folks Deli at noon – to enjoy each other’s company, share our
lunch hour, and to finalize the paperwork for the sale of my house here at
Heron Pointe.
I arrived at the Deli earlier because I
wanted coffee to jolt my system into wakefulness before Shay arrived, and finishing
touches to paperwork commenced.
While I drank my coffee, and read a few
paragraphs of my new read, Edgar Winter’s ‘Frankenstein’ was playing in the
background: it made me smile – and as weird as it may sound … it gave my
heart an encouraging lift 😉
‘Frankenstein’ song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RSLP1FCREBA
And I thought of Bob, too, as I waited for
Shay – who had texted me that she had scheduled a walk-through tomorrow; for
the house that has been badgering my thoughts 😉
This move I am planning would not be
happening, if not for Bob – and his absence in my present life.
Bob taught me, as a new Bride, how to get
comfortable with the math I hated – and he stressed was important. I learned to
keep the checkbook up to date, and the Bank Statements on target. I learned to
budget, and squirrel $$$$ away in Savings for those lean months where the work contracts
were scarce, or the woods were shut down due to weather or fire danger. I
learned how to increase the monies Bob trusted solely to my care. I learned how
to spend that money wisely, so we were never in the red with big ticket purchases
(vehicles, houses, ect.) – things may have gotten a little tight at times
as we treaded water, but our heads were never under water.
We had a good life.
Bob’s confidence in me, carries me today.
And Bob prepared for his eventual death, too,
from Day 1 of our married life.
A logger/truck driver’s life was not an easy
life; and some loggers died on the job site: Bob signed several Beneficiary Papers,
as a hedge against the day he would no longer be walking beside me this side of
Heaven.
Those hedges are a bittersweet help to me in
my new Solo Lobo Life.
I am able to move forward to a new home
because of those precautions Bob set in place when we were young and full of
life, love, and hope.
Our life together ended 31 months ago: but
the love and hope, continues.
It is up to me, now, to make my
own way in my new life.
And Bob’s hedges are going to get me to
the country 😊, even though he never wanted to live the country life with me. Bob
was a country boy who grew into a man that loved the right lights if the city (big
city/little city; it didn’t matter).
Bob’s first wife was a city girl – and Bob
lived in Longview, and spend a lot of time in Portland, from 1968 to 1973. When
we married in 1974, we lived in small towns and suburbs on the skirts of cities
(Bob was good about keeping me as far from the citified portions as possible
when we set up house in various locations).
Because he loved me, Bob gave me as much
country as he could (trips to the mountains, looong country roadtrips, homes
in countryside settings, ect.), that when he wanted a retirement home in
Heron Pointe, I agreed; even though it was too ‘citified’, and restrictively
confining.
‘Bright Lights, Big City’ song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XJ26_x48hJk
Moving here killed him.
And since December 14th, 2018, I have
honored his last request to ‘keep the house, Val.’
But now, it’s time to move forward: I need a
new start; in a new home, in a new location.
I want a home in the country.
And even though Bob no longer walks this
Earth – he and the love he always lavished on me, is gonna help me accomplish
that 😉
After Shay and I spent an enjoyable hour
together, and she left with the finished paperwork … I drove back out to
Ryderwood.
I was a woman on a mission 😉
I want my move to go as smoothly as possible:
no matter where God leads me.
If Elohim is leading me to Ryderwood, I
will be thankful: but, I will also do research before I sign on the dotted line.
There is much to like about the area.
There are also concerns; the internet
connection being the primary one.
I’ve quizzed several residents – the accord is that CenturyLink is the Server most utilized
in Ryderwood; with the ‘yays’ outnumbering the ‘nays’ of those quizzed.
I also called my granddaughter,
Alyna, to ask her opinion on Server gigabytes … and
she was more interested in Servers: CentryLink won her approval over all
those mentioned that serve that area.
So, I’ve done the research –
and I’ve gotten the answer I was seeking.
If the house walk-through goes well tomorrow (I will be skipping my Naselle Coffee Hour with friends, there),
Ryderwood will be my new home.
Life can be good where the blacktop ends 😊
‘Wildflowers’ song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oRKS8Nd-SjA
Wildflowers are hardy plants that thrive in adverse
circumstances.
I’ve suffered adverse circumstances since
August 30th, 2018, that resulted in the tragic loss of my husband
December 14th, 2018.
But Bob, even in the most dire of situations,
never allowed his life-sucking circumstance to destroy his upbeat mindset – he faced
his medical prognosis’s with faith and humor … and, in faith, he walked into Heaven
with Yeshua’s arm around his shoulders. I was there with him 24/7: of
that, there is no doubt.
I have learned throughout all my life, not
just those trying hospital months, that everyone suffers tragedy at some
point in their life; you can either wail, wrong your hands, and let tragedy
overwhelm you … or, you can dry your eyes, determine to live despite the sorrow,
and learn to fly above it all.
I’m learning to fly.
‘Learning to Fly’ song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v-LsnQPwHzI
‘End Of The Line’ song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UMVjToYOjbM
