Life in the Boonies

We arrived in Florida a week ago, so I decided this morning it was time to get back to some kind of regular exercise routine. I got up and had coffee with my husband at 5 a.m., then went walking down the red clay dirt road towards the highway. I was wearing long pants and sleeves to discourage the ever-present mosquitoes and toting my two-pound weights. It was a cool, beautiful summer morning, the sun turning the edges of the clouds pink before it would rise in full force. I walked down the dirt road, over the creek, up the other side . . . and I was tired. Maybe I'd only walk halfway today, I thought. But I wondered what lay just around the bend in the road ahead, so I went on. I came around the curve and heard the traffic from the highway not far away. Surely, I could make it that far. And I did, then it was time to turn around and head home. Sometimes, curiosity and determination are powerful motivators, I thought. It made me think about all the reasons we had decided to move to Florida and what we expected of our new life here.

My husband Ed has been working for my father at Oak-Loosa. The last few days he has been laying sod and moving bricks. The work day starts at 6 a.m. and ends at noon because of the heat. Today Ed came in for lunch and peeled off his overalls, T-shirt and socks, all soaked with sweat. "It's not everyday," I said, "I get to have lunch with a nearly naked man." That made him smile. After my walk this morning, I went to visit with my grandmother who turned 80 in July. Last week, she had an episode and was taken to the hospital. The cardiologist was called in and tests were done; the doctor took her off five different medications and she'll meet with him tomorrow to discuss the results of her tests. She's home now and greeted me from her recliner this morning. She and her sitter Sarah were watching Animal Planet and doing laundry. I stretched, had some breakfast, and sat with them for a while, the headed up to the motor home where we are living. Scuppernongs are ripe now and I couldn't resist stopping to pick some of the dark grapes straight from the leafy green vines and pop them in my mouth. You eat the inside and discard the thick bitter skins. When I was a kid, I thought this made them the perfect snack as you can eat your fill and spit the skins in the grass. They're still pretty good.

We are living in my father's motor home which is parked up at the "barn" which, in reality is a huge hanger-like building full of stuff, most notably our stuff that was disgorged from the U-Haul the day after we arrived. Yesterday, my husband took off his glasses while he was working and they got stepped on. He decided he would look for his extra pair in the pile of stuff in the barn. Well, we looked, but it was akin to looking for the proverbial needle in a haystack. The pile is about 15 feet high and 30 feet long. I'm amazed that it all fit in the truck, even more amazed that we crossed the Continental Divide with a load like that. Anyway, we didn't find the glasses and he'll have to get a new pair if the old ones can't be repaired. The cats are living with us in the 32' motor home and it's comfortable, if a bit cozy. We have twin beds which is something of a novelty for us. My husband's first improvement project to our own RV had been to convert the twin beds in the back to a large double bunk, and we liked sprawling out in the big space under the quilts. Now we say good nights across the aisle like we're at camp. Weird. But, our temporary home is fine. We have privacy, the DVD set up, and air conditioning. In the evenings, we go down to my grandparents' house to take our showers and have a snack, usually dessert. Sometimes we have a beer and watch Gunsmoke with my grandfather. Every night it's Gunsmoke, then a movie on the Western Channel. My grandmother goes to bed at 6 p.m. and watches TV in there for a couple of hours. I go in to say good night and give her a hug.

When my father paid for the mobile home we're moving into, he also paid for the guy to move it onto our property. The only problem is the guy that was going to move the trailer has quit, so there will be a delay in getting the trailer to the site. Still, if you look across the lake from the dock on this side, you can see our land. It's been cleared and the tracks in the red clay are still fresh. The septic tank has gone in and the power will be out there in 2-3 weeks. Then, we'll have to drill a well. We'll stay in the motor home until we can get the trailer out there, then we'll make another move to the other side of the lake. That will mean sorting through that stuff in the barn and deciding what to take and what to leave until the house is finished. My husband and I have a new way of looking at things here: one day at a time. It may be a year or more before we have a house, but we hope it is the last house we have and that makes it something worth waiting for.

My husband has been working for my father, but I've decided it wouldn't be a good idea for me to go that route at this point in our relationship. Soon, I'll begin to look for work again. I don't know where that search will lead me, but I'm ready. I learned much from my last job search experience. I almost look forward to going at it again.

One day last week my husband mounted an old aluminum boat ladder on the end of the dock. Our plan was to take a dip in the lake late in the day, before we went in to take our showers. That was the day that one of the guys fishing down there saw three alligators, one big mama and two smaller babies. I'm still tempted by the lake. I wonder if alligators would attack a full sized human thrashing around, just trying to get cool? We have seen a few snakes since we arrived. They've been black and fast-movers. All I know is that if they have a long tail, they're not poisonous; if they have a short tail, they are. But, aren't snakes all tail?

We're in town today checking mail and running errands. My husband went out to sit in the car and get the air conditioning going,so I'd better close for now. Talk to you again next time.