August 31, 2004 I left Montgomery Village Maryland with my car loaded with essentials and a new home waiting for my arrival. I was sans hubby. He had still not retired from the Peace Corp. That wouldn't happen until October. I began our retirement on my own eight years ago yesterday.
On the drive to Kentucky I managed to score a speeding ticket in West Virginia. There is a spot where the freeway enters a city and the speed limit drops. I was slowing down but had not quite gotten as slow as I needed to be and there was the policeman ready to make his quota for the day.
I got to Sadieville, Kentucky, pulled into our driveway and unlocked the front door to a very empty home. I carried in my sleeping bag and carefully placed it on the floor where our bed would be the next day. I unloaded the items from my car and settled in for a quiet evening to myself. I had a book to read and a craft project to fill my time.
The next day the mover would show up with our possessions. I would spend the day directing their traffic. The mover was the same guy that packed our belongings in Montgomery Village, Maryland. When he saw the house and the setting all he could say was, "I understand why you moved." We lived in a nice home in Maryland but being in the country in this beautiful home was definitely a good reason to move. Of course, it was aided by retiring.
The movers set up the beds and put the boxes on their appropriate levels of the house, well for the most part they were on their appropriate levels. I filled my evening with beginning to unpack and put away things.
The second full day in my home was spent with the delivery and installation of a new refrigerator, washer and dryer. I had to be patient as the ice-maker filled up with ice and then threw that good looking ice out until the second batch came ready to be used by me. I love lots of ice in my water or soda.
Through all of this and over the first week, each neighbor on our street came in and visited, brought a little treat, one even brought a hand-drawn picture of the street with names where each family's home was marked and their phone number. I would add names of the few kids on the block as I met people and the names of their dogs.
So were am I after eight years living in Kentucky. I spent Thursday and Friday with my hubby painting the interior of our Rosenwald School. I took antihistimines each night to counter the dust and pollen. Yesterday when we came home you couldn't have seen too dirtier, more bedraggled people unless you looked at a coal miner covered in coal dust. But we felt very, very good for spending all that time in service to our community and preserving this important piece of history in Sadieville, our county and state and even our country. It left me knowing I'm a part of a community and I belong to it. That is a good feeling.
Last night the A/C quit working. I was working in my sewing room and came upstairs to refill my water. As I stepped onto the main level of the house I told my hubby it just felt warmer than it should feel with the A/C going. I went to the thermostat and the temperature was 82. I checked where it was set and it was set at 75. Hmmmm...that is just not right. Claude placed a call for service to the company we have used in the past and like. They put us in the queue and we just have to wait until they call. Last time the problem was a little mouse that crawled up repeatedly into the A/C unit outside carrying twigs and straw and made a nest around the wires. Not a great location. It turned out he was fried by the wires and it shorted out the A/C unit. I blogged about this when it happened. I have not gone out to check for mice. We'll let the pro-A/C guy do that.
I have spent today, all day, preparing for a new calling I will receive at Church tomorrow, probably. I paused a moment an looked around me. I was sitting in my sewing room surrounded by things that I'm doing. My stuff to president of the Countryside Homemakers is on the ironing board. My stuff for my new calling is in the chair by my computer table. The stuff for me to play the organ at church tomorrow is ready in a briefcase by the chair. My crafts , mending and presents to get ready for Christmas are on my cutting table. My file box with all that I do for my father is ready and waiting for the next things to be done. A tape of my father's mother telling her history is in my CD/Tape player waiting as I slowing get it finished. My stuff for the Friends of Sadieville is as caught up as I can get it until I take pictures of the finished Rosenwald School next week. I realized I'm surrounded by the life I have made for myself since retirement. It is a full life, full of good and worthwhile projects, associations and people.
So on this 8th Anniversary of my retirement to Sadieville, Kentucky, I'm feeling busy, happy to be where I am and doing what I'm filling my life with. I'm at peace with all of this.
But Claude...as happy as he is, he still is talking about moving further west in 12 more years. Goodness...I'll do my best Scarlett O'Hara imitation...I can't think about that today, I'll think about that tomorrow.
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