A WHOLE NEW BALLGAME

Now it is a whole new ball game.

My life is much like the NFL... if you are a football fan you will understand.  Mox and I are living with a new set of rules.  Well, not a completely new set of rules, but a new set of referees.  If you happened to watch a game lately, (and I watch very few), it is noticeable that the "real" refs are out on strike and the "amateur" refs are now in charge. They are trying their hardest to control the game. The rules are not different, but compromised.

My new set of rules refers to renting.  I am now the leasee, which in fact sounds better than leasor, which could be interpreted as leas than, but ironically means more than. 

I assume, that by what you, my friends, are posting and your well wishes, you often think that we are on top of the world, fancy free, free adventurers, and that "this is the life to be envied."

Nevertheless, in my life I view most things on a continuum and this is the continuum of the last few days.

TOP OF THE WORLD..........................................................................................LIFE IN REALITY

When we loaded the trucks to move, it was not only a lot of work, it was a lot of feelings of finality,  a lot of anxiety about getting it done.  Unlike Nike, it was not just about doing it!  We did not get everything into one truck and had to decide how to get our "not very important" possessions of life to Colorado.  We ended up pulling a UHAUL trailer behind our UHAUL truck, (the biggest UHAUL) had available.  That meant that Charlie, Mox, and I all had to drive separately, and that we left at 3 o'clock in the afternoon rather than 11 or 12.  LIFE IN REALITY.

When we finally unloaded our things in Denver and I went to Estes to see Mox and Keller for the first time in weeks, it was fantastic.  The hugs and kisses were worth traveling through the night...sleeping in the car at a truck stop between the big UHAUL and a BIG DOG (semi),  and not brushing my teeth for longer than I care to think.  TOP OF THE WORLD

When unpacking and I figure out I don't have enough cupboard space for my dishes; when my living room stuff does not seem to fit; when the boxes that need to be unpack are 5xs the ones unpacked and there is no more room; when I find out my Leasor bought 5 rooms of new curtains in Ivory when the walls are white and carpets beige; AND when after I asked if we could exchange the colors and found out she traveled to 5 Wall Marts to get them all alike and on SALE and I had looked them up at full price they were $12.99 a panel...LIFE IN REALITY.

When going to IKEA today to find a bed frame, hearing my husband being way too excited about a $39.00 coffee table (scary), loosing our cart after only a 10 minute abandonment while flying down the isles on a big cart, standing in line for what seemed like purgatory, because the 9 month pregnant woman in front of us could save money by becoming a member using the internet on her phone...LIFE IN REALITY.

When we were the last in a closed line and met the check out person who found out we had just moved to her zip code...80210 and when she went on to tell us what a great neighborhood we moved into and when she gave us several tips about where to go and what to do....TOP OF THE WORLD.  When loading up our purchases, we happened to be by the same pregnant woman struggling with her purchases (serendipity) and when I thought we should stay and help load (as I can remember the day), and when she couldn't find her car and then discovered she was on the wrong level, and when we continued to help her load.....TOP OF THE WORLD.

Back at 1930 Milwaukee St. with our Leasor who cares alot about her property and who has printed out a 5 page lease agreement which I didn't totally agree with and when at one point I agree that I am not in charge of the place I live in and I know it has 9 windows with the same  ivory drapes from Wall Mart, when there is nothing I can to about it....LIFE IN REALITY.

Luckily after all that, when I could come over to Chris and Anna's home, see my grandson, run circles around us on the kitchen floor shouting "run around my family", eat pasta,  be reminded of all the good ahead, when I could have the moving experience normalize by those who have moved several times, and when, of course, I could have a martini,  I could feel on ...TOP OF THE WORLD.

PS:  I never cared much about the NFL
PPS:  Strong life experiences usually surprise me.
PPPS:  I guess that is why I need to keep having experiences.
PPPPS:  I hate surprises.
PPPPPS:  Go Figure.

Riding the range

Tuesday will mark the two month anniversary since we first left Iowa headed for Colorado in July.

Iowa

Nebraska

Colorado

Wyoming

Montana

Idaho

Washington

Oregon

Caliifforrnnnia (it is a very long state)

Nevada

Utah

Colorado

Nebraska

Iowa 

Minnesota

Wisconsin

Michigan

Ontario

Quebec

New York

Vermont

New Hampshire

Massachusetts

Rhode Island

Connecticut 

New York

So far if I am counting right that is 21 states (not repeating) and two provinces.  

We are targeted to leave NYC on Tuesday and make our way back to Iowa.  We have not plotted our final course.  At times it seems like we should linger in several more states and try to burn a couple more bridges,  At the same time, it seems like it is about time to settle down.  Fall is almost here and we know what season follows.

We also have a day to load the truck and move our possessions, whatever they may be, to our new home in Colorado.  We are moving our things at the same time that Brooke and Charlie are moving their things.  It is time to reunite the family and start a new life.

The days of riding the range are just about over.  It is time to get off the horse and and into a house.

MOX: Yurt to York

We live in an amazing time and place. In just a matter of a couple of hours we can transport ourselves into completely different environments. Transitions that would have been unthinkable to our recent ancestors. Two days ago Pam and I were living in a 12' diameter yurt among the scrub oak forest in Shawme Forest in Cape Cod, Mass. With the turn of the ignition key and a little gas we found ourselves only a few hours later turning the key to a walk-up apt in Brooklyn, in the midst of one of the largest cities in the world.
Cape Cod: What comes to mind? I had imagined row after row of zillion dollar homes tucked into gated communities unlocked only with a 1% card. What we found was a beautiful stretch of unusual geography that includes, thanks largely to JFK authorization, the National Seashore reserved for the common people - like me and you. I do not know if this country has "set aside" too little or too much of our shared natural resourses  for public use, such as national parks, forests, seashores etc. I do know that I appreciate seeing them and using them. They are a good thing and a reflection on the values of our society. The Cape does have several small communities such as Provincetown at the NE end and Sandwich and Chatam and Hyannis along the coast. Provincetown was perhaps our least favorite as it is the most tourist-oriented with shops etc. Hyannis was our favorite with a busy marina (connections by ferry to Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket) and the legacy of the Kennedy clan. Speaking of JFK, we did visit the JFK Library in Boston as we drove down from New Hampshire. It is very well done with a nice balance of architecture, media, and artifacts. You know that you are no longer "young" when you watch a graining black and white video of Walter Cronkite choking up as he announces the fact that "President Kennedy is dead" and remembering all too well when you saw it the first time live on CBS. (Available at this link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2K8Q3cqGs7I )

Here, in Brooklyn, we are very comfortable in a nicely furnished one bedroom apt Pam arranged through AirB&B, only a few blocks away from Joe, Gili, and baby Zevi. A great opportunity for us to enjoy some bonding as we have not seen Zevi in person since she was two weeks old back in February. She is a happy girl with a smile that DOES make you feel young again! An extra bonus: Gili's parents, Susan and Douglas, are up visiting from Florida.