November 24, 2017
It was another whirlwind trip to Staunton. I squeezed some time in with Analia and Rory,
worked on our booth at The Factory Antique Mall, made a trip to the post office
and bank, and made a trip to Goodwill to find me some jeans as the couple pairs
of jeans I wear are falling apart.
Alissa had prepared a big meal for us, Gabino’s family and a few of her
friends for Wednesday evening. She did a
great job. The food was delicious. Thursday (Thanksgiving) I helped a bit with
the girls and then started my pies. I
made two apple pies and a large pot of green beans and potatoes to take to
Mike’s mom’s for the family get together.
I finished, got the kitchen cleaned up, and showered just in time to get
down there. Mike’s cousin and his
girlfriend had arrived from Ohio and it was so good getting to know them. Carmen and I found out we have a lot in
common, having lived/visited some of the same areas out west and having both
grown up close to St. Louis. We also
both enjoy hiking and the outdoors and she had spent some time interning on a
farm and enjoys agriculture. It was also
good to get better news about Mike’s sister in law. She has recently been diagnosed with breast
cancer and the news originally was that she was to have a double
lumpectomy. However. After a biopsy,
they have found the one lump benign and will only have to remove the spots in
one breast. We are happy to hear the
more positive diagnosis that won’t require as intensive of a surgery and the
doctors expect a positive outcome from her treatment. We were also happy for Mike’s nephew and his
fiancé on their engagement that was just announced. It is nice when life offers the joy to mingle
with the hard times and we are happy for Mike’s brother’s family who has been going
through a lot of hard times recently that they have this wedding to help to
balance out some of the more difficult news that they have been receiving
lately. After we left the meal at the
home place, we packed up and headed back to Laurel Fork. About half way there, a deer decided to complicate
our trip a bit. He ran across Interstate
81 just south of Salem, Virginia and glanced the car in front of us. I saw him coming between the rear of that car
and the front of our car. It was just a
blur and neither of us had a chance to even speak or react when we felt the
thud as our car that was traveling 65 to 70 miles an hour came in contact with
the deer. We pulled to the side of the
road more to make sure the other couple were ok. They had pulled over to see what damage had
been done to their car and to check on us.
They were a young couple traveling from West Virginia and were very
kind. They didn’t receive more than a
scratch and a small dent to the mirror on their car, but the driver’s side of
our car was smashed in with the hood crumpled, lights out, and some kind of
damage under the hood causing the car to overheat. There was no fluid leaking but we suspect the
fan was unable to cool properly due to the crumpled hood. DOT personnel was on the scene almost
immediately and the gentleman was very kind and helpful. He waited with us until a state trooper
arrived who was also very helpful and kind.
When the tow truck arrived, the driver was also cheerful, kind and
helpful. Our insurance agent got on the phone with us on a holiday evening and
gave us the information we needed as well.
We were thankful for so many
people who could have been grouchy and irritable on a cold, holiday evening
when they had to work but instead were considerate of the situation in which we
found ourselves. DOT was unable to
locate a rental car with everything being shut down except the place at the
airport and they were out of cars. Not
knowing if we would be able to get a car the next day because of the shortage
due to the holidays, we called Mike’s nephew and his wife who live about 30
minutes away from where we had the accident.
The graciously came out in the cold, picked us up, loaded a car full of
things into their vehicle and then offered us a place to stay for the night or
their vehicle to get us the rest of the way home. After visiting with them a few minutes we
opted to go ahead and take them up on borrowing their car and just get on to
Laurel Fork. We were cold and tired when
we got in after midnight, but thankful for our safety and all the people who
made what could have been a really bad experience flow as smoothly as
possible.
November 25, 2017
Yesterday morning, we spent a good bit of time trying to locate a
rental car and there was nothing available for Friday, so we found one for
Saturday. We will make a trip into
Roanoke to pick up the rental car and then take Andy and JoAnna’s car back to
them in Blacksburg. That’s not exactly
what we had planned for this Saturday but the deer that wrecked our car necessitated
a change of plans for our weekend. We
are fortunate that so many people have stepped in and helped to make the whole
incident less stressful than it might have otherwise been, so we can’t complain
about the inconvenience of having to drive to Roanoke and pick up a car.
After reserving a car, Mike started working on the barn again and I
started taking down fall decorations and putting up Christmas decorations. I got the lights up on the wrap around porch. I have never used outdoor lights before but
have always wanted to do so. I just
never had the time to put them up and didn’t make it a priority. I try to do
simple things now that I have always wanted to do and stop putting them
off. Tomorrow never comes. We only have today.
When Mike and I started slowing
down about a year ago we started practicing what I like to call “intentional
living”. We were “forced” into a
position when Mike had his rotator cuff surgery where we had to step back, slow
down, focus on only the most important tasks and let a lot of other things go
until he was able to heal. We found
during that time that we had been missing out on a lot of things because we
were always “too busy”. It was during
this time after Mike’s surgery that we began applying principals that allowed
us to step back, slow down, focus on the most important task and give our souls
a time to heal. Our relationship had
suffered over the years as we worked so hard to make the farm a success and as
we tried to meet the needs of others (family, friends, neighbors, and
clientele). As Mike’s body healed, we
were given the opportunity to make the decision to go back to life as it use to
be, or to make wiser choices and stop letting life dictate to us. Instead we began making intentional choices
that helped us slow down, focus on each other, build stronger relationships
with those we love and enjoy life rather than endure life. That’s not to say that we didn’t enjoy life
before, but intentional living focuses on breathing in the present. I think of Mike’s dad and I believe he was one
of the most balance human beings I have ever met. He farmed until the day he died. In fact, we found him on the ground beside
his tractor, in the field, having died of an apparent heart attack while
planting corn. Pops, as we called him, was a hard worker and never gave up on
the call to farm, which was in his blood, but he passed the reigns down to his
sons and then worked along side Mike in a supportive roll until his death. There was a never a time when Pops was too
busy to stop and talk to someone who needed him, whether that was family,
friend or stranger. He had a quiet and
gentle way about him and much wisdom.
His light blue eyes would shine when he found something amusing or
delightful and they filled with compassion as he recognized the hurts of those
he loved. I didn’t stop to process it or
assign a term to the way Pops lived his life, but looking back, I see he was
probably one of the best examples of intentional living as he somehow found the
balance between achieving his goals and always being in the moment.
The weather was gorgeous yesterday which was nice for Mike as he worked
outside. It started off really cold at
around 20 degrees but warmed up quickly to the high 50’s. Amidst my decorating, I washed three loads of
clothes and hung them on the line to dry.
I enjoy hanging clothes on the line.
I always have. I remember when I
was a kid that was one of my jobs and I always preferred the chores that took
me outdoors. Late afternoon as I was
working on the Christmas lights, Mike came down from the barn and said he
needed me to come with him to see something at the barn. I just walked to the barn in my moccasins
that I wear around the house but when we got to the barn he said I needed to
climb the ladder because what he wanted me to see was on the roof. I started telling him I was wearing the wrong
kind of shoes to be climbing ladders and scaling rooftops, but ended up
climbing up without going back to change my shoes. We climbed onto the lower section that is
less than six feet off the ground and from there made our way up the sloped
roof until we got to the section where the shed attaches to the barn and we
climbed up and onto that roof. This put
us up to the barn on the backside of the loft and we were facing west. The sun was high enough to shine brightly
over the mountain peaks and the metal roof of the shed was reflecting the
heat. Even though it was only about 55
degrees at that time, it felt like summer there on that roof and after I
inspected Mike’s work, I sat down there on the rooftop and soaked in some
rays. Mike had taken me to the roof to
show me his work on the backside of the barn.
I had honestly thought that section of the barn would probably never get
finished once the contractors left and it was not complete. There are so many other things pulling at us
for our time that I thought perhaps Mike would not get to that and it would go
undone. Instead, there it was in front
of me, the smell of fresh cut lumber and the boards carefully cut and placed to
give the back of the barn a fresh look and add many more years of service for
the animals that will be housed and milked there. I couldn’t have been happier with the
November sun warm on my face and dreams and plans taking shape but most of all,
feeling close to my husband and loving him.
November 26, 2017
Yesterday was another gorgeous day, especially for November in the
mountains. It started off cold but
warmed up very quickly. Mike set out
right after breakfast to get some more work done on the barn. I took the opportunity to wash and hang more
clothes on the line and then focus on some writing. Getting back to writing has been a part of my
focus on “intentional living”. Writing
is such a big part of me and I had let things like forums and Facebook rob the
time that I could have spent writing with more focus. Looking back, I can see that those hours
spent on social media outlets were like eating at McDonalds when I could have
been fine dining. By giving up the “few
minutes here and few minutes there” on Facebook or a community forum, I can
find the time to journal and write and the writing that I do is more meaningful
to me. I have never intended to give up
social media completely forever, but the longer I am away from it, the less
desire I have to return.
Yesterday afternoon we had to drive to Roanoke and pick up a rental
car. We were unable to get one Thursday
or Friday but they had one available for us on Saturday. When we got there, we didn’t have all the
insurance information we needed, so we called our agent. We are so fortunate to have an insurance
agent who actually takes his job personally and has old fashioned values
towards his clients. We got that
straightened out and then Mike went to get the car while I was to follow in our
Nephew’s car that he had loaned to us.
Mike couldn’t find the car in the airport parking lot for a while. I could see him walking back and forth
looking for it. When he did find it, he
called me and said he didn’t have a clue how to start it. It was a “key-less start” car and rather than
a “gear shift” it had a dial for the drive, reverse, neutral, etc. He sat there for a few minutes until he
figured it out and later we had a good laugh about it. I told him it was like “The Clampett Go to
Hollywood” only it was “The Cupps Go to Roanoke”. The holiday weekend traffic was horrible and
when he offered to take me somewhere to eat I declined with “Just get me out of
Roanoke and back to Laurel Fork where I belong.” When we stopped by to drop off our nephew’s
car, they asked us to stay and eat Thanksgiving leftovers with them, which we
did, and everything was delicious. We
had a great time cutting up and laughing.
We always enjoy being with them so much.
We got home around 9:30 and by the time I washed up and got into my pajamas,
Mike was already asleep, so I just went to bed as well.
November 27, 2017
Yesterday was an incredibly busy day.
We had Mike’s cousin and his girlfriend with us for part of the
day. They did not get away as soon as
they had planned and ended up not getting to our place until late
afternoon. Usually, we leave by late
afternoon to return to Staunton but we wanted to spend some time with our out
of state company. We had a really good
time with them, hiking to “the back forty”, eating a meal at the Crooked Oak
Restaurant, and just having some heart to heart talks. I had only just met Carmen on Thanksgiving
but found her to be one of those people with whom meaningful conversation
happens early in the relationship and we reached a level of communication that
was comfortable for both of us almost immediately. We ended up not leaving Laurel Fork until
after midnight and arriving in Staunton just before 3 am. I needed to be up and ready to watch the
girls at 6 giving me only three hours of sleep.
I’m reminded that fifty-year olds need more sleep than that. It’s going to be a long day.