sometimes you decide only to feel what that decision feels like so you can know you need to change it.

a long story edited to give YOU all, relief

UNLESS WE RE DECIDE,   we have decided as of today that pushing it,  pushing it no matter,  isn't the best idea.   I spent a chunk of time looking at temperature averages for several different cities along the way and it's 90's.   And the real truth is that it's hotter than "historical average",  not just now,  but last year.  And maybe even the year before.  It's just hot.

Earlier,  i'd gone  into town and stopped to get gas  only to find that the key for the gas cap was not with me.  I didn't have enough gas to get back home.  I was across from the new auto parts store.  Run by women.  I've never seen a man working in there.. Interesting..i'd never seen a man working in there. Hadn't thought of that till just now, typing this.   So i left the gas station and went across.  Could they pop or pry out the gas cap?  Consultations among each other and one young woman went out with me to try.  She brought 2 screwdrivers.  She tried.  tried and tried.  it was HOT,  we sweated,  her mostly,  i was just squating next to her,  watching,  offering useless conversation.  She worked and worked and i got to notice closely her hair which was a long ponytail with parts of the sides shaved off to the skin.  Nice.  and as she was working,  a vehicle pulled up with another young woman  all girly and two young kids.  Who joined us and obviously knew the one working on the gas cap who told her she needed something really "thin" and did she have something like that in the SUV?  she came back with a fork.  which didn't work but i realized that i had my jackknife and got that and after more work,  She POPPED it out!   There was NO WAY i could have gotten back home without this intervention.  Gas was on Empty.  NO WAY.  No one to call.  and it was

hot.  already in the 90's.

and it took her around a half hour.  At any point she could have given up.  It would have been FAIR if she had.  I couldn't  have blamed her.  but she didn't and wouldn't and i held out a 20 dollar bill and she said,  Oh,  NO!   Oh no,  i can't.  Oh NO,  i can't take that and i told her i would have been a dead dog without her and she said,  oh….No i can't and crossed her arms over her chest and i looked over at the Girly young woman standing there still and said is that your friend? and she said,  she's my wife.  And i held out the $20 to her and she too said, oh no……and i said yes and she said are you Sure? and I said beyond Sure and i stuffed it in her pocket,  saying get you guys something with it, or the kids.  It wasn't even enough for a pizza.  and i ordered a new NON LOCK gas cap,  went back over to the gas station and came HOME.   

I'd promised self   i'd take Tay for a ride in same truck,  the one we will drive to California…it's now after noon and 90 something degrees,  i'd vowed to take Tay for a ride everyday to get her used to it before Going,  and we drove along the ditch bank and it's a small truck,  like small,  meant to be a farm truck or something,  and her tail is often in my face and she hangs out the passenger window panting and saliva spilling from her panting mouth.   I think…17 hours.  

 

then the phone call from Alyssia where we Talk.   where we talk about how it is we WANT stuff but then there is the thing of Peace of Mind that she,  her mother and i have talked about as being the cornerstone.  Peace of Mind.  and how it's just going so slow there with all it is,  even though they are doing everything they can,  day unto day,  and we talk about how things just ARE,  not how we wish they could be 

and we Re~decide that it's just too iffy to make the trip in July.    it might be ok.  it might not.  To leave the well being of 24 sentient beings  "up to the Universe" does not work with the thing of Peace of Mind.  and maybe we don't have enough FAITH,  but well then,  so be it.   I will miss Emrie's entry into this plane.  I will meet her,  probably now in October when she is two months old.  I think she will be ok with that.

so i need to QUIT talking about Going.  I imagine it is driving You all crazy,  this going of mine.  So i want to quit talking about it.  When i go,  i go.  But till then,  there is so much more happening in this world…like the Naomi Klein article in the latest Nation which i want to put here tomorrow.

Now,  i'll just go give Water.  and give some dry cat food to that feral mother under the house.

 

 

 

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35 responses to “sometimes”

  1. Joy Avatar
    Joy

    I think you have all made a wise decision, Grace. No rush, no need to push it–especially in miserable temps. And yes, good advice to accept things as they are, not demanding to remold them into what we wish them to be. This is probably a heavy weight off your back. October (or a cool spell) is perfect. I’m happy for you Grace. (And just think of all the interesting items you came across when you were packing and cleaning!)

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  2. Jan Avatar
    Jan

    peace of mind means so much. . .and the ability to cope with the unexpected, but choosing not to test that to the extreme. . .relief, yes

    Like

  3. Liz A Avatar

    Such a hard choice, but it feels right.

    Like

  4. Carolyn Petersen Avatar
    Carolyn Petersen

    You are a very wise women. No wine before it’s time. The Art come today. I hung it across from the bed I sleep in at mother’s house. A strong spirit I need before me. Lily, the cat, is mighty attracted to the mailing tube. Sniffed it with her mouth open- as they do, when they want all the information they can get.

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  5. Tina Avatar
    Tina

    You all have said all along that you would go when it was time … you are wise not to second guess. You do after all have Very Precious Cargo. ❤

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  6. grace Avatar

    Very Precious Cargo.
    Yes.
    and this Very Precious Cargo is at the CENTER of it all. This is of and from the Goats. to where it began, years ago, with Jenny and then through the 5 years of them here. On into our imagining Gideon’s final time. On into the Goats for the kids…giving and showing them a way to live. yes.
    Very Precious Cargo indeed.
    the center of it all.

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  7. grace Avatar

    Carolyn…that Cloth…Very strong. It arrived. eeeee, it arrived.
    i know that…smelling with mouth open…our old cat Rainbow, similar to the under the house cat now. Our old cat, Rainbow on spring street in Ann arbor….we used to call it “hunt mouth”. Rainbow has hunt mouth. Taking in…Everything available….all sensory and beyond. “all the information they can get”….
    right now, i guess…i guess i have hunt mouth….taking in all information i can get
    LOVE to you, Carolyn and i so so glad you place her where you sleep.
    Love and love and more

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  8. grace Avatar

    yes. but yes.

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  9. grace Avatar

    i might have been just OK. and there is a WISH for that…that things will be just ok. But it was pushing it. I know that if i were a Goat, i would be wishing for October.

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  10. grace Avatar

    there is so much MORE to go through, the packing…out in the Albatross, so so much still.
    I can’t tell yet, if it feels like a heavy weight off or not…but it doesn’t matter. it’s the Goats and Tay and Tazmeena.

    Like

  11. Mo Crow Avatar

    Oh (((Grace))) this is such good news!
    a friend who travelled a lot with her two red setters (who drooled a lot) would wrap herself in a sarong, over her hair x-ed ’round her shoulders and covering her lap so she could visit people without having to take a bath on arrival!

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  12. Michelle in NYC Avatar

    RELIEF. I was never tired of your talking about going by the way…the packing and prep was all interesting always. But, this is good. A Fall trip in that part of the country will be kinder for all beings.

    Like

  13. jude Avatar

    to me it is just the rocking back and forth thing. I’m used to it, the rhythm of it.

    Like

  14. Deb G Avatar

    It’s all part of the story…

    Like

  15. Patty Avatar

    Wise decision. Three steps forward, two steps back.

    Like

  16. Marti Avatar
    Marti

    When you go, you go: Your move is monumental so no one who comes here is tired of your sharing of how it is going, will go, or could go. Simply, it is all how it goes, packing up 20 yrs of living in the desert and you do so with deep love, caring and sharing. To me, peace of mind is like the squeaky hinge on the gate, moving back and forth until it is oiled (your oil, October move, not in the heat of July) and now, the hinge is quiet, the gate swings soothingly…
    Any chance that you could fly to CA to be there before beloved Emrie comes into this world? Would serve 2 purposes: one to hold this blessed child in your arms as she becomes a part of the whole and secondly, to see the land for yourself before October, another form of peace of mind…

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  17. joanne Avatar
    joanne

    I was setting myself up to “worry” about everything in the heat on highways etc. Now, I can be calm. Wait for October. Now that you are ready to leave–so many interesting encounters with new people in your “old place”. Give water.

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  18. beth Avatar

    Yes. It’s so fortunate that you do have the flexibility to wait. And I love the story of these young women.

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  19. grace Avatar

    that’s great….
    but it would also be too hot for that. I’d rather have the
    slobber. Tay tho slobbers at the window. I just have her tail.

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  20. grace Avatar

    it will. it should be a thousand percent easier on them

    Like

  21. grace Avatar

    yes..you rock….not me so much…, the back and forth…i
    like to just go.

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  22. grace Avatar

    maybe we’ll keep doing that…?

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  23. grace Avatar

    i like the image of the hinge, the gate…
    well…you know, birth is hard to guess…she could be early
    she could be late. And i need to keep working until it’s
    time to go…so…taking a couple weeks off isn’t something
    wise to do right now.
    we are watching all money very closely.
    i am very ok at seeing everything when i Arrive. I kind
    of prefer it that way.
    This will be OK.

    Like

  24. grace Avatar

    good….we will all be calm with you.
    i enjoyed so much that interaction yesterday…gives me
    faith in young women

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  25. grace Avatar

    Me too. They were just great…no hesitance. Doing what was needed.
    I will always remember them.

    Like

  26. Yvette Avatar

    Sigh…too hot not good
    Please write what you want to write
    Never a dull moment here, with youre writing
    Lovelovelor

    Like

  27. grace Avatar

    Gideon has sometimes skipped a feeding. That’s new…different.
    He is losing a little of his Life Force. For him. For sure.
    We need to be as delicate as we can.
    Love and love and beyond to you….

    Like

  28. saskia Avatar

    so this is how it happened, this decision to wait, I like reading about the how and the why of it all
    lovely couple, funny how kindness comes your way just when you need it

    Like

  29. Kathy dorfer Avatar
    Kathy dorfer

    I have been thinking of your travel path and have been worried about the animals . So glad you have planned to leave in October . I know that ride and know how hot it would be even at night . Glad you made a new plan .
    You have been in my thoughts and prayers .
    Xxoo
    Kathyd

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  30. Dakotah Avatar

    I learn so much from you, Grace, about just going, the ebb and flow of it, how to move with things. Really good lessons for me to keep in mind. The truck gas cap…the women…the goats…Emrie…your new home, all just flowing. And with awareness and listening.
    I quite like the idea of you being there in NM just a little while longer…

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  31. grace Avatar

    yes…they changed everything from fear to Going.

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  32. grace Avatar

    thank you, Kathy…thoughts and prayers, no matter what “kind”
    have meaning and life
    its not what we’d hoped but it’s the Right decision. The Goats
    are the center of it all, even Emrie.

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  33. grace Avatar

    it’s a Shift. staying. I am not so much at all about waiting, but it’s what the lesson seems to be. so ok.
    and you know what, i really just began “absorbing” learning about at the age you are now. I’m in the Old zone now. those years
    matter…they teach story after story

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  34. Dakotah Avatar

    It’s so odd the changes I’m experiencing at this age…shift is a great word for it. I have been aware for some time how much I appreciate what you share, your perspective and how you go through your days. I listen a lot. To you and others who have been here already.
    You’ve worked really hard to prepare for going. Must be tough, although necessary to put the brakes on. But I can’t help feeling happy to share things where you are for a bit longer, through your writing.

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