TheBanyanTree: Driving without Headlights

[Margaret R. Kramer]

We moved into this house four years ago.  It was an exciting day.  I was
totally packed and ready when the movers showed up.  Ray had rented a small
truck the night before and Asher and I and Ray had filled the truck with
lots of his tools and other garage stuff.

Our stuff filled one large moving van and half of another.  Asher and Ashlin
came over to watch Axel and the cats.

It turned out to be a summer-like day, highs were unexpectedly in the 80s.
My closing was delayed two hours, so our agent and I went over the house for
the final walkthrough.

Ray was on a conference call on his cell phone for his divorce.  They want
you at the hearing according to Wisconsin law.  In Minnesota, if no one is
contesting, neither party has to be in court.  Ray refused to go to
Milwaukee and the judge refused to change the date, hence the conference
call.

I finally got to go to my closing after the delay and I met the people once
again who bought our house.  They were happy and excited, probably not
realizing sometime in the future, they would go into foreclosure.

Then I went to the closing on this house.  I was a mental wreck by that
time, with the warm weather, the heat, the late move, and the divorce, but I
pulled it together enough to sign 5,000 papers, and even though the funds
hadn’t transferred from my sale, the title person gave me the keys and this
wonderful house was ours!

They were still moving stuff into the house when I got home.  Ray was
unpacking the kitchen.  We had pizza.  And then we collapsed.  No TV.  No
phone.  No computers.  All that would have to wait until the next day when
everything would be hooked up.

I couldn’t sleep and got up at 2:30 am and started unpacking the kitchen for
real.  Ray had to drive out to his worthless lawyer’s office to sign the
divorce papers, so I set up the computers and the TV, and phones, so they
were ready when everyone came to hook them up.

After Ray got home, he spent the better part of that beautiful spring day
setting up his work area in the garage while I worked on settling us in the
house.

Well, a lot has changed in four years.  Ray isn’t here.  I thought he would
be here forever.  Our old cat Cinnamon is also gone.  Shadow is new.  We
have the boys’ cat, Jumper.  Asher and the boys live here.  A lot has
changed.  And some stuff has stayed the same.

Ray was so proud of this house.  It was OUR house; we were growing into it
together.  Well, I’ll stay here for a while or until I can’t afford it
anymore.

I cleaned the dead stuff out of the garden this morning.  Then I raked
leaves out the garden bed against the garage.  I started taking inventory on
what I’ll need for this year’s gardening season.  I’ll probably haul out the
lawn furniture either next weekend or the weekend after.  Then I’ll clean
out the garage.

After this week’s rain, green is busting out all over the place.  The leaves
are budding on the trees.  The tulips, crocuses, and daffodils are poking
up.  I love this high energy time.

I drove across the river today to Wal-Mart.  I hate that place, but they
have good prices.  I bought a large area rug and some other stuff.  Then I
decided to drive to the Target across the river, too.

There was an older Corvette behind me on the freeway.  At first, he stayed
back, but then he kept creeping up behind me.  Finally, he was practically
in my back seat.

I had to slow down, because a pick-up had pulled off the road.  The driver
got out and was adjusting a load of wood he had in the box.  He was standing
right along the curb of the freeway and I didn’t want to drive too fast
while passing him.

The Corvette driver was having a fit about my slow speed, so he really tried
to get close and personal with me.  So I drove even slower, just to shake
him off of my tail.

He finally passed me with a load roar.  Good riddance.

As I was driving on the freeway, I ended up following him!  He was in the
slow lane, riding someone else’s ass.

We got off at the same exit, but I think he noticed me and deliberately went
into a different turn lane.  After we turned, he stayed way way behind.  I
think he thought I was following him and was going to do a little road rage
number on him.

But, no, I was just going to good old Target.  I turned into their parking
lot, and he went on by.

People.  You got to love ‘em.

Margaret R. Kramer
margaretkramer at comcast.net
margaret.kramer at polarispublications.com
www.polarispublications.com
www.linkedin.com/in/margaretkramer

Within you I lose myself...
Without you I find myself
Wanting to be lost again.  
-Author Unknown