Beautiful, Amazing, AND an Accomplishment

Wednesday the 16th I rushed to get my work done, so I could leave town, and surprise my daddy at his retirement party… How many times in your life do you get to retire? (Unless you’re a rock star or Garth Brooks???? )

I spent the night with a girlfriend, Tabitha; loved being around animals I don’t have any more. She has 4 cats and a dog, I enjoyed two of the five sleeping with me!. Got up a decent time and took care of issues with my truck, went to a pastry/coffee shop and worked by remote off the notebook computer so work was settled, got Bloodworth settled and headed to the party. It was wonderful how much food, and how many people were there to harass/or bid farewell to my dad! He is such a kidder many are not sure how to take him. At any rate the party was good, Dad seemed happy and that was all that mattered to me.

I got some other things settled … getting Henry his LATE birthday gift and I literally headed back for home straight from the Party. And Giving Olivia hers early!

I RUSHED home as fast as I could because there was a winter storm headed our way and you never know how bad they can be due to our elevation. As my luck runs… I somehow hit the face to my radio and it ended up in a bag I gave my sister Betsy for the kids… So I had nothing to keep me awake on the road and I … am NOT a person that can stay awake after dark. After driving as long as I could, I had to get a hotel room, I had barely made it to the other side of Knoxville when I realized my driving was not up to par! Too many people were passing me.

Well I got up! Waited for a decent hour to call Mother and let her know I was fine, as I was on the phone with her the first of the rain drops fell. Not 5 minutes after getting off the phone with Mother, it was sleet, and not 10 minutes after it was snow! Now while normally this doesn’t bother me at all, but I didn’t have any weight in the back of my long bed and to top it off! I didn’t have my winter package in the truck either!

What is a winter package! For all my years of driving, I have had a tin can, a candle, matches, wool socks, and a blanket in my car or truck. Here I was having been dressed like a girl for the last 24 hours in High heals, hose, and no gloves! I did have a pare of house shoes but … they are the flip flop kind! So here I was driving up, down, and around mountains with no boots, no socks, a throw for a coat. I was passing rock facings left and right but couldn’t get out of the truck to throw boulders into the bed of the truck BECAUSE I didn’t have any shoes of socks!!!!!!! Stilettos don’t get it in MY world!!!!

I did finally make it home, but had to RUSH out to the barn with NO babysitter, only my dear friend Joe to take care of them, and I can’t abuse him! I wouldn’t appreciate that, so…. I try to be fair. The snow was getting a little worse, traffic in Asheville was at a crawl of 25 mph… the roads to the barn were already the average Joelton snow, covered in about 3 inches of snow, BUT I MADE IT TO THE BARN, I quickly put the horses out, stripped the stalls and put it ALL in the bed of my truck! Had to rush to the house, get work done due to the holiday! And rush back to the barn… the whole / THE ONLY reason I came home was because I was running out of hay! I did not have enough to make it through the weekend. So I planned to get to the barn, but more manure in the bed of the truck and go for hay first thing Saturday morning as the feed stores close by noon.

Longer story… I got stuck! VERY stuck! Up beyond the wheels of my truck stuck! So what! I walked to the barn took care of the kids and walked to the end of the road, asked Jerry to come get me and made it home safe!

In my walk to and from I have to tell you! It was BEAUTIFUL! It was the quiet style of life I enjoy. I passed several people, of whom I am not sure would want to be named online… I was met first by the dog, but soon came its beautiful family walking at least two miles down the road… as they often do. But the father carried a newborn on his chest, a toddler on his back, Uncle carried yet another toddler on his back, and mother was pleasantly behind them. Another family mother, daughter and son in law and another dog, all walked to their cabin, like me taking pictures along the way. It was just so beautiful you couldn’t help but to be happy! So what if my truck was in the ditch… walking talking and enjoying other people is something most of us are in too much of a rush to do. I met so many people on my walks, LOVELY people, I also was welcomed with a HOT cup of coffee once a day from my dear Joe! Thank you Joe!

I figured I would call AAA first thing Saturday and ask for assistance! I did… we scheduled a 12:30 apt, by 1:30 I called, not upset due to the weather, got another appointment time, it came and passed, a third was set it too came and passed so I walked out again. During all this time alone in the cold I was thinking about how my family was probably all together in a warm house. But I somehow wished my family were out with me to see how beautiful, hear how quiet, such lovely people, it was perfect somehow and I just wanted to share it with them… but… By 9pm AAA finally called and canceled on me! Ending the beauty of the snow, ice and necessities on hold mind set “Our trucks are too expensive to take up a road like that” that upset me! The fact I could have hired some bubba to get my truck out, and I got strung along all day, NO HAY, no truck, and nothing accomplished for the day what the heck it was a delight to have such a day, so I’ll figure out the details for tomorrow.

Today; Sunday… I resorted to myself once again… I borrowed a sled! I asked for hay , I pulled the hay as far as I could up the MOUNTAIN, I quit! ONLY because I had already set my mind on using this very situation to get Navarre to pull his weight for the fist time in his life! Sure enough, I walked up the mountain, got the little boy, walked him down the mountain, stopped at my truck, got a rope and some bungee cords and set out to take care of my animals.

Now having that mind set I have to tell you; I met so many people on the road the last few days it was just as enjoyable as it was work, Greg … was dropped off to walk up the mountain, and he helped me instead of going his own way. Truth be told, he pulled the bail of hay up the hard part that was clear pavement, making the weight heavier instead of a simple glide. He insisted on helping me out, this was truly one of the nicest things anyone has done for me in LONG time, Thank you so much! . With his help Navarre got used to the noise the sled made behind him, we then hitched the sled to Navarre and had the horse pull it the rest of the way. When we got the really steep part of the walk I asked Greg if he would like to have a ride? I was glad to ease his walk a little after all his hard work. We stopped at the Fletcher barn to get more hay! David was nice and offered to take two bails up to the barn. After barely making it to bottom of the drive way.. Which is only steeper than the road itself, I loaded the other two bails onto the sled and Navarre carried them the rest of the way. I did it; I didn’t have to beg for help, I jerry rigged the horse equipment, but the point is I got it done, Greg and David helped me so much but also allowed me a sense of accomplishment for my self. LIFE IS GOOD!

There are some things that just feel so good. Knowing I can do what ever I want in 10-12 inches of snow, it takes me longer, but I can do it! It Feels good! Grant you, I have a hard time getting out of a chair my body hurts so bad from walking in snow so deep, try walking 3 miles in snow up to your knees!!!! See what your cheeks feel like! I didn’t know those muscles were still there! I lost that young tight thing when I was 32! Now it’s a normal rear end of a 40 something year old… and hurts like one tonight….

Other vehicles got stuck around my truck, and some kids pulled them all out, even sending someone to get my keys and deliver my truck home. So the end of the saga… after a hot shower, my truck is home, my horses have hay, and I decided to sit and write about it.

Merry Christmas everyone!