Time to Get Away

It has been a long, hot summer here in south Texas. After 50 some days of over 100 degrees and very little rain, I have watched my garden dry up and my lawn become dry patches of dirt. At some point in this exceptional drought, watering was no longer an option. It was money down the hole since the subsoil was just too dry. I did my best to save our potted plants on the patio, but the rest of my yard took a direct hit. Only my cactus and native plant gardens came through the dry heat intact. What a lesson that was. I have plans to plant more native stuff in the future.

No, this summer was very stressful indeed. I had a number of medical test done from a blood work up to my heart and then to my colon. Each test brought visions of unthinkable horrors and results. I’m not much for doctors, hospitals, and procedures. I just don’t like to be put into a flimsy gown with no back and then poked and prodded, run on a treadmill, hooked to a dozen wires or scanned in a dark room all the while wondering what they are going to find. Well, thankfully the results were pretty good. I still have visits with my ophthalmologist and a dentist, but things look good so far. It just took a lot out of me.

My boss at the Alamo retired this summer and I was asked to take on some additional responsibilities for my new boss. Our Alamo director also retired this summer and several of my coworkers were let go. We finally have a new management team at work now. We have brought some new people on board. The sadness of seeing some old friends leave is tempered with the new faces, new opportunities and new ways of doing things. We seem to be coming through the transition just fine, but again it has taken its toll on me.

My wife has been very busy with her art exhibits, teaching and a commission she received for a local church this summer. She spent long, hot days in her studio and traveling to see her mother and brother in Ft. Worth. In addition, we have both worked hard on restoring her home studio this summer. That involved painting, building a work table and mounting display boards on the walls. Most of the work is finished and it looks good, but we are both exhausted at the end of the day. We miss not being able to sit out and have our glass of wine in the evening because of the heat.

This month is our 9th anniversary and we decided to take a few days and get away from it all. Lisa went online and found a nice little cabin up in the Texas Hill Country. We are going to pack some wine, some food, our CD player and some DVD’s from the library and head out. We can sit out and read all day or go hiking in the nearby state park. It sounds almost too good to be true.

Our lives get so filled with things we HAVE to do that we often forget the things we would LIKE to do. Sometimes we just have to stop and smell the roses as we take stock and count our many blessings.

Food for THOUGHT…