Sunday, February 27, 2011

The Death of An Idea

2 dudes rolling down the highway
Motorcycling. Thai restaurants. Green trees. Rivers. Daffodils. Tulips. Grand children. Winding roads. Grapevines. Cows. Fresh air. Hawks. Old houses. Antiques. Rodeos. Trips to the beach. Twelve minutes to get to work. 

These are just the itty bitty tip of the iceberg of things I am really grateful for but have taken for granted until this recent trip to Phoenix.

We traveled to Phoenix with the idea that perhaps we might move there after looking at the housing market hit almost rock bottom. I had a window of opportunity to take a week off from work so we piled in the car for a very long road trip that paid off in so many ways, I can hardly contain myself for the discoveries I made in a lot of areas of my life.

We spent 2-1/2 days getting there by way of Yuma. An old friend in Yuma asked if we would like to spend the night on his pull-out and we happily did so. Not because we love sleeping on hide-a-beds, but because we got each other's undivided attention. It was the most precious time I've spent with another human being in a really long time. After a brief visit with my aunt & uncle and cousins in Yuma, we drove up to Casa Grande where we were invited to spend a couple of nights with good friends we haven't seen in 3 years. We always feel so welcomed everywhere we go.  

We drove 211 miles around the Phoenix area on Tuesday just looking at some places we spotted on the internet and getting a feel for the place. We started out about 9:00 a.m. and by 2:00 p.m. I knew we would not be buying. I let out a big sigh and said, "you know what, Gene, I just can't see myself living here, can you?" He agreed. We continued on the journey up through Glendale, Peoria, Sun City and Surprise, looking for something that would change our minds but never found it.

We left Phoenix early Wednesday and on Thursday we traveled out to Pahrump, Nevada to briefly see a very good friend who is in the last stage of lung cancer. As long as I live, I will never forget the brightness of his beautiful blue eyes shining from a body that has been ruined by this horrible disease. It was really hard to say goodbye to him and his wife. 

The truth is it's hard to say goodbye everywhere we go.  When we started out on this trip Friday before last, I was telling Gene about how restless I get.  One of the things I love so much about Gene is that he gets me. It takes one restless soul to know another.  He calls it wanderlust.  Yeah ... I have it ... bad.  However, as much as I love going, I still love coming home. 

We are not moving to Phoenix, Arizona. We loved the journey there and all the wonderful surprises that came with it. The biggest surprise of all is that we really have it good, right where we are.  Sometimes it takes a good, long road trip to figure that out. 

I'm feeling so grateful.  love, susan
  

4 comments:

  1. Was wondering why the idea got dropped :) Glad to hear the trip went well.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Totally worth the gas and driving in snow and ice.. to find out why we moved where we live now!! Both decided that it was what we needed to do to get re-instilled with a HEAP of gratitude with our small patch of dirt that we own in Richland Washington. The absolute high point of the trip was reconnecting, though briefly, with just three very good friends. Would have loved to connected with a few more folks in Yuma.. but the one that we did find, well that was to treasure for a long time. Had some laughs, but got some real deep insights into some life stuff there too. Same thing occurred with the husband/wife that we stayed with in Casa Grande.. friends that go back for me I think 18 years or more, not sure of the exact dates.. but a long history.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Glad you are back Susan! And back safely with the appreciation for your neck of the woods! By the way, to respond to your comment on my blog, both appliances had to be shipped so we don't get them until March.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I love the insights that you share here on your blog. It is very true, sometimes it takes leaving a place or situation to find out that that is the place or situation you want and need all along. So great for you and Gene to have each other too!!

    ReplyDelete

You Made My Day, Dude!

A couple weeks ago while I was driving back to Portland after spending the night on the Oregon coast, we came up on some road construction ...