Greener Grass

August 7, 2014 – Greener Grass

I was in my bed the other night thinking about unusual things that have happened in my life. One of those things was the number of times I had moved since I married Randy. I assumed, until I actually added up the moves, that we stayed in one place for about six years at a time. Not so.

We got married in Tucson and moved into a lovely little trailer so close to the railroad tracks that when a train came by our bed would move. In November of that year, Randy went off to basic training and I moved back in with my parents. By the time Randy had finished technical school, our daughter and I were living with his parents.

Our first duty assignment was Luke AFB in Phoenix. We found an apartment on the second floor with a balcony that looked down on another apartment complex that I totally fell in love with, so we moved. Randy’s gang from work all lived in a townhouse complex and convinced us that we needed to move there. About six months there and we decided that we needed to buy a house. We sold the house 1 and ½ years later and moved back into the townhouse complex with the gang.

When Randy got orders for Korea, he insisted that I move back to Tucson to be close to family. He was in Korea for 6 months and I had moved once while he was gone. After his return, we moved into an old, pink house that needed lots of work and stayed there until we both lost our jobs. We heard of a great opportunity in Oklahoma and we were off.

In Oklahoma (in the course of 2 years), I moved 3 times. The oil fields dried up, Randy re-enlisted in the Air Force and we moved back to Arizona. We got a lovely house on base at Williams AFB and we didn’t move again. Randy went back to Korea for a year and upon his return we got orders for Holloman AFB, NM. We lived on base, but had to change locations on base when he sewed on his Master Sergeant stripes.

After his squadron closed, we got orders to Anchorage, Alaska. We found a nice little duplex and about 6 months after we got there, the owner sold it. So, we moved to Eagle River, Alaska and a year after we moved in, the owner raised the rent. We decided it was time to buy. We bought our Eagle River house and stayed there until we decided to leave Alaska after he retired.

He moved me to the only place in America I said I would never live – Boise, Idaho. Shortly after we bought our house, he became an over the road truck driver and I was alone. We lived there for a few years, I directed the Little Theater and went to school at Boise State. But, I was lonely, so we sold the house and headed for Chadron, Nebraska (and my grandchildren) where I finished college.

In hopes of finding a job, we left Chadron shortly after my graduation and moved to Rapid City, SD. I did find a job and after 10 months, they closed down the plant. After Randy wrecked his truck, we decided it was, once again, time to come back to Tucson.

We rented a house in Red Rock and then, a year later, bought a house just down the street.

If you are counting – in 40 years of marriage we have moved 24 times.

I admire the person who can buy a house and live there all their lives, I am not that person. I am a wanderer and have always believed that if you are not happy where you are, your feet are not cemented into the ground – move on. There is always that one tuft of grass that is greener over that next hill.

And, I assure you, that next hill is calling me.  Tucson has never been my home. I was raised here, went to school here, but never felt part of the desert. For one thing, I hate the heat! For another thing, I love four seasons, green grass, and trees. I love that the weather people have to say something other than “It’s going to be another hot, sunny day today. Make sure you stay hydrated.” I cannot understand people who can sit outside when it is over 102 degrees or actually play sports in that weather. I am in my hibernation period and it doesn’t help that I am recovering from cancer (for the second time since I moved back) and I don’t have a job.

I hope, someday soon (because I’m not getting any younger), I’ll find that forever home where I can sit on the front porch and rock in my chair while reading a book. Somewhere that I feel comfortable enough to let my hair grow long and gray and I belong to a book club or a quilting circle.

Meanwhile, my insurance carrier is questioning my next surgery. I’m sure it’s just a matter of incorrect coding or some letter the doctor has to write, but it has me all flustered. Then my A1C went up by .1 and my doctor had a fit and put me on new medication and my daily blood test is rising instead of falling.

My husband, who is an observant sort, is taking me to the mountains next weekend. He believes I need to smell pine trees and relax before my scheduled surgery date of August 18. I believe he is correct and I intend to do just that – plus go see the longest continuous rodeo in the United States. What fun! I love the smell of pine, leather, and frothing horses. I should be totally relaxed by the time we get back to the desert.