Next Adventure or Are We Crazy?

We have our next assignment. Actually, we have our next two assignments. At the end of October, we move to the Washington DC area for 20 months. In DC, we will both attend Joint Military Attache School (JMAS) and then Burmese language training. Burmese? Yep, because in 2010 we will depart for Burma\Myanmar for a three year tour. Have you found it on the map yet?

As part of our move to DC, we will do a DITY move - Do It Yourself. This is where the comments from friends and family come in: "are you crazy?" I guess we are. We've been casing the neighborhood for any boxes and have about 200 in the garage. The packing will begin in a few weeks, although the girls want to start now. Apparently, packing is fun when you are six. We'll let you know how fun it is.

45 Rolls of Toilet Paper

Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable then they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? – Matthew 6:26-27

So I get home from the grocery store the other day, and as I’m putting stuff away I realize that I’ve amassed 45 rolls of toilet paper. This isn’t a one-time thing but a consistent level I’ve maintained each time I go shopping. Mind you, we are a family of four; mom, dad and two girls, three and five. And those 45 rolls are just the ones in the main storage area on the shelf above the washer and dryer. There are also positive balances in all three bathrooms, mainly under the sink. Conservatively, I estimate there are 60+ rolls in our house on any given week.

Why the horde of white rolls? I’ve thought about this a lot this week (yes, I’m that busy) and I haven’t really come up with a single reason. If you know me at all, this revelation of Boy Scout like preparation is not a big surprise. In that same cabinet are 8 big boxes of tissues and 14 rolls of paper towels. Maybe it appeals to my sense of organization to see the nice, neat columns of white—my Parthenon of Charmin. There’s also a keen sense of security in knowing I’ll never be caught on the throne without…well, you know.

Apparently, paper products are not the only items I stock up on. My wife, Heatherly, is always suspicious of my insistence that we are running out jars of jam and jelly (there are 8 in the cupboard downstairs right now, not to mention the 3 or 4 open ones in the fridge). Mom insists I get this from my dad who apparently stocks up on jellies too (thanks, Dad).

But there doesn’t appear to be any rhyme or reason to the items I stock up on. There’s the 8 boxes of butter in the freezer (salted and unsalted), 30 lbs of flour (wheat, organic unbleached, bread) and the 25 lbs of jasmine rice in three separate containers in the cupboard.

I know it’s not a response to Homeland Defense to have a home emergency kit. We have no water stored away, no candles, batteries or emergency radio. And it’s not because as a child I had some traumatic experience to subliminally drive me to buy these certain items (well, not that I know of, nor would I or else it wouldn’t be subliminal – I’ll have to ask Mom and Dad about this one). The more I think about it, the more I suspect that amidst the craziness of life, stocking up gives me a small sense of control and security. I’ll never run out of toilet paper. Need jelly? Got it. And as long as the water is on and the gas is flowing, Heatherly can make bread to go with all that butter and jam.

If there’s ever an emergency situation, I only hope my neighbors stock up on things that I don’t. That way, we can combine our resources and hopefully survive. Pardon me while I go check with Pat and Lee to see if they have any extra water and salt.

Dude, where's my bus?

So Heatherly decided I was in the midst of a mid-life crisis, or about to plunge into one. Either way, she finally responded to my numerous hints about a sports car for my birthday or Christmas and bought me a car! Believe you me, I'm psyched. Now, lest you think I'll be hob-nobbing around in a Viper or Mustang or some-such extravagance, I must inform you this is an older model car. Well, it's not actually a car, either. More of a van. Sorta.

As you can see from the picture below, I'm the proud (yes, proud) new owner of a 1978 VW Bus. After 17 years of marriage, she definitely knows me. Plus, she bought one that is pretty much ready-to-go, so I won't be spending a ton of time in the garage working on it. What does this say about me, about us? Maybe it's a nod to my past (this will be the 4th VW I've owned, plus the one I drove in high school) and my German roots. Maybe a reflection of our desire for simpler times. I'm not going to stress about it too much, trying to figure it out. For now, I'm just going to enjoy the ride, get some tie-dyed t-shirts for the whole family, play some old tunes on the sound system and thank God I married this woman.

Into the Fog

We have arrived in Carmel. Unbelievably, we have now been here more than a week. The trip across country (or half the country) gave us opportunities to see some old friends, relax a little between packing and unpacking and spend time with the girls. We had suprisingly good weather with only a few rain drops. The new-to-us pop up camper was perfect. We had thought to only use it half the time, but ended up using it every night. We can now set it up in 10 minutes or less and take it down in about 15 minutes. The girls think it is akin to an amusement ride or piece of playground equipment.

We did feel like the poor relations in a few of the campgrounds. The monster RVs named Tsunami, Apocalypse, Venetian and the like dwarfed our Lilliputian camper. The RV drivers would pull into their spaces pulling SUVs and mini vans, push out the 16 additional pop outs on their RVs to bring their total floor space to something only slightly smaller than our house, put up their satellites and water filters and plug into the electric/water and sewer. Some of the campers had been stationary a bit long with wooden porches and decks, birdhouses and full patio tents.

After seven days on the road, we arrived in Carmel last Thursday afternoon and the whirlwind began. Our household goods arrived on Friday in a huge truck that blocked the road and caused one minor fender bender with our first introduction to Carmel police. The boxes filled up the house, the garage, the carport and spilled out into the driveway. Our purging efforts prior to moving had not been enough! We've spent the week purging more, unpacking, finding creative use of spaces, re-arranging and stuffing things in. We put the girls' room together early on and they seem unaffected by the chaos other than to use the boxes and stuff as additional playthings. We've taken them walking and to the beach and library. We love being able to walk from the house to the beach, to the post office and so many other places. The first few days were sunny and warm. The infamous Carmel fog showed up on Wednesday. Drive two miles north, south or east and it is sunny. The locals tell us the fog stays for June and July, but that fall and spring are lovely here. We have trees everywhere--any window I look out of I see beautiful conifers and broad leaf trees. We have blue jays that crack nuts on the patio. We feel blessed to be in the fog and spending two years here.

The next few weeks we will spend getting connected: finding a church, doctors, classes for the girls. If you are in the area, come by for a visit. We only have a few boxes left and you can help us unpack or purge.

Hindsight Faith is 20/20

My grandmother, Mama, had many sayings, including "hindsight is 20/20." We learned again this week that we are simply not in control and even our best efforts to be in control and solve everything would leave us with solutions less than desirable. We've had a roller coaster week. We signed listing papers last Tuesday for our house and it actually went on the market with MLS/realtor.com on Saturday. The mother of a friend of a friend came by last week twice to look at the house--after it was on the market. We thought the visits exciting and a good start to indicate interest. Then on Sunday afternoon, the realty company called to schedule a showing for Sunday night. Monday morning after my walk, our realtor Jodie called and said "I have a full price offer for your house."

As MeiLin's book "Lily's Purple Plastic Purse" says: "Wow! That is all we could say. Wow!"

We had to hustle some this week as we had not actually received any confirmation of if Mike was in the July class so we were in a bit of a quandary on possession dates. We decided on Monday to counter with a rent back until June 19. If Mike was in the July class, we would move by then. If he was in the September class, well, we might be living in the pop up camper for awhile. The buyer accepted our counter offer Tuesday and we found out Mike is indeed in the July class.

We took a walk last night after a spring rain. The air was cool and damp. Mike tried out his "moo" cell ring with the cows; they seemed interested, maybe too interested. We just can't believe all we have experienced, done and been a part of in the last 17 years. God is amazing and we are humbled! I vowed (again) to try to stop controlling things. I might make it through the week.

That's not a knife...

This last week I've been recovering from back surgery. Finally, relief from the nagging, sleep-depriving pain in my right leg we've been struggling with for the last six months. I have to say I was pretty nervous about the whole thing as I had never been in a hospital during my first 40 years. Talk about an impetus for a mid-life crisis - hit 40 and stuff stops working. But, despite some early hiccups in my care and a rather lengthy diagnosis phase, I ended up with a superb doctor and woke up pain-free from my surgery (less the pain associated with the surgery).

So, at home this week, trying very much not to twist/bend/lift/stress my back. It's tough not being able to pick up the girls, and the desire to mow the lawn or organize the barn is strong. But, the fresh memory of the last 1/2 year is enough to not want to do any more damage. I did do some walking (the doctor said I could and should walk) and am now very sore since I haven't done any exercising in months.

Our lives continue to change in other ways too. We're moving closer to our move to Monterey, CA, with a projected class start date of 5 July. Two weekends ago we moved the rest of our alpacas to Oklahoma and sold our stock trailer. Last weekend we sold two more shelters and a bunch of other farm stuff. We also purchased a popup camper. Yesterday we sold the Ford F250 Pickup (snif!). Next week we're putting the house on the market.

The next three months will be interesting to say the least. Another adventure for the family, a new place to live, new experiences for us and the girls. In all this we are always blessed and thankful - especially for friends and family who supported us. Thank you.

Saying Goodbye to Alpacas

This weekend the last of our alpacas left our small ranch. We transported eight alpacas down to Oklahoma to a new owner. Outracing thunderstorms and tornado wall clouds, stopping at Braums on the way for a nostalgic burger and sundae and driving 730 miles in one day, we said good-bye to our daily life of alpacas. Today, new owners came to our place to take home our last two alpacas, our stock trailer, scale and miscellaneous items. We cleaned out the barn this morning and gave these new owners even more than they had purchased from us, at such a pitch was our purging fervor.

The odd thing is that we don't really feel the sadness everyone asks us about. While we will miss individual animals and many of the people we have met in the industry, the fact is that now with two small children, busy work lives, upcoming move and Mike's continued disc/nerve issues, we have felt overburdened. I felt joy today in how little was left in the barn and that I now do not have to feed anything more than two barn cats and our family everyday. I don't have to worry about worming schedules, shots, fly spray, breedings, pregnancy tests, transport to other farms, alpaca shows, marketing, business plans...
We loved the business, but we started it when we were childless. We had a lot more free time.

And yet, tonight when I looked out at the boys' pasture, it did seem odd not to see Cleveland munching on grass, rolling in the dust spot or spread out drying his body after the night's rains. Cleveland was the first baby born on our farm. He is now a proven sire and, after a restrictive diet, weighs in at 185 lbs. Cleve is the best of alpacas -- the poster child. He doesn't spit, kick or get flighty when perfect strangers want to love him and squeeze him and hug him. I was pleased when his new owner recognized his special qualities and declared she would never sell him. MeiLin fed him carrots, grass and stones (he passed on the the latter) through the fence since she was a year old. We'll miss him more than the others.

I feel lighter tonight. And, yet, just a little jealous of Cleve's new owner--she could be feeding him carrots and giving him a quick hug right now.