Last Saturday night was our chance to watch the Perseids meteor shower. At peak, it was too cloudy and hazy to see much. But on Saturday, the first night past peak, was perfect. We went out to dinner, then had a little campfire in the back yard. When it got dark, I had made up a “bed” of outdoor furniture cushions placed on a tarp and a sleeping blanket. There, we laid down and watch the night sky put on a show. In the end, we each saw eight meteors, although not always the same one.
In a nutshell, last night was really special. Going out to dinner or having a campfire isn’t typically all that special to us. We get the opportunity to do those things all of the time. But to do them together and add in a meteor shower. Okay, that’s different.
This morning, there are the dregs from last night’s adventures to pick up. The sleeping bag needs to be rolled up and placed back in the impossibly small bag that it came in. The tarp, currently drying out on the clothesline, needs to get folded back up and put back in the shed. And I need to take the outdoor cushions and put them back away. That will take less than five minutes. A great investment for a “dinner and a show” as I call last night’s performance.
There are a lot of cool opportunities one gets living out in the middle of nowhere. As my friend says, “It’s like living in a Disney movie.” There are bunnies and squirrels and deer and all sorts of sweet wild life. (And yes, garter snakes… I can never escape the snakes.) There is the opportunity to grow our own food and watch the sun, rain and earth make something out of literally nothing. And finally, there is just the simple quiet every where you go. Toil in the backyard, it’s just you and the birds. Go for a walk? You may see a car or two. Candidly, you are just as likely to see a garter snake as you are a car. Want to create a little makeshift bed outside and do a little stargazing? No one is gonna know about your little homemade outdoor bed or how “campy” it actually looks.
This week, I make a right turn onto “easier street”. A client has taken the majority of my time for the remainder of the year. With that work and the work I’ve already committed to, the pressure is off. I know I will hit my target and earn the bonus. So, this week starts the rest of my year. A little more simple, a lot less anxious and a lot more relaxed. One year after the pandemic ravaged my work life, this is incredibly welcome.
Plus, we sat down yesterday and completed our plans for our upcoming renovations. By Christmas, I will have my downstairs completed and my upstairs done except for the two bathrooms. Additionally, I will have hardwood floors throughout. Ultimately, that will make keeping the house clean easier. Which means, just as work slows down, so does my “real life”.
For Darryl, life is about to get busy. He will be taking a full-time job in September. So, my life slowing down is just about perfect timing for us. And the cats have assured me that they have nothing special planned through the end of the year. So together, we can all chip in to support poppa. (Okay, they have assured me that they don’t plan on doing that either.)
The good news is that it all begins this week. A process that started four years ago – I was literally interviewing at about this time back then – comes home just a little more this week. Just in time for canning season. Just in time for the fall – my favorite time of the year – and just in time for holiday planning. If I had wished on one of those falling stars last weekend, this would have been one of my choices. Thankfully, its coming true.
The Yuppie Homesteader 