Tuesday Thoughts

Yea, yea, yea....I know it isn't Tuesday.  I wanted to write about this then, but things got in the way and I just didn't get to it.  So here it is today, Saturday, Pie Day, March 14.

Tuesday was a day in Pulaski County.  My cut and color appointment was at 9:30 with Lindsey at her shop in Francesville.  I always enjoy the drive there, visiting with her and Brandy and catching up on the local news, then adding in some extra activities, if I have time.

Here are my observations from that day:

• I really do like the way that Lindsey cuts and colors my hair.  Sometimes I have to prompt her to take a little more off the sides, but I do like the end result---most of the time.
• Visiting with Lindsey is fun.  She remembers things we have talked about, she adds in some information about people I know and what is going on in the community, and she asks questions to follow up.  On Tuesday she asked how my sister was enjoying her new part time job---she remembered!
• Driving around in Francesville, on the back road to West Central, to Medaryville to the bank, and to Winamac evokes so many memories.  After all, I taught at WC for 33 years, I still visited the gym to keep the scorebook while Gary continued to coach the girls basketball team, and I had lived in our house on the blacktop for 42 years of our marriage plus the two years before we were married when I lived in the little yellow house on Brown Street.
• Being in Medaryville brought back memories of stopping at Siemens Insurance so many times, Gary working at the PO, and being at the bank.  Even though all of those things have changed, the memories are still there.  Even driving past Jim and Sharon's house makes me recall when I lived there after the tornado hit Monticello in 1974.
• Driving past The Farm.  Wow.  So many memories there.  I can't even begin to share everything - Christmases, walks up the road, the elderberries along the fence row, walking the calves around, sitting on the front porch chatting with Leo and Agnes, planting tomatoes along the ramp, seeing Gary coming back to the house on the tractor or in the combine.  And the house looks terrible now.  And the whole place looks so empty.
• Being in Winamac.  Lots of memories there also.  The drive into town now reminds me of two things; one is taking calves to the fair.  The other is placing flowers on the graves in the Catholic cemetery.
• The Pulaski County Courthouse - this landmark has been the subject of controversy lately.  I have been supportive of keeping the courthouse.  The architecture of the old county courthouses are so spectacular.  Each one in the 92 Indiana counties is different and, usually, gorgeous.  I remember the Melodyaires singing on the curved staircase from the first to second floors.  I remember having the Student Council picture taken on the staircase from the second to the third floors one time when we made a donation to the food pantry.  I remember being a juror and sitting in the courtroom on the 2nd floor.  I remember being scared to death when I had been called as a witness to testify as to the character of a former student who was being tried for .... something.   I can't remember the crime, but I do remember sitting outside the courtroom with Don Street, shaking and SO nervous, then being SO relieved when the case was settled out of court!  Whew!  On Tuesday I visited the Clerk's Office to obtain a copy of our marriage license as proof that Gary and I were married for our dental insurance policy. Weird, I know.  But I had to walk in the basement entrance because the others were blocked for safety and security reasons.  There were so many things blocked with boards or wood in the basement.  When I took the elevator to the first floor I was shocked at how shabby the staircase looked.  I didn't venture to the 2nd floor and the courtroom, but I was so disappointed, and sad, to see how the appearance of the courthouse, which was once so beautiful, had deteriorated.  It was sad.  Tearing down the courthouse should not be an option, but restoring it to its former grandeur will take some time---and money.
• Driving past our old house.  What can I say?  Sad?  Disappointed?  Embarrassed? Glad we don't live there any more? So much junk in the yard.  Doors hanging off the hinges on the barn.  The door open on the corn crib, exposing tons of junk inside.  The front yard full of junk.  Another storage building sitting in the back yard.  Many trees in the woods...gone.  And Junior said that the back yards are full of ruts and the grass is gone from the trucks the came in to take out the trees.  Sad.  But as Gary said, we don't live there anymore.  We don't own it anymore.  It is not ours.  We have a new place that we really like and we live here now.  That part of our lives is over.  Still it makes me sad to see all of the flower beds and the trees that I loved and the grass that we mowed and kept looking so nice ---- torn up and gone.  The house that had new siding and new windows and new shutters----shabby.  Oh well...it is not ours anymore.

• Jane and Junior - I miss them.  I miss talking to Jane on the phone several times a week.  I miss stopping by there and drinking a cup of tea.   I miss them as neighbors.

After I came home, I felt tired and I was glad I didn't have to make the drive on 39 on a regular basis anymore.  I was happy to be in our new house, close to the girls, close to Lafayette, close to more restaurants, entertainment, and shopping.  I love that our new house feels fresh and clean and happy.  I am glad that we purged so much stuff when we moved.  I am glad that I can walk in the living room and smile because I love living here.  (Not that I didn't like living at our old house because I did and I think it was a great place to raise the girls.)

But this is home now. I am glad we moved.  I am happy to be here.

Tuesday thoughts.