leaping


Oh my... I think we're going steady...
Yesterday morning, Rick was talking to Ted, the RV park owner, about the possibility of staying longer than just the month of October. We thought maybe until Thanksgiving or so would be good. Ted said he had one long term spot left, over by the creek, but it wouldn't be available for a couple of weeks. If we wanted it, he wanted a commitment until March. March! Yikes! That's a lot longer than we were thinking! But when Rick came back to tell me all this, I took about two seconds and one huge deep breath to say, Let's take it. An unbelievable amount of logic flashed through my mind in those two seconds. For starters, we've had our sights set on Ashland for years. What better way to see if we like it than to go through a winter? Forget the dreamy loveliness of spring and summer. Anybody can love that. Winter has a way of showing you what you're made of. Might as well dig in and get down to it. Also, the constant traveling we've done for the last three months has been expensive. Diesel for the big-ass truck is always shockingly spendy, and at an average of $30 a night for RV parks, rent has been anything but cheap. One other big consideration is that I can't make all the family money anymore. The bead business, like so many others, has dwindled down to a slow trickle that makes me feel more like a hobbyist than a "famous artist". I just can't do it, so Rick needs to find some work, and that means staying in one place for a while. That's a lot of thinking in two seconds!

I'm cracking up here, because I've always said I want to live by a stream. We've had a few nice spots this summer, on great big rivers, for a night or two. And now we'll have this darling little ribbon of water behind our "house" for the next few months. It's only a few inches wide, but I suppose it will get bigger when the rains come. And who knows, maybe my trickling little business will follow its example. I'm so excited, and so amused, and only mildly freaked out. I didn't know this was what I wanted, but now that I have it, it feels really good, and it's a relief to know that rent will be only $400 a month for a while. It includes everything; water, electric, sewer, TV, internet, and that sweet little creek. Amazing.

I guess one leap of faith leads to another. Every step along the way that got us to this point has been a leap of faith. And now that we're here, we'll take our time and enjoy a nice long courtship with Ashland. Yesterday's first date went well, starting with an afternoon stroll through town, and later, the gallery walk, with Mitzi showing us all the best places. Today I'll get some work done. And tomorrow we'll go to see our very first Oregon Shakespeare Festival play. Don Quixote at the Elizabethan Theatre. This is exciting and expensive. We have no business doing this, but we have to anyway. This is how we prime the pump, how we embrace Ashland so that she will embrace us. A leap of faith to spend some money, to begin to become part of the community, to say, OK, here we are, and we're going to make the most of every little day. It's what we believe and how we live no matter where we are, and now it seems even more important to walk our talk. More fun too. Here we are. Here we go. Weeee!!!

Comments

  1. Kim, Love your process notes.. best of luck; yes jump in , Fortuna will surely shine on you who are willing to buy tickets to a play as a sign of your intentions for Ashland. I love it.
    Joan Tucker Off Center Productions

    ReplyDelete
  2. Summer is sometimes a challenge for Oregonians in Ashland...too hot for our webfeet. Coming from Taos it shouldn't be a problem. Winter will be lovely. Enjoy the play, they are usually well worth the price.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Sometimes you just have to bit the bullet so to speak, good for you.

    ReplyDelete

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