Looking to the future

The day I left the message on our voice mail at the shop that we have to move and we didn’t know at the time what the future held, was difficult. Then the first messages started coming in. One guy, who really should know better, was sorry it was happening, but “needed a call back immediately” so he could decide whether or not to buy a trike. He needed to know if Jerry would be working for him in the future. For the love of God, what is it with people? Needless to say, I didn’t call him back. And I’m not going to. Then there were the folks who were upset and completely supportive of us. Jason, Becky, John, Harry, Bob, Frank, Kyle – just to name a few.  I love them more than words can express. They’re the people who kept us going all these years. And I don’t mean financially.

Then there’s Rob and June. Our friends – really family – for twenty eight years. We were martial artists together, and as black belts, taught in our dojo together. We’ve supported one another through good times and bad. They’re the folks who, when you count who your real friends are, are at the top of that list. Now and forever. Thank God for them because we really need them right now.

The funny thing is, as we progress toward closing down the business, as upsetting as all this is, I don’t fear the future. We’ll be fine. Maybe even better than we are right now. We’ll have time to work around our property, which is a good thing given that we haven’t really done much for the last thirteen years. As ill as I was for eleven of those years, I have felt disconnected from my home all this time. I used to grow massive gardens so that I could freeze vegetables for the coming year. I used to irrigate 4.6 acres of pasture all by myself, as well as all the ditch work that was necessary. One year I actually got three cuttings of hay. Of course, that only happened when we fertilized. It was pretty cool, though. I think we got ten tons that year. Somewhere I have a photo of the boys sitting atop the hay stack. It was awesome!

These days, gardening is made more difficult due to the herd of deer that hang out at our place. So it will be the greenhouse for that. I may use some hydroponic stuff out there this time as well. Because bok choy is awesome when grown hydroponically. The water content is so high and it tastes wonderful! I’ll also be able to learn more about growing medical cannabis. I’ve been participating lately now that I’m physically able, and I’ve learned so much. But there’s more to learn, and now I’ll have the time to do that.

When all this is over, it will be awesome to sit out on the deck and watch the world go by.