Seeking Authentic Voice

My husband and have finally arrived in Chicago. It was a long, arduous drive. Well, it was at least for my husband who had to drive the 25 foot truck loaded with our furniture. It was a diesel driven truck with over 101,000 miles. It was slow, noisy, and bumpy. We left Tucson at 2pm Thursday afternoon, having finished loading the truck and cleaning the house. We drove east toward New Mexico and then north toward Albuquerque. That drive, which normally takes 6 hours took us 8 hours, in part because it is a slow up hill grade the entire way. The truck groaned along. Most disconcerting was the oil pressure gauge which kept dropping to 0 and scaring my husband. Finally, around 10pm, in Albuquerque, we pulled over and called Budget customer care and road side assistance, unsure what to do. They thought we should take it to a registered repair shop Friday morning. So....We spent Thursday night in the car in a Wallmart parking lot. In an effort to be prepared for anything I brought sleeping b...

One of these days I may write a novel. Or maybe just a meditation book with photos from our time here and reflections. One of my favorite photos is this one of the rainbow, taken from our backyard. I have photos of sunsets and ground squirrels and monsoon rains. All striking, the beauty of this place. Regardless I'll call it "Out of Arizona." It will begin something like: "I once lived in a house in the mountains of Arizona, amongst pecan orchards, swirling dragonfly's and flitting hummingbirds.The days were dry, sunny, and sometimes scorching hot. An occasional life-giving rain became a sign of hope in an otherwise parched place" As my husband and I prepare to drive out of here on Thursday we count our losses: income, home, car (yes, still waiting to see if Volkswagen will fix our Passat), furniture that won't fit in the truck that we had to load ourselves and now, will drive ourselves. We will leave one child here, going to school and living with famil...

I moved two years ago. Now, in a curious, perhaps organic, symmetry, I am moving again, in the same week, but reverse direction. The last move happened quickly, involved a lot of travel back and forth to new location, was very hectic and filled with chaos. I should have seen that as a sign of what was to come. Now, as we are in the final days of packing, one could say that our house is in complete chaos. Boxes everywhere. Shredded paper all over the floor. Empty cabinets, and a garage in the midst of a staging ground for the moving truck on Wed. But the reality is, despite how the house looks, this move is much more organized. I have had the time to go through our files and shred things that should have been shredded before our last move: 11 year old bills and bank statements, checks from an account we closed 5 years ago. Stuff, that in the haste and chaos of the last move, got packed and came with. Now all those files have been shredded. I will be moving two near empty file cabinets a...

I bought an atlas yesterday. It was a spontaneous purchase at the local U-Haul where my husband and I were picking up more packing and moving supplies. Our big move back to the Midwest takes place next week, the end result of our lease being up here and my ongoing job search. It will be good to be back in Chicago, even if only temporarily. We have family to see, my aging mother in law, my brother with cancer, and our daughter, who we will live with. We have restaurants we want to visit and friends to see. It will be good even as it will be difficult. The atlas will help us get there, although that's not really why I bought it. I've made the trip numerous times, this will be my third in less than six months. So, I know the route, and the stopping places, the gas stations and places to eat. No. I bought the atlas for another reason. Ok. Actually I did buy it for part of the trip. I have been confused several times on the toll road through Oklahoma. Mapquest will tell me to take a...