Hard to say what the weather was doing on The Mountain early yesterday morning. I couldn’t quite tell if what I felt on my face was heavy fog or light rain.
I’m gonna go with “mist.”
The day’s first pass through my e-mails brought a surprise — a terse message from X2B, conveying that she’d removed her belongings (aka personal property) from a pair of storage units in Ohio. The e-mail included the assurance that all of my personal property remains.
I’d like to believe that. I’ll find out soon enough, since a friend in the area has offered to take a look and see what she left me. (She changed the locks and reportedly is sending me the keys, which I’ll forward to my friend.)
I acknowledged the e-mail and got on with my Wednesday.
My tidiness gene kicked in early, the moment I walked into the cabin.
The bedroom doubles as my workshop. Over the months, it’s accumulated all manner of, well, stuff. It makes me a little nuts. I couldn’t leave it that way.
The task (not pictured) took me almost all morning. It produced a good pile of combustibles, a fair amount of trash, and a mountain of styrofoam blocks (packing material from this or that).
At that point I thought I was done. Then I saw something which, if I could pull it off, would make my day.
The dinette set has been stuffed against the west wall in the living room, its drop-leaf table serving as a TV stand. It was time to re-shuffle things so I could have what I’ve always envisioned in this cabin — an eat-in kitchen, just like the one I grew up with.
Moving the pieces was quick and easy. Fine-tuning the arrangement took some time. In the end, the living room is cozier and the kitchen has a table and four chairs in it.
It may look cramped, but there’s plenty of move-around space. The TV sits temporarily on a plank atop the indoor firewood rack, awaiting an articulating wall mount.
I’m sure I’ll tweak things as I live with it, but I like how it turned out.
A day that started drizzly got rainy and then cleared. Pretty muggy, though.
I devoted the rest of my waking hours to readying the cabin for move-in. In the camper galley, I washed dishes and utensils and cookware, though I won’t finish setting up the cabin kitchen until the plumbing is finished. (That’s been moved up a couple of days, actually, resuming today.)
And by midday, my login for the Ohio storage units was working again. So there’s that.
All in all, I had myself a pretty great Wednesday. And today will be even better.
More than anything else, I came out of yesterday with an overwhelming feeling of gratitude. I’m glad to be the man I am. I’m grateful to have moved on, knowing that I just as easily could’ve spiraled into darkness, bitterness, and rage.
I’m thankful for the company I keep and the company that keeps me. I was reminded of a message I received in mid-March, from a total stranger who’s since become a close friend:
“I look at you as a strong, agile human. A man. A king. A purpose. God’s not done with you yet.”
These circumstances, though I wouldn’t’ve wished for them, have validated everything I know, believe, and strive to be — everything. I am a most fortunate man.
Take care of yourselves, Patriots. Stay calm. Stay sharp. Stay free.
#WiseUp #LibertyOrDeath #Ungovernable