My mother was eight months old when Queen Elizabeth was born. When Mom died, I kinda watched the Queen to see how my mother would have aged had she lived longer than her seventy-eight all too short years. They both were world treasures…my mom in MY world, and the Queen to all the rest of us.
I lived in England from 1973 to a couple of weeks shy of 1975. It was an amazing experience that I will cherish till my dying breath. Daughter #1 was born there. I still have dreams about the cobblestone streets and the little shops in Thatcham where we lived. I keep remembering a little yarn shop where I went in to buy some yarn and knitting needles. I was expecting my first child and I wanted to knit her a little something. I never got the hang of it and once the baby came, there was no time anyway.
The world changes on a dime, doesn’t it? When I heard the word that the Queen was “under medical supervision and the family were on their way”, I knew this was the end of a long and illustrious life for someone who seemed to be EVERYONE’S Queen. I remember when the Queen Mum passed away. I watched Princess Anne marry Capt. Phillips. I watched Prince Charles make Diana the People’s Princess.
Like other noteworthy moments in history, I will remember where I was when I heard the news. I was standing in the quilt store, looking for something in particular, when the notification came across my phone. I shared the news with the other women who were standing around the center cutting area and we all shared a memory or two. I kind of feel like I’ve lost someone special today. The end of an era. Yet another ending. There have been so many the last few years.
Not to take anything away from the death of the Queen, life quickly moved on. When I got home from the quilt shop, Mr. FixIt and I drove out to the farm and primed the pump. It didn’t take us any time to get it fixed and running and we promptly refilled the water jugs for the next time it may happen. I got down on the floor and checked the j-trap under the sink that I fixed the last time I was there and there’s still no leak. Also, the kitchen light was burned out so I changed the bulb and we called it good. Everything else was working great. It really needs mowing, but we’ll have to wait till I get back from my little sabbatical this weekend.
Earlier this week, I went into town to do some grocery shopping. There is a beautiful white house that sits on the next hill over from us and every time we drive past it, I tell Mr. FixIt how much I dearly love that place. Well, this particular day, there was a small camper out front with a for sale sign on it. I immediately called my sweetheart and told him about it. We are going to sell the a-frame and get a camper that I don’t have to open and close in the rain. One with a bathroom and a slide out that weighs under 3,500 pounds. This camper absolutely filled the bill.
It wasn’t till a couple of days later that Mr. FixIt had time to stop and look at the little camper. Turned out, there was a young couple with a baby that wanted to buy it so he figured that it was not meant to be. I wasn’t so sure. I felt that familiar niggling inside and thought…this is our camper. Two more days went by and I drove to town again. The camper was still there and still had the for sale sign on it. I called my sweetheart again and asked him to text the gal to see what was going on. Apparently the young couple ghosted her and we were welcome to come see it when she finished her errands.
As we were driving through our little burg on the way home from the farm yesterday, the gal texted and we went straight to her house. It was almost a formality to look inside it. I already knew everything about the camper from looking it up on the website. And…I had a heart connection to this woman before I even met her.
It’s a new camper…just one year old. The original purchaser was…believe it or not…the photographer at our wedding. (Small town, remember?) She soon realized a toy hauler better fit her lifestyle and sold this camper to her cousin and her husband in July. Then, just three days later, the husband collapsed and died…right in front of his wife. This was exactly what happened to me. Even if we didn’t buy the camper, I had to meet this woman and hold her in my heart.
What a joy she is! So strong, yet so devastated. Getting out from under the camper was one of the big things to cross off her list. And she wanted it to go to someone special who would love it to pieces. And here we are. Owners of yet another camper! This brings us back up to four campers, but as soon as the a-frame has the broken spring fixed, we’ll send her on to a new home. I truly…TRULY hope this is the LAST camper we ever buy!!! I believe God had His hand in this and brought us to the right place at the right time because I really like this little lady…camper AND human!
I’m going to set up reruns for the next three days and I’ll be back live with you again on Tuesday morning. Till then…make this life count! Life is like salt. What good is it if it has no flavor?
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““Salt is good, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is of no use either for the soil or for the manure pile. It is thrown away. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.””
Luke 14:34-35 ESV