My Bubby turns 70 this fall. We’ll be traveling to Colorado to help him celebrate. My dear sister/friend texted me yesterday telling me her husband will soon be 75. Mr. FixIt will be 70 in the early New Year. And I’ll be 68 next month. I told my friend, “How can this be possible? We were just laying out with baby oil and Sun-In in our hair…like, five minutes ago!” And now? Wow!

It’s not bad, though. I mean…I’ve done an awful lot in this life. I had countless “careers”, four husbands, kids galore if you count all the ones who called me “Mom”. I’ve lived in England and Colorado and now back to my roots in WV. I’ve traveled alone halfway around the world. I’ve pulled a 30’ camper by myself back and forth across the country. I’ve slept under the stars and howled at the moon. I’ve skinny dipped in hot springs in the nooks and crannies of the Rockies. I’ve brought two amazing women into the world…my greatest achievement.

And now…I have this amazing life. This almost-68-year-old amazing life with this wonderful guy I’ve known since I was a kid. And we live on five beautiful acres in the country. Honestly…I’m living my dream life. Short of owning Grandma’s farm, this is perfect! And, now that we’ve decided to stay put, my heart is putting down roots even further. I’ve been thinking about ways to carve out spaces on our acreage that are not only beautiful, but functional and fun.

I’ve wanted a “she-shed” for years. I have it in my head what I want it to look like. I save photos that I see and file them away for reference. There is a beautiful shed in a garden in Seattle that inspires me. It’s a Little White House that the owners rent out as a space for photo shoots and teas and such. I’d love to have something like that. To make this into a complex with little sheds and gardens and paths. A place for a couple of campers. A large communal fire pit. We already have the big building. We could start with something like an Autumn Festival and sell antiques. We could have a place for live music. There’s plenty of room for parking. It could be really cool. Or it could just be a dream. Who knows? The important thing is…always having a dream. Something to look forward to. Something that brings you joy. 

Sixty-eight. Hey…it’s not NINETY-EIGHT! I have a DREAM!

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“Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.”

Psalm 37:4 ESV