So, 68 years and 1 day. I don’t feel a bit different on the inside. I’m still younger on the inside, but I’d have to say...overall, I’m crushing this aging thing. I’m always doing something because there’s always something to do. That keeps you young! There is truth in the old adage “Use it or lose it.” I’m so happy to see Mr. FixIt feeling like getting up and moving and working hard. And, if he’s working...I’m working. That’s just how it works.

When you live in the country, you have to take what comes and deal with it in the moment. Sundays. Holidays. Birthdays. When something needs your attention, you deal with it. I told you earlier in the week that we ran the snake down the back storm drain and got it running smoothly. Then, for some reason, it clogged back up on Saturday. We set up the sump pumps but...we couldn’t get any of the three pumps to work reliably and the hoses kept clogging. I know we need to do some major repair to that drain to make a more permanent fix, but until then, we jury-rig it to get along.

Mr. FixIt has been asking me for a month what I want for my birthday. I told him my needs are few. I really wanted the outdoor movie theater for family gatherings. And I ordered that new food dehydrator. I’m sixty-eight years old. What on earth could I need? Clothes? I don’t think so. The pandemic has taught me I don’t need to dress up and go out to restaurants. We live in West Virginia. I live in comfort central.

Not ours...just an idea of what I want to create.

Mr. FixIt and I have reached a lovely place in our relationship where we know what needs to be done around the place and, without really coordinating our efforts, we just start the next job at hand. I enjoy doing all the typically “male” jobs like riding the tractors to mow, trimming tree branches with the pole saw, or running the drain snake. I can tackle and accomplish just about anything I set my mind to, although...I do have to admit...it is getting just a little more challenging to do some things.

We’ve had some big time rain in the last several days. When we had that dry stretch, the thought went through my mind...we should get the drain snake out and make sure the roots aren’t encroaching in the French drain around our house. That’s what the gutters drain into, and if we don’t keep it free and clear, we can easily end up with water in the basement. We’ve been diligent about it since last fall, but the last time we did it was just before we went to the beach in April. Needless to say, there’s been some root growth and our procrastination bit us in the butt yesterday.

Sometimes, when life gives you hard things, you put your head down and keep pushing forward in order to survive. Even now, you take stock of all that’s happening around you, it’s easy to feel WAY out of control. And there’s nothing worse than that runaway train feeling. You can’t defend yourself from an enemy you cannot see. It’s downright scary.

Yesterday was just an ordinary day here on Marshmallow Ranch...aka the Ponderosa. We puttered around the house. Mr. FixIt worked on the drywall in the small bathroom we’ve been refinishing. We’ve been working on it for ages but other things, like strokes and covid and stuff kept pushing it to the back burner. But now, I am so grateful to say...Mr. FixIt is SO much better. He’s stronger and more himself and I’m thrilled he feels well. A job is just a job. Getting him well and happy and healthy was our first priority. 

Roller Rink in Belpre, OH - photo by Harry Barnett

I was born in the Fifties and grew up in the Sixties. It was a fine time to be a kid. We didn’t have a lot of money and we didn’t really go out and do a lot of “stuff”...especially if it cost money. Most of our Saturday nights were either spent at home or at the farm with Grandma and PopPop. During the summer, Saturday wasn’t any different than any other day of the week, except for one thing. Saturday night was “Skate Night” for the cool kids.

I grew up with a family that took Sunday drives. Most often, it was out to see Grandma and PopPop at the farm. But, sometimes we’d go visiting someone else or maybe pack a lunch and have a picnic at one of the many “Roadside Parks” that used to dot the two-lanes around the countryside. Sunday was when you went to church, and then you went for a visit or a drive...or both. When you were really lucky, you got a nap, too!

What a long, long day! We left home around 10-10:30 yesterday and didn’t pull back in till 8:00 last night. We drove down to Huntington to Setzer’s Camping World owned by my good friend, Lynn Butler. Setzer’s is one of only a handful of RV dealers owned by a woman. And the cool thing is...it used to belong to her mother! And, that was back in the day when women rarely ventured into a traditional “man’s job”, let alone owning her own business.