September 30th 1998

i remember sitting on the deck, just outside my bedroom in a condominium at hefner village... praying for a house...i could see the front of the house... lots of trees a large front porch... thinking... i needed to find a house right now... i needed to give my 30 day notice..by the 1st of october... impossible right!!!
A few days later... i was at the red cup...late afternoon...it had to have been a wednesday or thursday... those were the two days of the week my sons were at their fathers....and i always went to the cup for grown up conversation...with georgeO, claudeA, johnL and a few others... danny lay wore a wig at that time... and would sit alone..but close enough to be a part of the conversation... anyway.. we were inside on this afternoon...when i looked up...and my dear friend keven came rolling in..with this determined look on his face...smiling...he came right up to me...saying "i have been looking everywhere for you...i have found you a house".... my response was "WHAT" we jumped in keven's car and he took me to the house... driving through a less than desirable neighborhood (i refer to as crystal heights).... i looked at keven... and said...no way am i living over here... he laughed and said just wait... you have to see this house.... as we approached it... the front of the house looked so familiar to me... why i had no idea...never ever being on this street before... we went inside... and the second i walked in...i felt at home... i saw the boys and i living in this house... within a week...i owned it... the house i now live in became our home..... taylor and leighton were 13 and 10.... still young enough to enjoy the whole moving thing...it would have no impact on their lives other than we would now have a yard...they would have their own bedrooms...we would have a home we could call our own!!!
yesterday...10 years later... i listed my house... with a realtor.. an old friend... she came over and we sat on my bed... all the other furniture is stack in the sun room..while the living room is being painted.... signing and initialing several documents.... stating this and that... the house i once called home... no longer feels like home... it was as easy as 1 2 3... my sons and i have so many memories here... wonderful memories... interestingly i have zero emotional attachment to this house... i should have done this a year ago...for some reason...i'm still here and now...it's time.. it's time to move on...
i have been asked several times...where will you go... laughing to myself..,quietly...thinking does it really matter where i go..... ? the truth is i have no idea where this road is leading me... no idea where i am going...or how i'm getting there... all i know is it's time... it's time to hit that road... the long ryde home...
today...i pray for a family... to buy this home... to live and laugh...celebrate holidays... and let this house...be a home to a wonderful family...again!!!