I’ve been eyeing a crape myrtle at the end of the road. The pink blossoms fling into the air on branches like a drag queen’s hands at pride. She’s a beaut, and I want her. Well, her distant cousin, anyway. Illegally digging up my new neighbor’s tree wouldn’t make the best first impression.
Planting sod and a sprinkler system was not in the plan, but when Greg sets you up with a reasonably priced landscaper that he’s “known for years,” you don’t ask questions—you take him up on it. I hope mature trees—fruiting avocado, lemon, and lime or flowering ones—are options we go over in our early morning meeting tomorrow.
I spent two hours counseling from an engine-running Acura’s passenger seat. It was quiet and cool, with no lapses in connection. How long will car counseling be a thing? The back-ordered deck railings arrive in a couple of days, so after that installation, I hear we can apply for a permit to occupy.
Even though the itch to get into our new house is not yet scratched, this pool house ain’t nothing to scoff at. Twelve feet out the slider door is a pool my family is in: morning, noon, and night.
A significant accomplishment of meeting with a notary happened earlier—Jasmin, to be exact. Her question, “Y’all are from Washington; why in the heck would you move to this hot place?” made me like her from that moment on.
Having lived in Colorado near Red Rocks for years, she traveled with her landscaping husband to work in areas where ice storms or extreme weather had downed trees. After swatting a couple of flies away, she said, “The bugs are horrible.” I disagreed and said, “I mean, yeah, there are bugs, but it’s not like they’re not on the West Coast either.”
Seeing a golf cart with two ladies drive by, I told her, “That’s what I’m aspiring for.” She shook her head, “You’re going to need yourself a tractor, a John Deere if you want to be somebody, and a nice barbecue, but make sure it’s nice and smoky so everybody knows you’re doing it, and a real nice lawn mower to mow everybody’s grass.”
She then told a story about how her husband and his friend say, “Looks like the grass is getting long,” and take to mowing their own and all the neighbor’s yards. I want her to be my friend, I thought after she left. Not even ten minutes later, Dave approached me, “I want her as our friend.” Dave reminded me we have her number, so possibly a night out with her and her husband will be in the future. I imagine my text, “I hope it’s not weird, but do you and your husband want to go out to dinner?”
It was special meeting the clanmates in my game over Discord. Until today, we’ve only had text via the app, so having the ability to send emojis and pictures feels like a whole other universe has been unlocked. And my thought that everyone was hobbits behind a screen was for naught, as one of our clan’s superiors said it best: “This clan does have really pretty women in it!” I’ll take that as a compliment!
Another day and week is drawing to a close, meaning teeth brushing, pajamas, and settling into studying Spanish are up next. I hope you’re doing well. Thanks for being here.
Love, Jaclynn
Going On 40 