A Slower Pace

This is my first opportunity to get online since my last post and my internet connection is…..a…..very…..slow…..dialup…..connection. I was spoiled in California with a fast cable broadband connection. A slower pace really applies to everything out here — even the internet. And for those of you who know me as the tech geek that I am, you must be laughing at my having to deal with dial up. We’ll see how long this lasts.

A lot has happened since my last post. Sit back, grab a cup of coffee and read the update.

One of the hurdles we had to overcome was back in Nashville before we arrived in Louisville. A few years ago my wife had a pinched nerve that affected her arms and hands. It seems the several days of driving along with the same position for miles at a time aggravated it. Just short of our last stop outside of Nashville, she could no longer drive. We pulled over, checked into a local motel and rested. A long night’s sleep and a big breakfast didn’t help much and we only made it one exit. Time for plan “B” (which I had planned for, however, I was expecting a mechanical failure, not a human one). We unhitched the Uhaul from my old Suburban, dropped it onto my wife’s Suburban, crammed the dogs in and left my truck at a popular truck stop hoping the traffic would allow it to blend in for a few days until we could drive the 3 hours back to pick it up.

So there we were — all 8 of us and the Uhaul. Me, the wife, 3 kids, 2 dogs and 1 cat (and a partridge in a pear treeeeeee). We were able to barely make it into the Louisville area to drop off the trailer and dogs at a friend’s farm and then hustle to the property for the final walk through. Every thing was in order and the closing the next day went very smoothly and we were in the midst of the movers orchestrated chaos by noon. Almost the entire 53′ semi-truck trailer was unloaded and all that remained Saturday was the smaller shuttle truck, the unpacking of some boxes and the furniture assembly. I still had the issue of my truck though.

Step in a helping hand. One of the movers had some extra time, needed some holiday spending money and wanted to help us out so he joined me in the 3 hour ride down to Nashville to pick up my Suburban. It was very nice and interesting to hear the perspective of someone who had grown up in this area of the country. I enjoyed the company and what seemed like a 45 minute drive to Nashville really sucked on the way home as we both drove alone in each of the Suburbans the entire 3 hour drive back.

Dave — thanks for helping us out the way you did. I appreciate the favor and the new friendship. THANK YOU!

We also met one of our local neighbors who happens to have a little boy close to my son’s age. They played together as if they were old friends and are already looking forward to exploring the little creek together.

We are also finding our way around: to the nearby Wal-Mart where we have equipped all of us with much needed winter gear, to the local Kroger for all of our home cooked meal supplies, the Uhaul return place and the cheapest fill-er-up station.

This morning, we woke up to it snowing. The kids have seen snow from when we used to go up to the mountains but they have never actually seen it fall from the sky. It was fun to see them get all excited and worked up to play in it, spend the time to get all bundled up, run around and experience the newness of it, then realize how butt cold it was and decide to come back in. The dogs were the same way minus the bundling up part. I’m sure it might get old but right now we are just enjoying it. Acclimating hasn’t been as hard as I expected. Talk to me in a month though. Luckily, we only got 1 inch of snow and most of it is gone already.

On my way out to town this evening at dusk, I saw my first local deer — a handsome male (who survived hunting season) and two skittish does. Very cool!

It is late and I start my first day on the job tomorrow. Off to bed. In the meantime, here are a few interesting facts:

• It takes me 6 minutes round trip to walk and get the mail from our mailbox.
• I paid $1.58 a gallon for my last gas fill up.
• Setting up a household from scratch is expensive (trash cans, toilet paper, wall hooks, plastic silverware compartment, paper towel holder thingy — geez!)

…..Dan at aslowerpace