Adjustments

 I am not sure just why, but several (2 or 3 ) people have encouraged me to continue to post to my blog. However, exciting adventures, and wonderful scenic trips have been in pretty short supply recently. I could fill the pages with how well Brenda and I are adapting to a "postponed" relationship, but I have shied away from that in an attempt to be circumspect. I wanted to at least give her some time to at least make sure that she understood my humour. 

In the first place I have had difficulty believing that we could be so compatible. All of the important things that are needed to make a sustainable relationship with someone, are there. We fit together so completely that I am amazed. I keep checking to make sure that my personality is not overriding hers. I like to think that I am secure enough that I am able to allow her to be herself and for the most part I have succeeded. She smokes, I do not! It doesn't bother me at all. She is a night owl, I use the time to get to sleep before she comes to bed. She sleeps late, I don't mind the alone time. the only fly in the ointment, the only contention, is shopping!

I took a pretty good cut in available funds when Karen died. I learned in short order to be frugal with the funds that I did have. I make a grocery list throughout the month on the things that I need. Its a four hour round trip to the grocery store, so fooling around only gets you stuck in Boise rush hour traffic, plus the dogs should be getting to the point that their legs are crossed pretty hard. So its get in- get out.

I understand that the little town that she lived near was a bit more rural as well as possibly a bit limited in selection, and it is possible that her feelings about Costco with all of its tempting goodies might just have the same effect on her as a trip to Cabela's would for me. 

Our first restocking trip was an eye opener. She doesn't walk that fast any way, so I had to throttle back quite a lot. I know where everything is, and I kept finding that I left her a couple of aisles back. ( She just came in to make sure that I didn't call her "gimpy", she is just cautious! ) 

My house is actually pretty small, 1470 sq feet, but I have a cool room dug into the ground off the back porch, that I am able to store some groceries, canned goods mostly, but storage in the house is limited. 

When we began we agreed that she would buy the groceries, and I would handle the rest of the living expenses. That way we should both be able to put a little money aside each month. I figured it would be about $400 bucks a month.  To make a long complaint manageable, I went down one aisle, she went the other way and I didn't find her for about an hour. She had in the meantime got another cart and mostly filled it up.  The car looked like the beverly hillbillies going home. the next trip she took off somewhere around the frozen foods and I didn't find her till I got to the checkouts.

I was in a bit of a dilemma, She was spending her money on stuff for us, and I was bitching because we didn't need it., so I resolved to bring a book and sit in the car. ( and try to keep my mouth shut) Suuuuuure, that's gonna happen! 

We finally got the paperwork back that would allow her to buy Oregon vehicle license plates for her car, but we had to go to Burns, which has a DMV office. I had gone through all the stuff here at the house to see what we needed to replenish our stock, and could only come up with Mustard. She needed some Flonase, so I decided to stay in the car and take a nap. Now the grocery store in Burns is a Safeway and isn't all that big, so I reminded her again that all we needed was Mustard, and that we still had enough to probably last us for a month or more at home. I dropped her at the door and went out in the parking lot to wait. She has a handicapped tag, since she is gimpy, or rather careful!, but since I was going to stay in the car I left it open for someone who might be handicapped. I took a nice long nap, eventually waking up, amazed at how long she had been in there, and sat for at least 15 minutes more when she called me to pick her up. I drive up to the door and here she comes with a cart stacked to the top and overflowing, and even had some poor stock boy, ( about 50 years old, and obviously wrapped around her finger) Saying "Thank you for helping me, sugar! in that WVa drawl, pushing her cart for her. I was speechless, if you could believe that! This was after two hours in Big R, a ranch store. Then she wanted to go into Big lots! Strangely enough by that time I had lost my hearing and managed to miss the turn off to get there.

I realize that I tend towards impatience, and I do try to curb that as much as I can. I have always maintained that if I was supposed to have patients I would have studied to be a Gynecologist.

I realize that if that is all I have to complain about, and it is, I am a very lucky man. We are still in that "pinch me" state that is quite rare in this world, and I believe that we both have seen enough in our lives to be able to appreciate what can and is another chance at having a true caring relationship for the rest of our lives. When I touch her, no matter where, she turns to me, never away!  ( Think about that for a bit )