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Home on the Range
I was on such a roll with my newfound time for blogging that I had prepped this post and was just about to write it up. Then I decided I was tired and wanted to go to bed instead and write it the next day. That’s all fine, but I also have my laptop set up for automatic updates, and that night, when I went to bed, it was set to update to the latest operating system.
The following day, when I sat down to type up this post, I was greeted with the worst thing any laptop owner can be greeted by: the black screen of death.
I’m no stranger to the black screen of death. I’ve been through this many times, so I knew it could be as simple as re-installing the latest OS, a little more complicated as erasing the hard drive, losing whatever I’ve worked on since my last backup (two weeks ago), or worst case, shipping it off to Apple for 5-7 business days. I’ve paid for Apple Care since I left my ex-husband, my personal Mac IT guy, and it’s been worth every penny. Whatever the prognosis was, I was offline until I could get to an Apple Store. My brother isn’t exactly close to an Apple store in the middle of the desert in Texas.
There went all those posts I would write in my downtime in Texas.
Good news! Today, my dad and I drove to the nearest Apple Store, and they re-installed the latest operating system and I am as good as new! I’m so happy and relieved.
Bad news: I’m back-posting. I’m already back in California, but I am now blogging about my time in Texas.
I had a good time. It was a real adventure. I don’t love the dry, dusty, barren desert of West Texas (or how dusty it makes my brother’s house), but it was very photogenic. The sunrises and sunsets were incredible.
My brother owns ten acres of dry, barren, dusty desert. He has grand plans for our whole family to move out there and live on a compound. I’m not as keen on that idea, but it is an option if California falls into the ocean or life gets so expensive that we are forced out. Lately, that’s been seeming more and more possible, much to my dismay.
When I rented a Uhaul for my move to my parents, I found out there was a shortage of moving trucks in California because so many people were moving away. I’ll be very sad when I have to leave my home state. But I’ve been giving up many things lately, so I’m learning to accept hard things and make the best of them.
Cody seems to like the dry, dusty ground just fine and gets along well with my brother’s other five dogs and three cats.
Momo stays indoors, but she also seems to love Texas. She loves my brother’s big house and her new playmates (two kittens and a dachshund). They run the length of the house all day long. It’s great.
Me, I just loved taking pictures. Every day, I thought I’d seen it all, and then the light would change, and I had a whole new world to explore with my camera.
Texas does not lack in beautiful skies. From horizon to horizon, as far as I could see, were beautiful colors changing right before my eyes.
It was so peaceful out there.
My brother and I talked about all his plans for his land. We discussed everything from rainy season to mud season to mosquito season and beyond. He plans to have a big garden in the spring, and I’m excited to see it.
I’m happy that he’s happy. Maybe someday I’ll find my happiness out there, too, but for now, I’m going to hold onto my California girl cred as long as I can.
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Texas Bound
The beauty of my new lifestyle is that I have so much more time! When Bug moved out, I found myself with hours of free time. I didn’t have to pick her up from work, take her to school, or drive all over the OC for all her various errands. I thought that was great. I missed her, but I loved my newfound freedom. Then, I moved to the Sticks and had to quit my part-time job. My freelance jobs trickled down to odd jobs here and there, and then I had even more time. I clean houses and help my parents, but I can make my schedule. It’s almost like being retired. Retired without an income. You know how it goes: you either have time or money but never both simultaneously.
This wealth of time has become especially relevant with my latest predicament with my parents’ HOA and my dog, Cody. A little backstory for anyone who isn’t tuned into my Instagram feed: My parents and I have been balls of anxiety about what to do with Cody since I moved in with them in January. My Dad had written a letter to the board in November asking if I could be allowed to live in their (55+) retirement community as a caregiver for my mother. We’d heard lots of individual opinions about Cody being accepted as an emotional support animal from various board members but hadn’t gotten an official ruling.
Since I had no money to pay my rent, I was forced to couch surf or move in with my parents. I put half of my stuff in a friend’s storage unit and stayed as a guest with my parents until we heard whether I’d be allowed to move in. It was weeks of not knowing. Finally, we heard there was a ruling, but my thirty days as a guest were running out. I had one more day and no letter of a decision. It was nerve-wracking.
So I decided to take matters into my own hands and walked across the street to the secretary of the board’s house to ask her myself. At this point, I felt that any news would be better than no news. I couldn’t handle the suspense anymore.
The secretary was very nice and told me that the good news was that I was approved to stay as a caregiver. The bad news was that caregivers didn’t have the same rights as residents, and the emotional support animal rule did not apply. I was defeated. I had a lot of evil thoughts about what to do about this seemingly ridiculous rule, but my parents have been in violation of their HOA rules for having too many pets since the day they moved in. I didn’t feel like I was in a position to fight a fight that would put my parents at risk. So sad, too bad.
I took all my pent-up emotion and decided to channel it into an epic road trip with just Cody and me to Texas to visit my brother and take him up on his offer to rehome Cody until I could reclaim him. I do love a good road trip, and there is no better way to work through your dark feelings than lots of alone time on the road. I booked a super cute hotel in Tuscon and set out immediately.
I am a sucker for cute hotels. I would be a happy camper if I could travel full-time, take pictures, and have adventures. Cody and I had the best time. He is an ideal travel companion. He keeps me safe. He doesn’t say much, and he’s perfectly content to ride quietly in the back for hours and hours. He loves rest areas and taking walks to stretch his legs. He loves to go wherever I go and follows me quickly without a leash. I adore him.
The long drive with Cody only cemented how much I love him and what a great dog he is. It didn’t make it easier to accept that I would be leaving him soon. It breaks my heart to think about him missing me. We are each other’s emotional support companions. He’s seen me through so many dark times. And because I’ve spent so much one-on-one time with him, he distresses easily when he’s not near me. This is a tricky thing. I know he will be loved and well cared for by my brother and his wife. My brother’s wife has already bought him special high-protein dog food and a big fluffy bed and promised to take him to the vet (which I can’t afford right now). But Cody will have to learn how to be a dog again. He’s going to be part of a pack of dogs now. He still gets to be an inside dog and get lots of attention, but my brother and his wife are not me. I’ve spoiled him rotten.
I’m staying for the week to help with the transition process. This is mainly for me so that I can be okay. I need to know that he’s going to be OK. I will worry myself sick thinking up scenarios where he’s neglected or left alone, left in the weather, or picked on by the other dogs.
So far, he’s doing great. He loves the other dogs, and I see a playful side of him that is usually reserved for me and his rope toy. I think he will bond with his new family (which includes Momo!). He’ll mope, I’m sure, and miss all the treats I give him that I’m not supposed to, but he will be cared for. He’s going to the vet to get his tumors looked at, which I’ve been worrying about but haven’t been able to afford to get looked at yet.
It’s going to be okay. I plan to visit him in April, and I’m daydreaming about taking him on an even longer road trip this summer if I can pull it off.
Just you and me, Codes. Just you and me.