Grapeview Place-A work in progress.

Sunday, September 12, 2010

How did I end up here?



Lately, I've been thinking...What would have happened to my life if I had stayed in one of the many places I used to live; St. Louis, Boston, Portsmouth?  Chances are I might have married a stock broker who liked to "back pack" and been a manager for a technology head hunting firm.  We would have had money, cars, maybe a nanny. 

The only photo my son would allow. Can you see the t.v. reflection in his glasses?


 But I have to say that Dan changed all that.  One day we were pulling out of the dentist's parking lot and heading back to my chic new condo in Portsmouth and he asked, "If you could be anyone you wanted to, who would that be?"  It took me by surprise.  I fancied that I was a person of depth, in reality I was dumbfounded.  "I dunno," played in my head.  Who was I?  Who did I want to be?  I thought I knew, but no one but Dan had ever asked.  And then the words slowly stumbled out, "a teacher I guess."

Fast forward ten years.  If you don't plan on moving to Maine, then don't fall in love with a Mainer.  Here I am a teacher, married to a restoration carpenter, and fixing up a 180 year old farm house.
       Dan, the other love of my life, doing what he does best: 
working in  his shop and talking with his hands.

There is a lot more I could tell you, like how I sort of want to be a gardener, but I never weed, so the gardens are overgrown with massive corn stock looking stalks, or how we have tumble weeds for dust bunnies blowing around the house, but I'll save that for future musings.  For now though, suffice to say, I'm here, it's beautiful and I guess I turned out to be who I wanted to be.  I'm often happy.

7 comments:

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  2. Nancy ~ This is great! I'm a transplant too; although, I've been here for 30 years now. Since you are going through an old cape, I was wondering if you listen to 'Hot and Cold' on Saturday mornings? The hallmark program of making an old dwelling wind and cold proof. We are down to less than a gallon of oil a day. There should be some sort of joy around that and there is until there's bang on the bathroom door with something about time, usage, and 'You've used up your quota!'

    Love to hear your adventures.

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  3. Love the new blog, Nancy. My wife and I moved to Maine from Massachusetts about 25 years ago--part of the Back to Basics movement--had goats, sheep, and ducks as well as kids. Now nursing and teaching, but we still love the land (especially where we sit) and the style of life in our town. Good for you two that you have continued on with a special way of life.

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  4. Nancy, I love the new look!
    I returned to Maine after 14 years absence, and I have never looked back.
    I love it here and I wouldn't live anywhere else.
    Dale

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  5. Nancy, I love that you don't weed your garden. I don't either. After all, they deserve to live too, right? :) I have way more resepect for you knowing you don't weed.

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  6. I so envy you in your old house. I dream of living in an old farmhouse someday where the wind blows right through the clapboard siding in the wintertime and the weeds grow and grow and grow. But in my dream, I actually have time to weed if I want to!

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  7. A quick note of thanks for all of your comments. I was hoping to keep my football picking sites a secret from my father in law, but he actually got on here and found my "special sites."

    Kim, the lack of weeding may or may not be blamed on time. It could just be too much reality t.v.

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