Sunday, August 20, 2017

The End of Porch Time

Yesterday morning, Scott and I turned in all the keys to the old apartment. Doing so ended a thirty year plus run of living at the complex that we had moved into in late June of 1987. It was a very strange moment to turn those keys in and realize that it really was over. In many aspects, it is a relief to be out of there.

Before we went to the office, I went out on the back porch over looking the creek for one final look. Sitting out on that porch while reading and writing was one of my favorite activities. But, it wasn't just that. It was also sitting out there on the many, many nights that I could not sleep and was losing my mind over what we were going through here. A few times over the last several years, I sat out there cloaked in darkness and cried over Sandi. That porch helped me cope with so much.

Scott went up the stairs and took this final picture of me out there.


6 comments:

Unknown said...

Goodbyes are always tough.

Kevin R. Tipple said...

True.....I won't miss a lot of things as the office was not happy with us these last few months. They made us a scapegoat to our neighbors on things that were not our fault. They were also very selective on enforcing their polices. You can see to my left bags of trash sitting out on the porch of a neighbor in violation of the rules. Six bags are out there. They also have a grill out there which are allegedly forbidden to be on the property per the lease. Both situations are supposed to be fineable offenses and have been going on for months. Yet, they hassled us once they knew we were not renewing.

But, I am really going to miss sitting out on that porch. One of the very cool things was to be out there at dawn and be lucky enough to see the American Bald Eagle that lives down the way come flying through the creek area at nearly eye level. Couple of hawks also live down the way and do the same thing. There are bass, carp, and other fish in the creek as well as turtles and the ducks, egrets and blue herons that make those waters home. I used to sit out there a lot with my morning cups of tea and just watch and relax.

Elizabeth said...

You'll find a spot in the yard of your new home that will be just as relaxing. I'm so glad you're finally out of that money sink of an apartment ... I know, I rented for a very long time myself!

Kevin R. Tipple said...

Apparently we were in a land locked boat. More than 30 years there so lots of companies made a lot of money off of us.

Caroline Clemmons said...

Saying goodbye is hard, even if you are moving to a better place. We lived in Weatherford for 26 years and I had a tough time leaving a house I designed to downsize--even though we have a lovely back yard. One thing we *had* to have was a window in the breakfast area. We enjoy having meals together and watching birds, squirrels, and trees in the back yard. I still miss our old house because of the storage and space, but I enjoy living in Hurst. I hope you will become accustomed to your home and enjoy living there. No stairs, right? Neither of us needs stairs in our life! Wishing you the very best!

Kevin R. Tipple said...

The stairs were evil. I had not realized just how bad they were until we were not going up and down them all the time. I had a heck of a time Saturday trying to get up and down them. I also know that there is no way Sandi could ever move up and down them ever again.

It is horrible to say this, but the brutal truth is the fact that we got the house in the nick of time.