This Community

Rarely a day goes by that Vince and I don’t talk about when and where we’ll retire. If I was a betting woman, I’d bet we’ll be right here forever. My head knows that despite the heat, the bugs, the snakes, there’s never going to be another place like this. Some of you may remember when we moved here and we had a list of “must have” features.

• At least 40 acres
• A shop for Vince
• A sewing room for me
• A well
• A gas stove or a way to add gas in the kitchen

Another thing on that list was “no painted cabinets in the kitchen”. We missed on that one but we found the perfect spot otherwise.  As we look at houses online in at least five locations, nothing comes close to what we have here. What’s making it so hard to find a place is that we both really do love it here. I have to keep reminding myself that even though summers are long and horrible, we have very little winter. We can have some crazy cold days but no show, very little ice – a better environment for old folks.

We are farther than I’d like from medical care but Hendrick Hospital in Abilene is an amazing facility and I think we’re pretty lucky to be less than two hours from there.

Since we’ve moved here, both Aldi and Hobby Lobby have opened. That’s a big plus for me. Harbor Freight is new. Tractor Supply has been here but both of those (and Big Lots) make Vince happy.

But, the best things are the people. My knitting group is the best. I’ve been in quilt guilds in Louisiana, Kentucky, Missouri and here but this knitting group . . the best and what keeps many of us sane (and a few of us may be too far gone to be considered sane)! It’s small, we have about 9 regulars, but they’re all good friends and then I have my really good friend here who is so helpful in so many ways!

And the community – with the fire in Zephyr, several times they’ve asked for donations. First they asked for water and Gatorade and within hours, they posted a picture of cases of water stacked as high as they could stack them and said “We have enough water for a while”. Yesterday they asked for several things – chapstick, face wipes . . I can’t remember what all but there was a list of about 10 things. Within a few hours, the Zephyr Fire Department posted this on their Facebook page:

We are currently overwhelmed with donations if you could please hold off if we run short on something I will post on the Fire dept fB page

Diamond R, the cafe in Zephyr where we go for fried fish or burgers (and chicken fried steak if Chad is in town) stayed open all night the last two nights and offered free food to fire fighters and other first responders.

We may leave here some day; we may not but this area may well end up being my most favorite place to have ever lived. If somehow, Chad, Nicole and Addie could find a way to love this part of Texas, I’d stay here forever without a second thought.

Despite my incessant complaining about living here and wanting to live in MO, I will always feel blessed to have spent at least 7 years in Brown County, Texas.