why I moved here

Many years ago I was returning to work after my annual CPA visit re taxes (sort of like a pap smear but worse).  I was fuming because I was having to pay taxes on something I did not benefit from and I knew I couldn’t go back to work that angry.  As I drove down the road, I saw a street sign for a road I had never been down.  I knew the unknown always helped me to learn and relax, to let go of what was.  So I turned down the road as a way to cool off.  Just before the road turned and became an entirely different road, I saw a “For Sale” sign being put out by the road.  I stopped.  There was a winding dirt driveway so pitted with potholes I did not want to go up it.  I walked.  At the start of the second bend in the driveway I saw this magnificent Banyan.  I was breathless…I felt like I was home…I felt embraced.  The house was vacant and sterile.  It had never been air conditioned.  It had no appliances.  The land was overgrown and deceiving.  The windows and doors promised to stay in place only if I promised to not push too hard.  All in all, the house structure was not  a “good deal.”  Still, the banyan called to me.  I was torn between love and reality.

Two people helped me to overcome my fear of making the wrong decision.  The first was my good friend Mary who led me down a gentle “imagine what you see” guided path.  When she asked me what I imagined, I said the tree but further questioning led to “I hear children laughing.”  She said, “You already know the answer to whether to purchase this property or not.  Go with your heart.”   The second important person was my cousin Doris.  She is a Realtor.  I called her to handle the offer and closing details.  When we got close to the closing I started to have doubts and panic.  This property required money I did not have, cost more than I thought I could afford, and would be a work in progress for many years.  My cousin put it in  simple terms, “either shit or get off of the pot (she did not use those words, but I knew what she meant).  I so appreciate her wisdom and advice at that time.  Without her, I would never had found the one place that everyday makes me hear children laughing.  Doris, you are the best  Realtor ever!!

A piece of this story I left out is that I was not only looking for a place for myself but also for my mother who because of  medical conditions could no longer live alone.  My mother loved growing things and had an organic garden and farm long before it was fashionable.   I wanted my mother to be able grow whatever she desired.  This banyan property was just under an acre and perfect for a large garden, but not large enough to qualify as agricultural which would allow chickens.  My mother really wanted chickens.  I was torn and argued with her.  In the end, I won and followed the law.  Everyday since she has died, I wish I had lost.  We had a banyan tree for god’s sake!  How could a couple of chickens harm the environment or neighborhood more than that?

I’ll tell you this, with the death of anyone close to your heart should come a lesson that makes you stronger and truer than before they departed.  Mom, I swear this to you, I will not let any law or ordinance keep me from having a chicken…I will never deny a chicken again (even if I don”t like them)!