Wyoming Days

Dylan spends hours gleefully riding his rip-stik on the sidewalks around the apartment.

(There are no sidewalks in our Lakeside neighborhood!)

Today was the sixth day of our stay in Wyoming, and it was the first time we were able to slow down and relax, spending most of the day in our Cheyenne apartment. Ed had to have a tooth pulled this morning, and the dentist warned him not to exert himself all day, while the bleeding stopped.

Now I know why Ed’s friends laugh when he refers to himself as “retired.” He is indeed a retired mechanic, but his schedule is very full. Every morning we get up with the alarm and quickly prepare to leave the apartment for a variety of activities.

Most mornings begin with a drive to Ed’s mom’s house, across the border in Colorado just 30 minutes away. He helps her keep up with her big house on 2 acres by hauling and cutting wood for her furnace, trimming and mowing the acreage, and making various repairs, among many other projects.  He also drives her to the store, the doctor's office, and other appointments.

Dylan works on whacking down weeds around the shop.

The time we spend at Caryl’s house is a blessing for both Dylan and me. Ed has taken Dylan under his wing, teaching him how to do repair work and paying him to assist with chores. The two of them have really bonded, and Dylan is blossoming from both the attention and the responsibility.

Dylan loves mowing the acreage on the rider mower.

Ed also allowed him to drive a car around the back roads. E-gads!

As for me, I take along projects I’ve neglected far too long, having been rather distracted by our unexpected and happily time-consuming romance. While I work my way through these projects, I also have hours to visit with my new mother-in-law, and we already feel like old friends. Caryl has told me twice that she feels like we’ve known each other forever. Maybe we have, in the spiritual sense!

Trying out Ed’s Remington Varmint Rifle was one of Dylan’s greatest thrills!

(Ed is former military—Air Force—and is also very much into hunting.)

It seems that everyday Ed gets a call from someone asking him to work on their car or chainsaw or some other piece of equipment. Or they ask him to pick up parts and supplies or drop off items for repair. He doesn’t have the heart to tell anyone no, which only makes me love him more.

Still, I worry that we’ll never get to the tasks we must undertake in order to close up the apartment and move Ed to Lakeside in the few weeks we have left. He assures me that it will all work out just fine. Meanwhile, a few people have hinted to me that the folks of Cheyenne are going to experience a great loss when I take Ed away to Arizona!

On Tuesday night Ed grilled steaks for us. Yum!

Finally, we’ve enjoyed visiting with some of Ed’s friends in the evenings. I love getting to know the people who are important to him and seeing how much they care about him. Thankfully, they’ve all been very welcoming to me. I think our mutual happiness is clear to everyone, which helps ease worries that we rushed into marriage too soon.

On Wednesday, Ed took Dylan to Scouts with him. Dylan had a great time!

So far, we have yet to actually start on any activities related to the move itself. However, Ed is working through the other tasks that must be accomplished before we can start packing and loading up. I expect that packing is how we’ll be spending our time next week.  At least, that's what I'm hoping for!