Hopes and dreams

3/2/08 Sunday
Obviously nothing got written yesterday. The trees we got needed to be planted immediately so that became a priority. I know there were other things going on but this is all I can remember right now. First thing we did is look up all these trees on the internet. That way we could see pictures and learn more about them. Things like how high they grow and their characteristics like drought tolerance and soil types. Based on that we drew a map of where to put them. Then Cherie and I went out with stakes to mark the spots. Let me try to convey how deep this is for us. I’m having a hard time finding the words I want but there is a significance, a … Ok, I’ll try to explain it this way. Cherie has never owned a house and lived in apartments her whole life. As all (or at least most) young married couples we had dreams of building a life and home in our own house with our first marriage. All those hopes and dreams became broken with the brain injury that resulted in our divorce.

So now we are out envisioning what we are creating. First we walked across the highway to get a better idea of what it could look like. Then, with map in hand, we walked the property to mark the spots and label which type of tree would go in each of them. We talked, we loved, we got excited about the potential future this place holds. In our minds eye we could see these trees ten years from now along with the many other dreams we plan to pursue.

It was twenty eight years ago we got married the first time. With the restoration of that marriage comes the restoration of those dreams. “You never imagined this could ever happen did you” I told Cherie as I held her hand. “No, not in a million years” was her reply. It’s the same for me. It is so hard to believe I have to pinch myself to make sure this is real. Never…never in my wildest imagination could I have thought this would ever come about. But here we are building a home bit by bit.

So after all that we came in and I read the directions that came with the trees. Nuts! The trees need to be planted in a protected spot and allowed to grow for two years or so and then transplanted to their final location. That changes everything. Now it’s a rush to get done. The trees have been soaking in water for several hours as directed and must get planted now. I chose the area I’d tried to grow herbs in last year to put the trees in. Unfortunately this is an area the dogs like to trample in so putting up a fence is mandatory to protect the trees.

The sun is going down fast as it does out here so there is no time to lose. Cherie pitched in knowing I couldn’t do it in time by myself. Working side by side on this again brought out those feelings of building together, a sense of oneness that helps us comprehend the biblical concept of “the two shall become one”. What a marvel our lives are. What a wonder it is to live the love story books and movies are made of.

So we got the trees planted. I looked around and the only fast way of getting a fence up was to use the wire fencing that I was going to give to Don. I felt bad as I unrolled and measured it. There wasn’t time to get it up before the sun was gone and darkness had taken over. This morning I checked it out and decided it would be much better to make a wooden fence with the old fencing Jay had given us. Now I have time and can watch the dogs to make sure they don’t trample things down.

This is the area I am digging out for the greenhouse

I didn’t go to church this morning. There is just too much to do including getting the fence up for the trees. We have a hundred strawberry plants on the way and beds must be prepared for them. Got an email notification they were shipped yesterday. The greenhouse needs to be installed, the seed shack finished, the tiller fixed, hoses mended, locations marked and holes dug for the ninety windbreak trees we pick up Friday, drip feed irrigation assembled and installed for them and the strawberries, and more and more. So I took a break from church. Right now it’s 1:00 and time for me to take a nap as the fatigue is pretty bad. It’s so weird to me to have this problem but it’s a common part of traumatic brain injuries that is talked about in all the literature and medical papers on TBI. It just drives me nuts and is incredibly inconvenient. But an hour or two nap does wonders and revitalizes me so that’s good.

It’s going up to eighty degrees today. Unfortunately the wind is pretty bad. I might have to wear the safety goggles I have to keep the sand out of my eyes.