On October 23 I moved from suburban Dallas to rural Missouri
I took my daughter up on her offer and have moved from Texas to live with her family. I had rebuffed this offer for quite some time as the place is very boring. I said to myself, "If I go up there I will just sit around the house as there is nothing to do." Then the light came on as that was all I was doing in the middle of a major metropolitan area because I couldn't afford to do anything beyond pay bills. The economy is not going to improve measurably for at least two to three years and corporations are tight on discretionary spends for services like mine (BTW, for my conservative friends, the biggest factor in this are the economic issues in Europe with the Irish, Greek, Portuguese, Spanish and Italian economies).
There was a form of convergence that led to this resulting in a win/win scenario for all. From my daughter's POV, essentially, it will reduce her expenses, provide her with free time, and provide my five year-old grandson, Ashton, with positive interaction.
From my POV, it will enable me to reduce my almost all expenses and retire. It will give me a purpose to have a positive impact to engage myself beyond sitting on my ass and idling away the days, weeks, months, years, and life like I was.
Since Ashton started school things became problematic for my daughter. She had to make sure that he got on the bus. This would run her late for work. The school is almost 20 miles to the south, her job is over 30 miles to the west. Additionally, after school care is quite costly.
Ashton is gifted. He started kindergarten this year and has already mastered all academic standards for the FOURTH quarter of kindergarten. He is very active and extroverted. But he suffers from his environment. He is an only child and there isn't another kid close to his age for miles. He is starved for attention and lacks socialization skills in interacting with other kids his own age due to this deficiency.
My cooking dinner, cleaning up the kitchen, doing grocery shopping, and running errands during the day provides her with much more free time in addition to my seeing that Ashton gets on the school bus and is met when he returns in the afternoon. For those of you old enough to remember the fifties/sixties sitcom My Three Sons, my role is Uncle Charlie.
I no longer have any household bills to pay, am able to retire and dispense with having to deal with the corporate world. There is no longer any angst about constantly worrying if I could pay my bills. Even though I didn't get what I wanted for it, I was able to get out from under my home. My daughter and I are very tight and this arrangement will greatly enhance our lives. She and I have resided together off and on for years so there is no real adjustment per se. She and her husband lived with me during her entire pregnancy with Ashton.
The only real drag was that I had to find Manfred another home as he is nine and he wouldn't be able to handle the winter here as he is arthritic. He has a nice home with a housewife in her late forties who adores and spoils him. Deirdre came with me.
Where I now reside is in an unincorporated area:
Three miles from a paved road
Eight miles from the nearest convenience store that closes at six
Nine miles from the nearest convenience store that stays open until midnight
Eighteen miles from the nearest town (population 11,000)
Twenty two miles from WalMart
To be continued
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read more blogs!
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sugarnspice005
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Oct 29 @ 8:45PM
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I was wondering where you were. I had noticed you had been gone for a couple of weeks.
That's cool for Ashton having his grandpa living with him.  Kind of sad about you having to give Manfred to someone else, but, it sounds like he's going to be well cared for. 
So...happy retirement to you!
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manwithoutahorse
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Oct 29 @ 9:51PM
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uh oh...20 years from now a mini-WoW...we better prepare.
Congrats. Change is good. Change is good. Change is good.
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sawduster
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Oct 29 @ 10:07PM
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ok, so that's what has been keeping you away from here. i'm not certain where your daughter lives, but you are welcome to come over here for a day or two any time. at least you are closer than when in dallas.
at least the roads out here are paved, or mine is anyway, not as far to anything but a walmart. and welcome to missouri.
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Strega
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Oct 29 @ 11:16PM
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Sounds like a good move for you. My experience in Missouri had been confined to St Louis and Columbia and one trip to Kansas City in the 70s. St Louis was about six years ago for a design seminar. I hope you enjoy being with your grandson and daughter.
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PinkToeNails
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Oct 30 @ 12:09AM
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Change can be very good,... I think change is something that you've needed too! Still waiting for my change to come to fruition!!....... 
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Linda318
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Oct 30 @ 2:08AM
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Welcome to Missouri!
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1bunny629
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Oct 30 @ 3:05AM
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...cool beans! I think that is great! 
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Lisa46
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Oct 30 @ 10:56AM
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I also think that is great! You both now are in a win win situation.
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RevDocLove
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Oct 30 @ 11:05AM
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Good for you Bruce!!
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soft_touch938
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Oct 30 @ 11:51AM
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Here I come in on the tail end, as usual... 
I knew something was up and I was a little worried about you. I think this move will be good for all concerned. I guess my biggest concern is your adjusting to being a hillbilly....  Can you say "ya'll 'n howdy neighbor" (a neighbor is anyone over yonder in the next holler)
Seriously, I think you're a city boy at heart so this isolation in the country may prove to be a challenge once the newness of being with family wears off.
Good luck hun...wishing you the best ever... 
Y'all have a good day now...ya hear?
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somnium
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Oct 30 @ 12:44PM
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That seems to be the thing to do these days! Family needs to help family! I've done the exact same thing in the past couple of months. Saves me money, helps save them money plus I break up the day by cleaning the kitchen, cutting the grass in the front and back and other things that frees up time for my daughter!
Only thing I miss is going from a countrified area to the 'ole 'burbs! I prefer not to have neighbors but this will have to do until the economy breaks in our favor!
Enjoy the peace of mind!
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rnj1013
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Oct 30 @ 6:25PM
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Congrats on the move and best of luck to you! Sounds like it will be a pretty sweet set-up for all involved!
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StraddleMyNose
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Oct 30 @ 10:04PM
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Hope things work out for ya
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flavorbuster
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Oct 31 @ 1:02AM
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Seems like a good thing for yourself & now that you moved to Cardinal territory are you happy the Rangers lost the World Series ?
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pinklipstick2
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Oct 31 @ 11:56AM
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Can't see anything but good coming out of the move . Good for you your daughter grandson. It will take some getting use to moving from city to country. Been there done that not to sure if I could move back to the city. Looking forward to reading aboutbig wow and little wow
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somnium
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Oct 31 @ 1:12PM
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Looking forward to reading aboutbig wow and little wow
Hmmmm... 
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orzie
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Oct 31 @ 11:54PM
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mabey you can get a little across the border but save some for me 
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hog77297
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Nov 1 @ 11:02PM
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Bruce Sounds like a great choise! My daughter moved here with me about 6years ago. Well she and the grandkids took over the house and I excaped to the barn. Grandkids can be a little much and I don;t see how my daughter does it. I do alot of running kids here and there for school,sports and to there friends. But it's been fun and I wouldn't have it any other way. 
i love my barn
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