not night paving

or when the daily chores (and in this case yearly) that are seemingly insignificant give you a lovely personal nudge that lets’ you know there is indeed light at the end of that tunnel.

Can you sense that this is going to be one of those roundabout stories. I do.

So every year we have to have the gravel drive redone. Sometimes it is a big deal because of weather and delivery trucks and all sorts of other drive related incidents.  Our biggest issue out here in rural Pacific Northwest is water and absorption; as in how fast it falls from the sky and how quickly the soil clay can soak it in. Really wet all the time causes all kinds of issues with seepage, drainage, leakage.. .You name the water related “age” problem and we have it. So little time, oh and gravel.
Anyway Friday was the day the wonderfully helpful Mr. Smith (I kid you not look at the side of the truck) came to gravel and grade the driveway, parking and to add another bed to put a second storage pod. Yep you heard right. Storage pod number two or as I like to think of it as tina’s stash hotel annex.  Where stash obviously checks in but does not check out.
Hey you know what?  (and I just can’t believe I have not thought of this before) We should have a contest to name the hotels pods.  We will revisit this later.
Remind me ok?
I knew this was happening but as most of you know I am not in the best place for remembering this kind of daily ? hmmm daily what ?  oh, I know daily anything. Seriously.
So when I went to walk out to the barn on Friday morning to say hi to everyone I was met with this:

Usually it is just my highlander sitting there and the barn girls cars are on other side of drive in designated parking area. It is always like that right? Well not on Friday morning . When I opened the sliding glass door and looked up all of their cars were parked either behind me or on the side.  I was surrounded.  Ok… got it my car was surrounded. You know what I mean. Going for a little life metaphor here.
I stop and wonder and then go on my merry way to the barn. It still has not quite dawned on me what the hell is going on. As I walk on and sip my coffee and shake my head ( the shaking sometimes helps where the coffee has not quite kicked it yet) I turn and glance back just to make sure I was not seeing things.

Nope. I was not.
Do you see it?  I am (if I am indeed a lovely silver Toyota Highlander and obviously I am) lovingly surrounded, protected held by those that love me. Well… at least that is what I saw.
I finally reach the barn and walk in smiling to myself and shaking my head.  As I close the door I realize that they are all smiling and giggling and it was just one of the best moments.  It wasn’t just me, they got it too. As each and eveyone of them pulled up they did. Sigh.
The outpouring of love and support has just been so wonderful. My inbox is loaded, there are phone messages and comments and mail all filled with love and support.
The car scene just was too much. Just in case I had not gotten it, and I so had, here it was in a lovely real life way.  I nice visual nudge and you know how much I like visuals.
Heart happiness.

Along with the warm loving moment and reminder we are now paved a bit better, have room for pod 2 the sequel and look, cockeyed now has very own parking spot. It’s a mini spot. hehehe too funny.

I have a bit of a confession for those who do not know this about me. I have a thing for power equipment of any kind and the bigger the better. ( sorry) I can’t even talk about how I feel about the back hoe. Mr. Smith usually comes with a tractor that I lust after maybe a little bit and other various machinery that you need to get the job done.  This time...this time he brought this deceptive unobtrusive little thing (don’t know it’s name). You know what it does? it flattens things. Like into the ground. I’m going to call it “ smasher”. I want one. The barn girls said no.
I wonder why?