We were stationed in Yuma, Arizona for the last eighteen months of Tommy's enlistment. Our plan was to trade our car in on a pickup truck with a camper and explore the United States. At night we devoured our Atlas, looking for places we wanted to visit or live. We never intended to settle down in one place for more than a year. We would see all the sights, saving the money we made on odd jobs, and be ready to leave whenever we desired for another adventure. In the process we would make a ton of incredible memories... maybe enough for a book someday. However, with a little baby girl, this idea became less and less feasible. We needed some roots for Lisa and some stability for us. Plans changed. We moved back to Smyrna, Georgia in November when Tommy's enlistment was finished.
Tommy was soon employed in Atlanta. Next we found an apartment with our first back door. We were so excited about that door! For the first time we had two bedrooms and I could fix Lisa a pretty nursery. I was in a 'nesting mode'. Life was good. Everyone was happy. We were excited about our new apartment. Friends we had when we lived in Georgia, let us raid their basement. They had an old couch, a lamp, an end table. We contributed a new cabinet style stereo, we bought in Yuma. We bought a bed, and curtains. Retrieved 3 round wooden spools that belonged to the phone company. They were perfect for bedside tables. We set a small t.v. on the third one in the living room. I began to collect plants and soon our little home was beautiful to us. It never did take much to make us happy. That has always been our biggest blessing.
The second week of December, Mama and Daddy were moving to Miami, Florida for a construction job. They spent a few days with us. We bought a Christmas tree and decorated it while they were there. It was our first 6 foot Christmas tree. The one we had in Yuma was about 18 inches tall and sat on top of our t.v. We placed our presents in Lisa's bassinet. We still have the first little red Christmas boot that hung on the tree for the baby. It hangs on our tree every year.
Mama bought Lisa a 3 foot inflatable reindeer, a snowman, and a Santa Claus. Lisa loved them. They were placed close to the tree but seldom remained there for any length of time. Lisa was walking and constantly dragging the toys with her. She rode the reindeer, sat on Santa and rolled the snowman all over the floor. They were her favorite toys she received that year.
Before Tommy and I finally settled down, we had moved 16 times in ten years. It was fun and I would do it all over again in a nano- second if life only worked that way. However life just does not operate in this fashion. We get one shot at life and it is up to each one of us to make the best life we can. It is important to not waste opportunities for adventure...never stop dreaming or learning. It is important to love the people you are with unconditionally. I have never met a person who did not have chinks in their armor and a story to tell about how the chinks were made. Forgiveness is a necessary commodity in a couples life.
It is also important to make memories that can be conjured up at a moments notice by the familiar smell of a pine tree, the taste of coffee, the sight of candles flickering, the sound of Christmas music playing and two old Instamatic photos from a life time ago often bring memories to the forefront of my mind. I can see everything with my minds eye as I replay the day. So far they have never let me down. I relieve the moments, enjoy them with Tommy and write them down...just in case.
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