My Secret Plans

I've been harboring some secret plans for awhile now and I figured I'd go ahead and share them with you. Even though we live on just two acres it seems like an enormous amount of space to me. Maybe it's because two sides of our property border rolling canyons of ranch land. Maybe it's the fact that the several acres across the street is not developed by its owner. Maybe it's because I've been a city girl most my life. Whatever it is, I LOVE it. So much so that I really don't ever want to leave. WB assures me I'll love the next place too. He tempts me with living in the Garden District of New Orleans in some historic home, a suburb of Houston close to family, and on and on it goes.

And this is where WB and I tend to veer off onto separate paths. He lived almost his entire life in one place. I lived my entire life moving from place to place every couple of years. I've been there done that, I want some roots. WB on the other hand seems to hear the call of the wild and he's ready to roam. I don't mean he doesn't love it here, he does, but he could also love it somewhere else. And if he continues on his career path he needs to move around, experience different refineries etc. Even a few moves up on the management ladder here would mean he would need to live closer to his work. And I have no desire to move back to where we've come from. I miss our old town, but going back would seem like a step backwards or like we were going in circles.

Okay, here's where I'm going with this. If we could stay here, at least for several years, my plan would work better and that's where I try not to let reality seep into my dreamlike state. So just forget all the above. My secret plans are to build a guesthouse on the far side of our property. Not for guests but for my parents and my in-laws. They wouldn't inhabit it at the same time, mercy no, but at different times of the year. I've got it all planned and the beauty is no one has a clue, well until now. To be honest I'm not sure why all of a sudden I would want my parents and WB's parents living in my backyard, We've been pretty independent these 11 plus years living nine, ten hours from the nearest relatives. Heck, I've lived away from my parents starting my senior year of high school because my Dad got transferred and I didn't want to move right before I graduated. Then I went to college ten hours away...

But I'm older now and with three kids of my own and I'm thinking how cool it would be to have them around. All the things they could teach my girls, all the fun we could have, someone within screaming distance when WB is away, and heck I might even have another baby just to add to the excitement!

I've even picked out this:

And wouldn't that just look so quaint right here:

Do you see that mowed piece of land where the light is shining? That's the spot.

See, it's beyond our gardens and down by that little grove of mesquite trees.

Now the funny thing is I haven't really mentioned it to WB. Well, except for: "How about we build a guesthouse?" or "I'd really love to have a little writing studio somewhere." or "Look honey, our new neighbors are building guest quarters, what a great idea!" But last night I briefly mentioned my secret plans. I sort of waved my hand in the direction of where we might put a guest house. And today I let him finish up the mowing (yes, I love to mow) and when I looked out our upstairs bathroom window I screeched. He had mowed a large square just exactly where I want to put the house. We normally leave that side of the property unmowed except for a few little "nature" paths. I tripped and jumped down the stairs to find him.

"How did you know that is where I wanted to put the house?" I asked him while taking big gulps of air.

With a knowing smile he just shakes his head, "Well, I just knew."

And you see that is why I love this man. The house may never get built, we may move in two years, our parents might think we're crazy to even suggest such a thing, who knows. But that little plot of mowed grass tells me that he not only listens to my dreams, but he wants them to come true. Even if he does sometimes roll his eyes at me when I come up with such plans:)