West Virginia is that little foreign country next to Virginia. It is not part of Virginia. I do not live in western Virgina, as my 94-year-old mother still believes after almost five years.
Just like the state motto says, West Virginia is "Wild and Wonderful". It is truly a well-kept secret. The people here are wonderful. Where else do drivers pause in traffic to let you out? I just wish the deer had the same courtesy!
I didn't always feel this way about my state.
So how did I end up here? My husband Kevin was hired as a computer contractor with a three letter government agency. It was a huge relief for him to have a job after being unemployed for nearly a year. He had his resume out on several Internet job sites, hoping for a position in Colorado, Florida, or Virginia, where we have family.
So, for the second time in our lives, a recruiter called and said, "Now, I know you wanted to relocate to these other states, but would you consider West Virginia?"
Where??!
But here we are. Now on to my first memory.
Kevin, Daniel (then aged 12), and I drove from Peculiar, MO to hunt for a house to buy. We drove from one country road to another, searching for a property where we would have room for our horses.
And now I arrive at my first memory. We had looked at a house that was decorated with me in mind. It was out in the country and had no objectionable properties nearby. The realtor told us there was a nice flat area where we could create pasture....."right over that hill". I envisioned myself bent at a 45 degree angle in the winter, trying to make it up that snowy hill!
It was mid-spring, and the home owner had the same philosophy about raking leaves that I do: "Let the wind do it!" So off we go, crunching our way over the leaves, until - whoosh!! I land calf-deep in an intermittent stream - puddle?- hole? I pulled my leg out and the stench reached my nose.
You see, the trouble with coal mining, for which most folks know WV, is that it creates sulfur. You know, the rotten egg of nature's minerals. My leg was now coated with rusty looking mud. I stood there and cried, literally cried, and called out to God: "Why?! Why are you bringing us here?!"
We would soon find out.
I would love it if my beloved got a job offer like that! In WV is where I'd love to be!
ReplyDeleteSorry about the sulfur - it'll turn your hair red too if you have well. ;)
ICL,
Peg
Love your blog title, T! Did you know I was born/have family scattered all over VA? :D
ReplyDeletePeg:
ReplyDeleteWV has really grown on me. I never thought I'd be content here.
Angi:
Snort!
What part of Virginia? Dh has family there, but no one is a native.
It does grow on you. Sometimes in a good way and sometimes in a bad way. I love coming "home" when we're able. Hopefully we'll get to come in the spring again. And then of course we always go in June to Lake Sherwood. LOVE it there - would live in that area in a heartbeat.
ReplyDeleteWelcome to the Wild, Wonderful World of blogging!
ReplyDeleteMay your posts never leave a stench of sulfur.
May your readers rise up and call you blessed!
I love your title, and your background - I think you truly must have the cutest blog on the block! Or at least up your neck of the holler.
Ohh, I always wished I could move to WV, when I was living in the MD suburbs. My ever-practical husband (yes, the same one who eventually moved us all to Honduras) always thought we should live in a state where he had work, so we never got to live in WV.
ReplyDeleteI'm enjoying your blog!