Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Some Really Nice News

December morning over the pecan orchard


I just want to say that I really do believe that good things happen to good people. Eventually. 


Our friends, Pat and Mary, live in Massachusetts. They would like to retire to Las Cruces and have been trying to make their Las Cruces dream a reality for well over a year and a half now. It was tough enough in a difficult real estate market to sell their home, but it seemed that everything that could possibly go wrong did. The well failed and had to be replaced. The septic system, ditto. When we all thought no other bad thing could happen, they had an old underground oil tank removed and--who could ever have predicted this one--a long-standing oil leak was discovered that turned their beloved homestead of many years into an environmental hazardous waste site.


Now these are good people, I want you to know. They deserved none of this stuff. Throughout the whole experience, they smiled and they prayed and they gritted their teeth and they still hoped to move to Las Cruces one day. The problem was that the dream was starting to fade and to turn into a distant wish... 


Finally, miracle of miracles, all the stars aligned and everything fell into place, and they are planning to be on their way in mid-November. We are so excited. They will have Thanksgiving in New Mexico! They will experience the beauty of Christmas in Old Mesilla, with all the songs in Spanish and English, and the drumming rhythms of the old Pueblo dances, and the luminarias lighting the way. They will be able to smell the cold desert air and the fragrant piƱon fires. They will finally stand out in the freezing high desert night and see more stars than they ever thought possible. 


I am so thrilled for them that I have put a little counter down on the left side of this blog, counting down the days until their arrival and our reunion with our friends. Bienvenidos, Pat and Mary!


Old Mesilla Plaza on Christmas Eve

13 comments:

JC said...

How fun for you and for them. Will they live close to you ?

clairz said...

JC, in Las Cruces everything is pretty close by. Lucky us!

T Fab P said...

Clair, what an incredibly beautiful post. Thank you guys so much for all your support throughout this entire process from the first email we sent you about a dream of relocating to NM to all the assistance in getting through the nuts and bolts. I cannot wait until we are together for a breakfast at Nellie's, a visit to the Bosque, a wonderful afternoon of laughter at the International Cafe, a stop at the Mesilla Plaza, and the list goes on and on. You and Bill opened your hearts to us, passed on your experiences and shared your home and friends. I do not think we could ever repay your kindness. Through all the Red Sox and Yankee digs to the knitting and library stories, you guys have been the greatest. Now, let me wipe the tears from my eyes and continue to work on our "Things to Do before we leave for Las Cruces" list. It is about nine pages and still growing!

25 Days 'till we leave, 35 days 'till we arrive!

Margie's Musings said...

Great news!

Anonymous said...

That is good news!

becky said...

congrats to your friends, Clair. I do know what it's like to keep trying to make something work & keep having things go wrong!!

Nan said...

I'm so happy for you, and for them. What lovely times you shall have!

Joyful said...

What a touching story Clair. I'm so glad that your friends have gotten over the challenges and that they will soon be on their way to join you. It sounds like Thanksgiving and Christmas where you live would be awesome.

Sallie (FullTime-Life) said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Sallie (FullTime-Life) said...

What a great story! Glad it all worked out at last for your friends -- and November a great time to be arriving in beautiful NM>

Kate said...

It's a great story of persistence and according to your friends' comments, your help was priceless! Great story of friendship!

Peg said...

I'm so glad to hear you're friends are finally going to get their dream and retire in New Mexico. Many congrats to them and to you for having 'new' New England friends in New Mexico.

Sage said...

Like your blog. I always have camera batteries going dead to at the worst time. I, too, live in NM. Near Rio Rancho. My son and sister live in Los Cruces area. my blog is Tumbleweedcrossing.blogspot.com if you would like to visit.