Moving On

  The Spring of '72 was not a great one.  We always opened up for rides on Easter weekend but that year I had sprained my ankle quite badly and I opened up, using crutches.  By the end of the day I had put the crutches aside and  mostly just hopped and hobbled around.  The farms kids were there to help me and I remember the twins coming down to the corrals to help catch the horses for me. They would tie several binder twines together and make a ball of string that they threw over the horses necks, and grabbing the other end would bring me a horse to saddle up. They were a big help and saved me a lot of steps.Still it was hard going and my ankle swelled every night.  Pops had been drinking more and more, which upset Mary and to make a long story short she and I had a big fight and I ended up quitting my job.
    My brother was in town again and had borrowed my car (now a Ford Galaxy I had bought from my Mom) and I phoned him to tell him what had happened and decided to go back to B.C. with him. I told him to leave his two German shepherds at Moms because I would need all the room in the car to move my stuff.
    It had turned into a horrible day and I was most unhappy as I went around gathering my things and trying to pack up.  Every so often Mary would snipe at me and ask "What about the two cats you rescued?" etc.   I obviously needed some help from outside and I phoned Ken to make arrangements.  He agreed to move Trouble for me to a place for boarding and take the two rescue cats to the S.P.C.A.  Chubby of course would come with me.
    But OH! I was saying an awful lot of goodbyes!  I had put down roots at Twin Bridges and it hurt enormously to now pull those roots up and start anew.  For the most part I had to just turn my mind off and not see Charlie on my bed or Spankey waiting outside   I could not think of all the "Whats going to happen-nows? "  As I walked out into the porch Pops looked at me and said "Did you want to think about this?"  I could not answer him or even look at him and don't think I even said goodbye. My brother still had his two dogs in the car and Chubby and I fit ourselves in and with my record player on my lap we left Twin Bridges.

   Once we got to my Moms, I had a big time melt-down and cried until my stepfather gave me a Valium.  Somehow I would handle all this and begin a new life out in B.C.  But my heart was very heavy for the next few days before we left.