Explanation.

Some questions arose in our inbox and I figured if one person wondered, then the other person that reads our blog might wonder too. Chesa started an explanation of a few things on her last post, but I would like to expand. I'll warn you now, this is going to be a REALLY long one so go get yourself a gallon of wine, a pack a smokes and settle in.

I'll start with how Chesa and I met and became best friends. The night I met Chesa was the first time I had been out without hubby in about a year. When I moved here from Wisconsin I had a very hard time finding a job and an even harder time making friends with people that I had nothing in common with. The company I worked for employed mostly women, one of which I reluctantly became friends with. The girls decided to have a poker night and for some odd reason, they invited me. Chesa happened to be friends with one of the girls and was working at a near by radio station. She showed up later that night, after she got off the air, in overalls, a tank top and large hair. I hated her on site. No, really I did. She was loud, and bold and the center of attention. Nope, didn't like her. I really didn't think that I would ever see her again, but I ended up becoming a good friend to the girl that she was friendly with. Everywhere I ended up going with this third party, there Chesa would be. We finally got stuck alone with each other. The three of us had made plans to go out dancing and our third party ended up canceling at the last minute on us. (That is a whole other story.) Anyways, we drove about an hour, alone, barely speaking. Once we got to the club, we drank HEAVILY and loosened up quite a bit. Chesa talked me into going to breakfast with one of the guys she was flirting with and I remember the moment we bonded. She was seriously considering hooking up with this guy and he was sooooo NOT even close to good enough for her. So, when he went to the restroom, I told her so. We left him to pick up the check and giggled our way home. That is the night that Chesa and I started talking and we haven't stopped yet. Once you learn about Chesa and get to know her, you fall in love with her. She is AMAZING!!! She has lived through hell and come out smelling like roses. We talked on and off for a few months and then all of the sudden we talked daily. I just felt like I had a lot to learn about this person. We are alike in so many ways, but different in just as many. We have known each other for over three years, all together we have lived together for at least a year of that. Our bond to each other became unbreakable after Chesa helped me get through the hardest time of my life. I went through a crisis that nearly broke me and everytime I turned around she was there to lean on. Chesa knows more about me then anyone in the world. More than my family, more than my husband, more than any friend I've ever had and not once has she judged me for any of it. She knows my fears, my weaknesses and my worries. She inspired me to change myself, still does. She is so much more then the term 'best friend' can describe.

Now then, next question. How did we come upon the decision to move 1800 miles? When hubby and I decided that we wanted/needed to leave Wisconsin our original plan was to move to Florida. Unfortunately his ex-wife put a kabosh on that, so we compromised to Missouri where hubby and ex-wife are from and both still have family. Chesa moved here with her family while she was high school age and has escaped a few times, back to Texas, into Arkansas and Oklahoma. Last year she filed income tax in three states. The point is, all three of us understand that there is a hell of a lot more in this world then the walls of Missouri. Now, Missouri has given me some GREAT things, so I don't regret moving here, but I'm so tired of it I can't see straight. Now that the step kiddies are grown and ex-wife no longer has legal ties to us, hubby and I can go where ever the hell we want. He actually has a job he really likes and is extremely good at. At the same time Chesa's quality of life and entertainment has been deterierating for awhile now and back in February she came to the decision that she needed to get outta here. Hubby and I were coming to the same conclusion. About six weeks ago, hubby went to his boss and inquired about working outside of Missouri and boss man said as long as your numbers don't slip you can work from Antarctica if you want. Well, that pretty much sealed the deal, we have nothing left holding us here. I can't tell you the exact moment the decision was reached, I think it is something that has been growing in all of our heads for over a year. I suppose one day somebody said it out loud, let the cat out of the bag and we all agreed. Originally Chesa was thinking about going back to Texas, but after hubby and I have begged, guilt-tripped and connived she finally said OK, I'll go to Florida. YIPPEEEE!!!!! A plan has been forming and we are making it happen. Now that we are looking around without the rose colored glasses that we put on to make it through the day we realize that this place seriously sucks and we are finished with it. I realize that most of you that read this have never lived in a southern/Midwestern town and do not or can not fully understand the level of white trash that is reached around here. I look back now and I don't understand how we managed to deal with it for this long. You know all of those bad B movies you have seen about living in the country and all the redneck jokes? The ones about guys driving down the road with confederate flags and gun racks in the back windows? I know you think its all just an exaggeration. I have news for you, it's NOT!!! I see people everyday with no teeth, a wad of chew tobacco in their gums. I see men with no shirts wearing overalls that they cannot button on the sides because they are too fat! I drive through this town and I swear I hear the Deliverance theme play in my head! You know all those jokes about farmers fucking barn yard animals? Uh, I guarantee it happens here. If you see a goat farm while driving down the road (and you see plenty) you KNOW those goats are getting dicked. I'm not kidding. Laugh, I do, but I'm not kidding. Having an intelligent conversation with someone around here is impossible. You would be better off talking to a wall. If it weren't for the internet, we would not have survived this long.

All three of us have sold all but our most important belongings, picked up and moved. It is one of the things that all three of us have in common. This is not new, the place we are going is. I suppose we all have a dose of wanderlust in us. This time is going to be different because we have each other to lean on when it gets tough and it always gets tough. All three of us have lived in a new town, alone, not knowing a soul, sitting in an apartment and feeling very alone. This time we have a new town to conquer together, I think it's going to make it that much sweeter. Chesa and hubby and I have turned this town upside down a few times. Chesa and I turned half of Arkansas on it's side. Hell, Chesa has taken over more towns than I can even count.

The last question, will the blog be alive when we move? Yes, absolutely. We might even have something interesting to blog about! I look forward to writing about the new people we meet, the places we see and discover. So, raise your glass of wine and toast with me, To new adventures. *clink* - gulp....ahhhh