Beginnings, portrait, party

I got an encrypted email last night containing the paperwork required for us to settle on the house we bought in Lawton. This is a first for me and Mama. It is a beginning. The great part of getting the paperwork is that we will be able to close on the property before we leave the country. Mama and I have been wondering how we would be able to work that out – and it turns out (as it usually does) that we did not have to worry. Mama and I will get the documents signed and the wire transfer made early next week. And the house will officially become our property. We will start the turnaround clock on 26^th of November. So far, I have resisted the temptation to buy another house, but there are so many opportunities that it is hard to watch the auctions go by without taking any action. Especially since our real estate agent got five houses at the last auction he attended. Just last week I got registered for Tax Deed sales in a dozen counties in Texas and I have started receiving the email notices about houses being auctioned off in two of those counties. So, it would seem that here will be plenty to keep Mama and I busy as we develop this into a full-time business. This first confirmed sale makes it feel more like a real business rather than an investment plan. As Glenn said to us after the auction when we actually won the bid on this house, “Here we go.”

Mama texted me a portrait of me that was drawn by 5-year-old Eliza. I do not know the occasion for the drawing; if it was a class assignment of just a fleeting moment of cognition. It is a drawing of me as song leader. As I lead the singing, I often watch the faces of the children and try to catch their eye. I look to see if they are struggling with reading the words to the hymn as we are singing and suggest help for those who seem lost on how to follow along. Those of us who are used to singing hymns do not realize that anyone completely new to a hymnal does not know to progress from stanza to stanza as we sing. Line by line. Verse by verse. They get lost trying to read the first block of text – which are the beginning lines to each verse. I enjoy leading the singing but often wonder if there is a better song leader in the congregation who has just not felt like stepping forward yet. Aliza’s simple drawing is a reminder that I am being watched. A reminder that I am an influence in the church. That is both very sweet and very humbling.

Mama is home today working on a cake for a birthday party this evening. Norman, Trace and Krystal’s oldest is the recipient of the party. She is trying to do a Star Wars theme. It will be interesting to see how it turns out. Neither Mama not I are artistically gifted. I should have a picture Monday – if I am allowed to take a picture. Regardless of how the presentation of the cake comes out, I am sure it will taste great. Norman is excited about the party but he is more excited about coming to the farm. A week or so ago, he volunteered to help clean the chicken coop. And he did a very good job when he was helping Mama.

I am going home for lunch today. Mama, along with preparing for the party, schedules a vet appointment for Champ – out tiny buckling. He is going to be emasculated at the appointment. Not a happy event for him, but it will allow me and Mama to keep him with his mommy and female cousins without the worry of inter breeding. Also, it will allow us to keep him for a longer time (age wise) than if he were left a buck. It will be an interesting lunchbreak.

When I told my coworkers why I could not join them for lunch, they enjoyed the mental image it conjured up in their minds. When I explained that, as a fainting goat, he would be easy to catch because eventually he will stiffen up and faint, they enjoyed that thought even more.