Living in rural Central Montana
means that immediate gratification
is but a fantasy. Our local reality
is that if you want something done,
chances are you're going to have
to wait awhile before it happens.
While some find anticipation rather
gratifying, I WANT IT NOW. Yet
part of living in the middle of no
where is embracing the fact that
that's simply not possible. Hence
I've reluctantly had to adjust my
expectations to match Montana's.
For most everywhere else, six p.m.
is the drop off time for FedEx. Or
if one schmoozes the mail boy or
drives to the airport - one can push
it to ten p.m. Sadly in Lewistown
the only way to ship your package
FedEx overnight is to have it at the
Shipping Center before NOON.
UPS is five p.m. which is more
civilized. And Post Office Priority
Mail Express takes TWO DAYS
minimum. Hence getting anything
from here to there isn't that easy.
"S's" new dishwasher has broken
down three times thus far. Oddly,
said disruptions in service only
occur during major family events.
Post multiple attempts to get a
repairman out to the ranch - she
was informed that the needed
parts to fix it would take two
weeks to arrive. Next she called
the manufacturer to demand a
new dishwasher. Their response?
"We don't do that." Once again...
the customer is always wronged.
As previously stated, I'm doing my best
to keep up on my personal maintenance
schedule. Gone are the days when I went
twelve years between checkups. A few
months ago I got a lovely reminder letter
from my physician noting that soon it
would be a year since my last physical.
I immediately picked up the phone to
schedule an appointment. Fortunately
they were able to fit me in, about three
months later that is. Given we're short
on doctors here in town, I've no choice
but to patiently wait for my turn.
Last fall we approved an estimate
for new gutters. Immediately post
said authorization hunting season
stopped everything. Sadly, our
gutter contractor was seriously
injured and subsequently has been
unable to work. In this case we're
more than glad to wait. Given he
purchased all of our materials prior
to getting hurt - we can't leave him
high and dry. So work is deferred
until he's back in business. In the
meantime, when it rains... it pours!
Speaking of the Passion Pit - the best
in Lewistown has helped to transform
our home. However as work slowed
down over the winter, our team had
to move on to greener pastures. Now
rather than being their primary focus,
we're somewhere in their peripheral
vision. Thus we sit and wait. Most
landscaping can't occur until the final
exterior work is completed. Given our
growing season is rather short to say
the least... one can't help but wonder
if we'll be done before the first snow!
At this point we accept reality.
Even if we plan ahead, it will
happen when it happens. Thus
it is what it is. Fortunately the
benefits of living in nirvana
are well worth the wait. Given
"S" couldn't load her dishwasher,
she took a hike. Soon she was
standing in this field of wild
lupines. And somehow... the
fact that she had to wait a few
more weeks to run a load of
dishes really didn't matter...
