23 Comments
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Kent Ries's avatar

Jan: I like Oklahoma

Kent: We can no longer be friends. :)

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Jan Peppler's avatar

lol! Says the man who lives in Texas!! Seriously, when are you going to come up and visit me??

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Kent Ries's avatar

Oklahoma gives me shingles, or worse.

But yeah, sometime we need to go to Tulsa, and OKC too. That would be fun. Wont be anytime soon I dont think, just sold my office and moved home. Moving office <<<<<< moving house. Crap is everywhere. Plus its football season, time to go to Longhorn games. If you werent a crazy Okie, you would understand.

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Jan Peppler's avatar

hahahah yeah, well, I know how you Texans are about the Longhorns. But Kent, you're from Chicago!! (For the record, I will never be an Okie. You've got to be born here for that title!)

I don't like OKC at all. Except for the Oklahoma City bombing memorial - that takes my breath away. And Eileen's Colossal Cookies. Tulsa is the place to visit. Just sayin.

Ah, major transition in your life right now! Fitting your work life into your home life... I wish you the best.

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Peggy Weaver's avatar

I love this article. I agree - things don’t always end or even proceed as we wish they wuld…but they always unfold with the lessons we need to learn. I’ll remember that as I begin my new spin around the sun. 🌞

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Jan Peppler's avatar

A few years back, you and I spoke at length about waiting. "Waiting is not a passive act." Not sure which of us said this, but I've never forgotten it. Making a decision and being present in the here and now doesn't negate or even minimize the waiting. Instead, I think it makes the waiting bearable. Happy Birthday, friend!

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Kathy Glennon's avatar

❤️❤️

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Jan Peppler's avatar

Thanks, Kathy!

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Jessica B. Sokol's avatar

Congratulations! My husband and I are going to renew our lease in a tiny house in the mountains we moved into last October. I never expected to have my neighbors be well, farmland. I was ever the city girl until last year.

And I can relate to the creatures! This summer we have had mice, ants, and last week we had a five-foot black and yellow garden snake in our office!!!!

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Jan Peppler's avatar

oh yikes!!! Snakes inside the house are where I draw the line. But... that does come with being surrounded by nature and as long as it's a garden snake, I could probably live with that as well.

I look forward to hearing more about you finding home in the country, in the mountains, as opposed to the city. I spent so much of my life in cities and part of me thrived there but as time went on, the simple and more relaxed life of the country - and the way I had experienced it as a child - won out. Tulsa is a city (as opposed to my country house in Idaho), but the smallest of cities that I could find! :)

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Jessica B. Sokol's avatar

The snake was something I NEVER expected! I'm planning to write more about country vs. city living in upcoming posts as I am approaching the one-year mark of living here. My next one is definitely going to touch on the snake. I will give you and your 'Stack a shout-out in it! And I look forward to reading about your adjustment, also your home is gorgeous!

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Jan Peppler's avatar

Aww thanks for the compliment on my place.

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Denise's avatar

Just signed a lease. Your writing helps me so much!

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Jan Peppler's avatar

Congratulations!! And thank you. I'm happy to hear that.

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Joan DeMartin's avatar

Jan, I totally commune with this post! I love the idea that signing that lease grounds you in the present, and I think it does. And Berea. I hear it is a wonderful little town and college. My friend and I were supposed to take a trip there and never quite made it. I have been to Yellow Springs, Ohio, home of Antioch College about a million times and love it there, and if I will stay in Ohio, I'd like to live there. I've heard Yellow Springs and Berea have a similar vibe.

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Jan Peppler's avatar

Ive heard great things about Antioch! But I’m not familiar with the town. Cool that they are similar.

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Joan DeMartin's avatar

I must take a trip to Berea to see for myself. I think you would enjoy the Yellow Springs vibe...hippie, laid back, creative.

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Holly Rabalais's avatar

Loved this post! Funny how we say we’re done then we realize we aren’t! Also, total bookshelf envy.

Three years ago after moving to a small (as in tiny) rural town, we were presented with the opportunity to purchase a then 116-year-old building that used to be a hardware store. No vision for it...we just felt like it was what we were supposed to do. We rent it as an event venue, but that just pays the bills while we wait for all the pieces to line up for the nonprofit things we want to do there like a place where teens can gather after school to study, have a snack, hang out. Maybe some tutoring. Who knows. Some days I wonder why in the world would we sink all this money into this old place?! But then I have a moment where I am reminded to be patient and watch it unfold.

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Jan Peppler's avatar

Thanks Holly! Wow- a 116 yr old building- that’s fantastic! And I love your vision for it. Really, that’s tremendous. Ah patience. Waiting is not a passive act. Gears are turning and I’m excited to hear someday when it all comes together!

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Claudia A's avatar

Thank you, Jan, for giving me more time to visit you in OK! 💛

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Ali Griffin Vingiano's avatar

I completely relate to your take on decision making. I’m a recovering over-thinker. Doubt keeps me in mind mind, anxious, wavering -- making a choice allows me to stay in the present moment and feel active in my life.

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Jan Peppler's avatar

Yes! Thank you, Ali, you said it far more succinctly than I did!

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