Year One in South Dakota

It’s been a year since we packed up our Boise house and came to South Dakota. Our original intent was to help take care of Hubby’s mother, but she passed a few weeks before we moved. Things such as working with realtors and storage unit rentals were already in motion and rather than try to stop it, we came on.

The year has not been easy, yet not hard. With our house here, I have my stuff and a place to write and hide out when I can’t deal with the outside. But the feeling of “home” hasn’t developed yet so it still has a somewhat temporary feel to it. I was told years ago that it takes three years to truly feel at home. That’s one down, two to go.

What I miss most about Boise are my friends and my writing groups. I haven’t made close friends in Rapid City yet so there’s no one to run to lunch with or go to coffee with on Saturday mornings. I really miss that, my girl time with other women.

Thanks to Covid, I still attend my writing groups’ meetings held via Zoom which is a huge boost for me. Eventually they won’t do that any more, and I’ll miss them even more. There’s nothing like being with people who understand you and know when you ask about different poisons, you’re asking for a book plot, not because you intend to use them.

I mostly miss the Boise grocery stores, especially when I shop. There are only a few grocery stores here, and they have very small produce sections. I got horribly spoiled living in a place where food crops are plentiful and is close to other food-raising country. The selections on anything is limited here and unless you leave town, there’s no other place to go look.

But feeling sorry for myself doesn’t help the current situation so I try not to dwell on it. It would be dumb to do that. Looking for the good is my daily task.

In assessing the past year, here are some things, both good and bad, about our move:

I love watching the moon rise on the horizon out over the prairie from our house. The moon rose over the nearest townhouse in Boise so that’s an improvement. If I get up early enough, I also see the beautiful sunrises.

I found a writer group in town which I’m becoming a member of. They do things quite differently than my Boise group, but I’ll adapt to that. Who’s to say one way is better than the other. Beside, my Boise writing group is giving a conference next spring that I hope to attend. It will be great to see my friends in person.

I haven’t found a close friend who likes to quilt and do crafts that I can have lunch with, but I’m working on it. Unless I’m willing to get up at six on Saturday morning and drive an hour to Spearfish, I haven’t found anyone to have coffee with on an occasional Saturday morning. I’ll have to set my alarm some morning.

When I moved away from the Black Hills, I left a lot of friends behind. I’ve found they are still my friends so it’s nice to pick up where we left off. Because we’ve never lived in Rapid City, most of them live in other towns about an hour’s drive away. That’s not to say that we can’t get together, but it takes more work and planning to do it.

There’s nothing that will take the place of my Boise friends, and I try to hang on to them as much as I can. I will continue to treasure them always. That means Facebook, phone calls, and texts to keep in touch, with an occasional trip in person.

That’s my assessment of the last year. There have been lots of adjustments, but overall, it’s going okay. I look forward to the coming year and finding new friends.

Do not say, “Why were the former days better than these?” For you do not inquire wisely concerning this. Ecclesiastes 7:10