Lessons, and Things I Want

I've learned some lessons recently, mostly short, pithy ones, but good nonetheless.
First, I learned that nothing focuses the mind like stepping in dog poop with your bare feet in a dark living room at 6:00 am. This happened Friday morning. I had hoped to catch a few more winks, but after I took time to clean up my foot and the floor, and done what I had really gotten up to do (comfort Owen and get him back to sleep), I pretty much couldn't get back to sleep at all.

On a related note, I learned that when I'm up that early, for any reason, I may as well just get up and try to make a day of it. I did go back to bed, and I lay there for about 45 minutes not sleeping, before I just got up and got ready for work.

Thursday afternoon, I called my first high school regional tournament, the Class 3A regional down at Sulphur. I learned that a full 7-inning game can go only one hour and twenty-three minutes, when the baseball is crisp, the teams are sharp, and the pitchers are good. I also learned that I still love traveling just around Oklahoma, something I loved doing when I was a kid and Dad would have to go around for work, or as part of his gospel singing stuff. I got to drive through the Arbuckle Mountains, and through the bustling towns of Wynnewood (that's "Winnie-wood"), Davis, and Sulphur itself, of course. Finally, I learned that Oklahoma's "initial point," the surveying point from which all land ownership records are derived and which sits immediately outside of Davis, is not accessible to the public because it's...well, surrounded by private property.

As my life has changed so much over the past year and a half, and as Heidi and I have finally started enjoying some minor financial blessings this year, I've been able to really think hard on the future and consider, for the first time in a long time, some things I want for myself and for my family.

First, I want a running Mustang. I would prefer that my current hangar queen, the 1983 Mustang GT convertible sitting engine-less in the garage as I type this, be it. However, honestly, any decent Mustang that I can actually drive around in would be wonderful. I've talked before about the ones I'd like, with the 2011 GT at the top of the list. But honestly, I'd take a decent Fox Mustang, or even a non-super-powered late-60s model. Heck, even a nice 1996-1998 model would suit me OK...just a running Mustang.

Second, I want some land somewhere in Oklahoma. Ideally, this will be somewhere in eastern Oklahoma, where the topography is generally more interesting. (I love Oklahoma, but I'm not really a plainsman. I need some hills and valleys, even if they're not big hills and valleys.) Also, Heidi and I agree that it should be somewhat close to water. Finally, I don't want to have to drive more than a couple of hours to get there. I want the place to be something I can build up over time, close enough to be convenient for regular weekend use, and nice enough to retire on. I've been looking mostly at the area around Lake Eufaula. I'd love to have a place up at Tenkiller, but that's pretty far from OKC. From our place in south OKC to Tenkiller State Park is 2 hours and 41 minutes. Most places around Eufaula are an hour and a half to two hours away, and land around there is somewhat plentiful. Lake of the Arbuckles is also a possibility, since it's pretty close and the topography meets my requirements. The Texoma area would be OK, and I'm somewhat familiar with it, but it lacks good rolling hills around, so it's a compromise option. Land is plentiful here in Oklahoma, so all of this should be doable.

Third, I want a decent home here in south Oklahoma City. We're having to rent right now, and with our financial history, buying won't be an option for a few years. But we're working on the foundation to get it done. I would prefer another 4-bedroom place, and with enough room for me to do some of my regular stuff. The house we're in now isn't bad, but it takes up about 80% of the postage stamp it sits on. That's not very good with kids, because you'd like to have a decent-sized place for them to play. If our lot was about 50% bigger, it would be good enough.

In all honesty, I'd be willing to compromise on the above options in certain scenarios. For example, just about a half mile from where I'm sitting here in my study is a nice 2200-square-foot house 4-bedroom house on 5 acres, for sale by owner. It has a few outbuildings and is pretty nice all around. Unfortunately, it's also $350,000, which isn't bad for Oklahoma but still out of my price range. However, if I had the means to get a place like that, I'd probably be willing to forego the weekend/retirement place idea for a while, or maybe even set it aside altogether. Or, maybe if I could find a place down with a few acres and a decent house around Lake Thunderbird.

Those are the main goals for now. There are others, I'm still fleshing them all out...so more later.