Oh to Move and Work

Emilie is a beautiful woman in her early sixties, with silver hair. She stands tall, and gives the air of someone who might have been important. She had bangles on her wrist, and a state school pin on her lapel. She was friendly, reminding me of an aunt, a category which I refer to as "The Jewels." And she was one.

We met her at gift shop at the Arkansas State Capitol. We were buying post cards for our family, and she asked where we were from. We shared a little of our story about driving across the country to a new home, how we were planning on it being only two years. We shared about our love of Arkansas and how we were pleasantly surprised at the beauty we found in the "Natural State", and how her state was our favorite stop on the trip. She proceeded to share with us her story, and we were glad she did :)

She moved to Little Rock with her husband, six years ago. She had been a school teacher in Louisiana for the sixteen years prior and had no intention of leaving her home. Her husband said it would only be for two years. She said she would go - but not without throwing a fit.

When they arrived in Arkansas, it was a rare,  cold January winter day ... that day locked into months. Emilie, a fresh retiree with her husband at work , was at home, fuming with anger at the current situation.

"It was the coldest winter in the history of Arkansas. I had spent my life in Louisiana, no snow, no cold, and especially no ice. One day as my patience grew thin, I went on the back deck, I decided I wanted, no I NEEDED, to get to my BBQ. I found it covered in layers of ice. I didn't have any snow shoes, I was from Louisiana for goodness sake! So I went to the kitchen, and I boiled all my pans of water, then I slowly skated across my ice pond deck and I poured the water over the BBQ. It was to my great surprise that instead of melting the ice, the water turned into more ice. Pot after pot ... more ice."

"My breaking point was that afternoon when my husband came home to find me with a hammer, trying to break through the layers of ice. That was when he told me it was time for me to get a job. Through my tears, I agreed, and I came to work here."

"You see, I agreed to move, but I didn't want to leave my home. I thought, 'what's in Arkansas anyway?' But I had no idea the beauty. Arkansas is my home now, it is a hidden gem."