I’ve lived in a lot of places, but many of them felt like I was the wandering Jew, in exile.  The key is not the literal place itself, or a false sense of security, but in finding your “chosen people” where you feel at home, wherever in the world you find yourself.  This is how it is for me here.

I spent the week laboring to compile all the vital documentation necessary for applying to various gov departments and services.  Complicated.

*I got my temporary driver license, with a horrifying mugshot to wake the dead;

*registered to vote at the same time, instantaneously;

*qualified for the Affordable Connectivity Program to help pay for internet (thanks Pres. Biden!);

*compiled and submitted all my docs for Medicaid with a lot of help from my son’s printer/scanner–now I just wait in suspense;

*did most of my changes of address for businesses (I do not recommend trying to do any business with the Credit Bureaus, especially the evil Equifax);

*paid bills, with miraculously some money left over;

*tried to get tech support for my crappy phone (no luck);

*discovered Global Foods Market, a mecca of international foods, with the help of my Gdaughter J. and her partner C.–I was ready to move in!  Got my avakaya (mango) pickle fix!

…and a shit ton of other Misc.  Exhausting, but productive.  I think I earned my Shabbat.  Speaking of which, I spent another pleasant erev at my son’s, with J&C cooking up the usual fabulous storm of food, including a gorgeous, perfect challah.  I even contributed a side dish, my first here.   Hey, one of these days, I may even finally get to the part where I promised to work on Avdi’s and Jess’s gardens!  It’s coming soon!

Meanwhile, I’ve been cooking a lot of Indian food from scratch–it smells very S. Indian in here–and finally getting some books on the shelves.  That’s when you know you’re home, when books and cooking appear.  My son is already lending me books I’ve been wanting to read.  Now I can!

Pictured: my first official drink in my apt.; flowers from Avdi’s garden (so many beautiful natives!); GD J. making challah (really fast); Shabbat candles (lit by The Maternal Unit); books!; and an eggplant (the long lavender kind) curry with hand-ground/roasted spices, fresh-dried curry leaves, coconut, onions, garlic, ginger root, peppers, etc., with basmati rice.

This is Sunday Beer and Badminton (B&B), another fine and worthwhile tradition at Avdi’s.  They do the Bad, I guard the Beer.  I am The Maternal Unit.  They do have a lot of nice craft beers here in STL.  I got to meet more nice friends, plus hang out with my Gdaughter and partner.

Jess was kind enough to hang my paintings on my walls (not my forté), a couple of which were painted by her and her grandmother.  Now my apartment is a mini-gallery.

Today I printed out some paperwork at Avdi’s for the DMV, so I can go get my license and register to vote, my first priority on a long list.  One step at a time.

Then four of us went to Maypop (common name of Passiflora, passionflower, a native), a lovely café and garden center.  They have natives, perennials, annuals, and tropicals.  I was in Hort heaven.  You know me, soon I was talking shop and helping set up fallen umbrellas and plants on this extremely windy pre-fall day.  I bought half a dozen herbs, which are now on what passes for my patio.  Gotta start somewhere.  (Now all I need is food to put them on!)

Now I’ve got the patio door and window open to let fresh air in, something I really missed for years.  Welp, back to work unpacking.

Here are some typical scenes from my new life in STL.

Hanging out on my son’s patio, surrounded by flowers.

Grandson in a tree, and his guinea pig Percy rummaging in the shrubbery.

Shabbat candles, and cleanup.

First glimpses of my work-in-progress apartment, still with all the boxes.

How to condense all the momentous experiences of the last few days…almost impossible.  Here’s an attempt.

After packing up all my belongings on Friday 9/2, Avdi and Jess and I camped out at their hotel overnight, then Sat.3 drove the truck for many hours across Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and into St. Louis, Missouri.  The Arch was as impressive as expected, though the Mississippi at that point is fairly narrow.  We drove to Avdi’s and I spent the night there.  I had a great reunion with the part of the family living there, and finally got to see the famous garden, no longer under water from flooding.

The next day Sun. 4, we and some friends and family unloaded the truck into my new apartment.  With all that help, it wasn’t long until I was moved in.  I finally got to meet the landlord in person, a nice Punjabi man whom Jess and I had been messaging back and forth with to accomplish all the lease business.  We all made a good team of long-distance collaborators.

I spent the night in my new apartment.  I began the process of sorting and setting up, then got to read a book in bed!  The simple luxuries.

Mon. 9/5, Labor Day, Avdi took me to see the long-anticipated Missouri Botanical Garden [MoBot], where the Japanese Festival was going on.  Along the way he played the docent in the tradition of my father at NYBG, retelling the interesting history of the founder of the Garden in Victorian times.  The landscapes were exquisite and fascinating.  It was easy to spend hours exploring.  I saw a spectrum of diversity, representing many ethnic origins, countries, colors, and orientations.  STL has had its painful history of racism and intolerance, but today it has healthy, thriving communities embracing progressiveness and inclusiveness.

I saw that more close up and personal later that evening, around a fire at the home of Avdi’s friends, where I got to meet some of his interesting, eclectic circle.  Many of their kids are non-binary or trans, and they experience and embrace acceptance and inclusion.  The kids get to grow up in a supportive atmosphere, not so much intolerance.  It was so refreshing to meet and talk to intelligent people.

Today, Tue. 6, I think all the exhaustion caught up to me, with another round of vertigo and other unmentionable symptoms, but it all worked out, because today was internet hookup day, so I got to stay home and decompress while waiting for the technician to connect me.  Finally, I’m back online.  Once I recover, I have lots of business to accomplish.  One day at a time.

Here are some highlights along the journey.  Leaving Ohio, our little truck dwarfed by real trucks, first sight of my new city, and scenes from the Japanese Festival (and other themed gardens) at MoBot.  Note the Chihuly glass sculptures, just like at NYBG.

Extra bonus–the internet capacity and speed is so much greater here!  I was able to upload all the photos fast for a change, instead of one at a time for days!

It took our “team” just a couple of hours to load all my stuff in a 16′ Penske truck, with loads of room to spare.  Still, for someone who likes to “travel light”, I sure have a lot of crap!  I’m going to work on that.

Misu could sense what was happening.  I’m very sad to have to leave her behind, but she’ll be much better off this way.  Still breaks my heart, though.

Tomorrow we drive to St. Louis, my new home.  I have mixed feelings, but no doubts about the decision.  It’s been a long time coming.  I’m sure it’s not my last adventure.

It’s serious countdown mode, as my “moving team” has officially started out on the road from MO to OH.  Everything is packed and stacked in box Jenga for tomorrow.  Misu is like, you’ll have to pry my protesting self from this rug if you think you’re leaving!  She knows.  I know she won’t forget me, as I won’t forget her.

In a few more days my son and his partner and I will be driving to St. Louis, to a state I’ve possibly flown over or driven through in the dead of night.  I may have glimpsed the Mississippi River from above.  I know next to nothing about my new home, other than that my son and chosen family, and sometimes the younger Gkids, live there.

I feel honored and privileged to become a part of their life, for however long I have left.  Nevertheless, my anxiety has been working overtime!  It actual gave me some kind of scary panic attack or something, with lingering effects.   But I believe it’s one of the few right decisions I’ve made in my life, a long time coming, one I won’t regret.

Here are some last shots of the garden.  I’m pleased it did so well in the short year we’ve been back.  The bees are working overtime, getting thoroughly pollinated themselves!  Also–produce!

We had an early birthday celebration for E, since I won’t be here next month.

[“Ohio” by OTR]

The back roads…what Ohio is really all about.  I do feel a little sad leaving it behind for good, after returning to its relative sanity from TN.  There are some pretty places here, despite the post-industrial mono-crop miles.  If you fly over, you miss a lot.  I’ve been saying my goodbyes, one iconic scene at a time.

Pictured are Young’s Jersey Dairy in YS, where they still make their own ice cream and cheeses from Jersey cows (and you can feed the adorable goats), and some more flowers in our cottage garden.

I’m back with not-a-blahg-post counting down the time until liftoff to MO.  I’m no astronaut, but I feel the nervous apprehension of the unknown.  So to distract myself, here are the latest flowers in possibly my final garden of my own.  Going out with a color bang.

Still not a blahgpost, but I have to say this:  it’s official, I’m moving to St. Louis in a couple of weeks!  I will finally catch up to my son.  It’s been a long time coming.  A lifetime, almost.

To commemorate this move, here are a few of many photos I’ve saved up.  FB is being extra stupid and not letting me post photos to my story, so WP gets to archive some final Ohio scenes.

The first three are sunrise on the way to Columbus.  The cucumber et al I actually grew myself!  The rest are self-explanatory.  I finally approximated a goal of growing a cottage garden, now that I’m leaving to live in a garden-less apt.  But my son and partner’s gardens will serve the purpose nicely, and keep me off the streets.