A Blizzard of Change

Living in a snow globe can't be much different than our lives of late - especially when someone picks it up and shakes the daylights out of it.

On October 3rd, 2011, Brent left our home in the Bitterroot Valley to find work in the area of the Bakken oil boom. We expected he'd be gone 1-2 months at most. OK, maybe we weren't thinking it through at the time. 

What he encountered defied description.  Work brings the unemployed, and there are sure a lot with today's economy.  There's money to be made everywhere which, of course, brings drugs and crime.Williston's population exploded and the area was totally unprepared for the influx of people.  The Bakken is, indeed, rockin' but the challenges are unbelievable. The only thing there seems to be aplenty is jobs. Just try, for instance, to find a bed for the night, or a place to park your vehicle, or a restaurant with an open seat. With no other choice, Brent spent a couple of nights in a gravel pit (with no services) followed by several awful nights in Williston, ND's Wal-Mart parking lot, in the back of our Explorer. He spent his days interviewing for the plethora of jobs but in each case, the story was the same. No place to live.

Just when  he was about to give up and head home he was interviewed by Jason, the owner of Prairie Electric in Savage, Montana.  Jason invited Brent to spend a week working for him and then to decide if it was a good fit for both of them.

It was a very good fit and Brent spent the ensuing 10 months living in a fifth wheel trailer Jason provided and made a big dent in our long list of debts that resulted from no jobs in Western Montana for the previous 2 years. Not only was the job a great fit, the community welcomed him with open arms, caring about him in ways that often made me tearful with gratitude. Savage quickly became Brent's new home.

Meanwhile, back in western Montana, I was struggling with the upkeep on our home. I also worked at the job I loved with the American Cancer Society, travelled a lot, and spent time with friends.  But my heart ached for my partner and best friend. 

I clearly remember the phone converation in April when Brent said, "Honey, I'm staying here.  The people are awesome, there's plenty of work and I feel like this is where I belong."  Thus began the flurry in our own personal snow globe.  I chose to stay in my job until mid-July so I would be vested in the retirement program.  It was the longest three months of my life but it was certainly filled with things to do; clean out Brent's work storage unit (thanks to a dozen wonderful people who helped make that happen); sort out our garage into piles: to sell on craig's list, to throw away, to recycle, to give away and, finally, to dispose of at a garage sale (special thanks to brother, John for sticking with me through that ordeal). 

Then there was listing the house and trying to keep it pristine for showings in the midst of the chaos; deciding what to take and what to leave so we could exist comfortably in Savage but leave our beautiful home looking lived in.  Jason purchased a 16 x 80 mobile home that was to be ours to rent in Savage (thus making our reunion possible) but the prospect of downsizing from 4800 square feet caused many a sleepless night.  While I was more than ready to  lose the upkeep of the house, what to do with all the "stuff"?  "Blizzard" is such an apt description of those weeks.

On July 20th, thanks again to our wonderful friends and family, we packed a 17' U-Haul, spent a pleasant evening relaxing together and, the following morning, headed east. John drove the U-Haul the whole way, Brent and I switched off between the Explorer (where the dogs were riding) and my motorcycle (which there was no hope of fitting into the U-Haul). We arrived in Savage at 1:00 a.m. on July 22nd, slept where we fell and began unpacking and setting up housekeeping the next morning.

We'll be in transition for some time but, for those of you who asked me to write about the experience this initial entry is meant to provide a foundation for our "life in Savage".

Our heartfelt thanks to all of you who have been so supportive - watching over me, watching over Brent, helping with all the heavy work, sorting, cleaning, listening, motivating, moving, comforting and showing up with a bottle of wine.  And thanks to those of you who have welcomed us to Savage with open arms. We couldn't have done it without all of you ... then or now.