Life Time Changes

In the early 1900s my Grandparents left Fort Worth Texas in a covered wagon pulled by oxen. They were headed to the New Mexico territory to homestead land that was being given away there. My Grandmother's heart was pounding as she sat proudly beside my Grandfather, and bravely waved good bye to family and friends. She held their one year old son tightly in her arms, and turned her head to wipe away the tears she had tried so hard to stop. The tiny life growing inside of her fluttered a little and threatened her with a wave of nausea as she longingly looked back at the familiar faces that grew smaller with each creaking turn of the wagon's wheels. She strained her eyes to get the last glimpse of them in the distance, then took a couple of deep breaths to calm her sick stomach, and laid her head lovingly against her husband's shoulder.

The trip was long, hard and very slow. The hot sun beamed down on them burning their skin at first, then tanning it to a dark brown as they traveled ten to twelve hours each day. The nights were a little cooler, but the biting insects, snakes and other varmints that roam in the darkness, made sleeping outside fairly unpleasant most of the time. The summer rain storms forced them inside the wagon, the sweltering heat making sleep just as difficult there, and turning the dirt roads to mud that sank the wagon wheels into deep ruts. Many days later my Grandmother's prayers were answered when they arrived at their new home. They were travel weary and bone tired, but all three alive and excited to began their new life.

The New Mexico territory was sparsely populated at that time, and the land was nothing like my Grandmother had ever seen. The few trees that were there, were hardly bigger than most of the shrub bushes in Texas, and the grass grew only in small patches here and there. The terrain was flat and she could see for miles on the horizon, miles of nothing but rocks, cactus and sand. The nearest town was half a days ride away, and neighbors were few and far between. My Grandfather could see the fear in her eyes and he hugged her and the baby close to him as he looked out across this new land. It would be a challenge, but they were young, strong and now completely on their own.

My Grandfather started breaking up the barren, rocky ground with a plow and his team of oxen. He hunted and fished to put fresh meat on his family's table. The wild game, being mostly jack rabbits and an occasional bird

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