Comfort

Ah....... Comfort, Texas.... population just two thousand. We had been to this town twice before, and we both breathed a sigh of relief to see that Comfort hasn't changed. Not one little bit. It looked like Mayberry when we visited it twice before, and it still looks like Mayberry. We were so happy, I just can't explain it.

We got a room at the Comfort Commons, the historic inn on their Main Street. The Inn has rooms above the main floor of the hundred-plus-year-old building, and little cottages surrounding the Inn. We were able to get the same little four-room cottage that we had stayed in years ago.

Dinner that night was at a little cafe in Welfare, the next town over, being that the cafes in Comfort don't stay open too late. Welfare is about 8 miles from Comfort, so it was a little bit of a ride, but the food was good, and they had two men playing guitars and singing country songs while we ate.

We had breakfast at the Inn early this morning, and spoke to the owner about the town. We found out why Comfort is still Mayberry-like, instead of being Wal-Mart-like. Comfort doesn't have the accessability that those other towns have...... no huge roads, no businesses other than small bed & breakfasts and privately-owned antique and gift shops. The Main Street in Comfort hasn't been changed in over a hundred years, and little shops come and go, newer ones making necessary repairs to make them even more quaint.

The oldest and longest-operated General Store in the U.S. is on Comfort's Main Street, but it burned nearly to the ground a couple of years ago. The family who owns it is re-building it, but right now the building is fenced off to keep people away from the rubble.

Only two realtors in Comfort, and the owner of the Inn gave us the name of the best one. We were at that office right after breakfast, and we went to see a house up in the hills above Comfort. This time, my husband was the one whose eyes lit up as we toured the house and the property.

Five acres..... a three bedroom home, a separate guest cottage, a two-car garage, a storage shed, a greenhouse, a flagstone patio, a vegetable garden. Beautiful kitchen, high-ceilinged living room, two big bathrooms, stone wall and country gate at the beginning of the property. Lots of nooks and crannies in the multi-level gardens, stone fences and walls, a view that can break your heart. Huge deck at the back of the house, small deck outside the third bedroom (which is a loft overlooking the living room), small deck outside the guest cottage.

The house blends so well into the hillside that you don't know it's there till you drive down the road to it. No neighbors that you can see...... only one house off in the distance as you look out at your view. Again, as in Wimberly, a view beautiful enough to make you cry. Five acres. And a house that's only a few years old, built by the owner. It looks like a Texas country house..... floors are either wood or tile. All the doors are vintage. The wood railing surrounding the back deck is vintage.

And there I was..... furnishing that home in my mind......... with leather and Texas-country antiques. And there was my husband, taking pictures of everything, and I knew by the sparkle in his eyes that he had found "the one."

So now we're thinking and discussing. This house is different than the two-bedroom house in Wimberly. Because this house is so much bigger, and because it has the guest cottage and the huge garage, and the storage shed, we could live in this house if we wanted to. Not only could it be a weekend retreat, it could be a year-round home if we chose to live up in the Hill Country.

And because Comfort isn't like the busier town of Wimberly, the price for that house on five acres didn't make us even cringe. I could see us living there, either for weekends or forever. And when I asked my husband if he could see us there in that house, he said yes.

Most importantly...... when you look out at the view, you see nothing but the hills.... no neighbors, no telephone poles, no roads. And when you're in the center of the town, you're in Mayberry.... and you're waiting for Andy and Opie to walk out of the little barber shop.

I'm just trying to stay calm...... not get too excited........ and I'm hoping that whatever is meant to be with this house will be.