and so many places to go.
that's how the new year seems to me.
kinda like going to a party...
all dressed up in baubles and bows
grand schemes and plans to whoop it up and party on down
hopes for a good time
apprehension about what is going to happen when you get there
wondering who you are going to meet, maybe some old friends and even a few new ones
if we are lucky, the year turns out pretty well.
a few bumps and bruises along the way,
but overall, not too bad.
but of course, this is life we are talking about.
not a fairy tale party.
some years are better than others.
sometimes it's a series of good years or bad years.
all we can do is hang on and ride the bad ones out
and be grateful for the blessings of the good ones.
2009 was a not so good year for us.
we crept into 2010
feeling a bit battered and beaten up.
not knowing what to expect because
decisions had been made and
plans put into place.
2010 was going to be a year of change
whether we were ready or not.
even if we wanted it or not.
these changes did not just affect john and i.
it would ripple thru family and friends.
but change we did
and oh,
never in a million years did we ever imagine what
was waiting for us.
we sold our house of almost 13 years and
went from living in a 1800 sq ft 3bedroom house
to a 30foot 5th wheel travel trailer.
we found a new home for our sweet, loving gibson dog
said a tearfull good bye to family and friends
got into the truck,
hauled the new home on wheels
thru rain, snow, and wind,
and headed for jackson, wyoming
(second guessing everything we were doing the whole 918 miles)
we settled into a whole new way of life.
living in a trailer in a national park campground
and working in a warehouse.
sounds a bit like typical white trailer trash
and it took awhile to stop being embarrassed of the way we were living
and change our mindset about the whole thing.
eventually, as we met more people living this workamper lifestyle
and looked around at our surroundings and new way of life,
we slowly came to a new way of thinking.
thinking things like -
-there is nothing wrong with getting out from under a mortgage
that you can't pay for when you are out of work.
-there is nothing wrong with wanting to travel
and see places you normally would not get the chance to see
if you were working 9 to 5, six days a week, with one week vacation.
-there is nothing wrong with doing a physically demanding job
and finding that you have lost 20 pounds because of it.
(john was the lucky one on that, definitely not me)
-there is nothing wrong actually enjoying being in a traffic jam
on the way to work, not because of an accident, but because
25 bison and their new babies decided to cross the highway right in front of you.
-there is nothing wrong being late to work
because you had to stop to take pictures of the moose at the bridge.
-there is everything right when you watch the worry lines and stress from years
of working a high demand job disappear from your husband's face.
-there is everything right when you discover
that you can spend almost 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, for 6 months
with your spouse and realize you really are good friends after all.
-there is everything right when you share your new home and way of life
with your kids, their spouses, the new grandbaby, the new grandbaby bump,
your mom, and sister in law, showing them places and animals
they might not have seen if it wasn't for you.
- there is everything right and nothing wrong
with starting out on a new path in life, completely changing your
whole mindset about how life should be lived, finding out how
little you really need to get by, realizing how much you gain by
living simply, meeting new friends and discovering all the wonderful things this
big world has to offer.
2010 started out with the potential of being one of the worse years of our lives and
ended as one of the best.
all it took was being brave enough to take that first tentative step into the unknown
and being smart enough to learn what a gift we had been given.
today is the first day of 2011.
it is still shiny and perfect.
still dressed up in it's pretty new ribbons and bows.
who knows how it will look in december
after life has it's way with it for the next 12 months.
i can only hope
that under the wear and tear of what life brings our way
2011 still has a bit of shine to it
and we aren't too sad to see it go.
