House Sitting

Greetings fellow travelers,

Well I just found something else usefull I can do: I can baby sit the house while my daughter, son-in-law and 3 grandchildren fly off on vacation. For 2 weeks, I have the place all to myself: feeding the cats, walking the dog and reminising over old family pictures hanging on the wall. The dog has just brought her leash to me, so I guess she's ready for the daily pilgrimage.

We start walking up hill. She is full of energy, so she pulls on the leash and gives me a needed boost. Coming back down the hill she is tired and I no longer need her exuberance. I have joined the over-the-hill gang. But at least, I am over the hill and not under the ground pushing up daisies.

At last: back home and ready to sit down with my blogging for dummies book, plunk on the piano (I told someone, I don't play on the white notes or the black notes, I plunk on the cracks inbetween) read my German Bible and just chill-out. I'm thankful however, because I see this adventure of house sitting as another baby step in leaving nursing care behind and launching out to a wider world.

My kids have abundantly stocked the refrigerator with groceries, so I can live here rent free for 2 weeks and save money for my coming cruise; God is good! Perhaps we can't eliminate the negative but, in the words of the old song; "we can accentuate the positive."

So, let's keep stretching beyond ourselves and leave the rest to our Maker.

Nothing Exciting's Happening

If you were to walk by a cocoon hanging from the tender tendril of a tree, mud brown and wrinkled, you might think: "Nothing exciting is happening in there." You would be wrong. Inside that colorless cocoon an exciting transformation is occurring. At 76, that's the way I feel about whatever time I have left. My effort to escape the chrysalis of comfort ability and move beyond my comfort zone continues. I feel the stirrings of a metamorphosis within me.

Space A travel is still too ambitious for my timid soul, but I did have a travel agent friend of mine make all the arrangements to embark on a 16 day cruise through the Panama canal. "Go for it chaplain!" A wheel chair will be waiting and strong hands to help me up the ramp. In these recessionary times cruising has become more reasonable to one living on a fixed income. This is a good time to launch out on the sea, in search for adventure in exotic ports of call and on board ship. Who knows, this might become my "love boat" (for those who remember the T.V. series).

I'll have to let my nursing care service know, so they can keep me on their list, in case I ever return to home port. Check with you later fellow adventurers. Just keep remembering: "Trying is winning," so don't let the rocking chair lull you into submission.

The saga continues

It's been a while since I have ventured out into the blogosphere. Just to report: the butterfly is still struggling to escape the cocoon of the comfortable and spread its wings toward the friendly skies of space-a travel.

I'm making slow but steady progress. I got a "smart phone" and now I can send and receive e-mails. I can also surf the web with my hand held device, which can also operate overseas. It beats lugging that 7 pound laptop around. It's hard to make my fingers fit into those tiny boxes for typing but I'm improving with practice. It's amazing what persistence can produce.

Today I go to the post office to begin the process to renew my passport. It will be good for another decade through my 86th birthday. I think that will probably be long enough.

All the while, every cell in my body (all 50 trillion of them, sounds like the national debt) seem to cry out; "your window of opportunity has closed, your next stop is a rest home!" I'm determined to add some theology to my biology. Those cells, all 50 trillion of them, are not infallible or omniscient. My spirit tells me; "it's never too late to leave the nest and experience a new adventure. " Can theology trump biology? I want to believe it can.

So I'm taking short flights: 1st to San Jose and then Santa Cruz to celebrate my granddaughters 30th birthday. Then, on to Yosemite to experience those magnificent water falls and the giant Sequoias. Then over to the California coast to take a tour through Hearst Castle. My daughter was an excellent driver. She will drive me to Southern California to attend my grandson's high school graduation; a proud day for the family. Then who knows? As I take little baby steps, I want to build confidence for extending my comfort zone into ever widening circles. Are you with me? Can we encourage one another?