Still in Florida But Not For Long!

I was reminded yesterday that I hadn't posted since January 2. Then I read my friend Patti's post in which she mentions that her husband, Mr. Brilliant (you'll have to read her book to find out how he got his name) had been blogging for a year and encouraged her readers to try him out. I had been to his site before and couldn't understand a word (he's that brilliant) but I did it again and found that he had posted over 400 messages in 2008! That's like, okay I'm just guessing here (they said I wouldn't have to do math in order to blog), but that's more than once a day! I am ashamed and having been chastened I promise to do better. Unfortunately, I am not brilliant, or even close to it, which is why you only hear from me sporadically. If I had something to say, you can be sure, you'd hear about it.

Yes, I'm still in Florida and I'm bored. Not that there's anything wrong with Florida, if you like palm trees and sunshine and Saw Palmetto and sand and lizards and FLAT. No, I'm NOT complaining/whining/etc...but I have wanted to go WEST since I bought the motorhome and I am still just about as far EAST as one can get. That has all to do with temperature and my decision to forego worrying about keeping all my water lines and tanks above 32 degrees, which means, of course, that I must hang around the warm places. And this year even central Florida has seen some hard freezing (if you didn't know, you will next time you buy oranges).

So here's what's been happening since Jan. 2. First, I realized that I needed to have my annual GYN exam and mammogram (and that I should have done it in November, before I left Asheville, duh) so I set about trying to set that up as quickly as possible. I got the exam pretty quickly at Planned Parenthood, but I couldn't get the mammogram until Jan. 26, so I decided to spend the intervening two weeks in south Florida. Unfortunately, I didn't take time to investigate my camping options and when I arrived all the local state parks (my preferred cheap/nice places to camp) were full, which had never happened before. Since my contact/host couldn't park me at her house, I was left with one option, at $45/night. It was like spending the night in a used car lot. I could read my neighbor's newspaper from inside the RV.

So the next night I went to my favoriate free place to camp,

where I proceeded to back into a utility pole, one of those that is encased in a cubic yard of concrete. As usual (yes, I've done this before but only into a wooden fence...and a nice soft tree) it was the spare tire carrier that made contact. But this time I gave it a good whack and it "bounced" off the back window, shattering the glass. The next few moments were spent trying to imagine that what had just happened hadn't really happened. You know, when you think if you just close your eyes and then open them you'll wake up?

Skip to the happy ending: the next day an auto glass place just up the road in Ft. Pierce had the glass I needed, handled all the insurance stuff, charged me only my $100 deductible (for a $485 bill) and I was on the road again at 3 p.m. Now I know why the previous owner had a back-up camera installed. Too bad it hasn't worked since I bought the RV. I guess I'll add that to the list of things I will buy when I get some extra money (I might have to get a job at the next Wally World).

Next stop: Titusville, where a new contact met me to enjoy a few hours of wildlife watching: an 8-foot one and a 6-foot one.

(Taken with a zoom lens, rest assured.) Then on to New Smyrna Beach where I was able to park in my host's yard and where I spent a very nice couple of days with some less exotic but more hospitable wildlife.

A pair of Sandhill Cranes

and some other nice folks.

The highlight of the two weeks was an overnight stay at Blue Spring State Park and an hour spent communing with manatees. In winter, West Indian Manatees move into Blue Spring from the St. Johns River because the water in the spring run is a constant 72 degrees. What lovely creatures. They make one feel absolutely at peace.

I hope you can see that the large animal in the photo is showing her belly, and that it is her calf just above. What an incredible moment.

This is the same pair and in this photo you can see the scars on the cow's back, injuries caused by a run-in with a boat propeller. Each of the individuals at Blue Spring has been identified, and named, according to these scars and other physical characteristics.

Today I am in Gainesville, on my way north to visit the state capitol in Tallahassee, then westward through Pensacola, across the lower little hangy-down parts of Alabama and Mississippi and landing in New Orleans, where I intend to volunteer for a month before heading up to Memphis to visit my siblings. That's the plan, anyway. The best part of this adventure is having the freedom to revise the plan as needed. I am, after all, Queen of the World.

60@60? Sure, Why Not?

I just read my friend Patti Digh's January 1 post on 37 Days. It made me tired just to read it! She's made a list of 50 things she wants to "learn" this year, the year she turns 50, and suggests that we all do something similar: 20 things if you're 20 or 35 things if you're 35, whatever is appropriate for your age. She's calling it 50 at 50. All I have to say is, "Atta girl, Patti!"

As for me, I will turn 62 the day after Patti turns 50 and this is the year I intend to smile contentedly while I sit back and watch the "youngsters" do their thing. There is nothing else I need to learn.

Do I detect a raised eyebrow? A quiet, "Oh, really?" Okay, I'll admit that I have a long way to go before I can claim that I practice everything I've learned. And to be fair to Patti, her list includes many, many things that she has already learned but wants to master, same as me (#20: Learn to speak my truth).

Of course, I have a list, too, as I'm sure you do. It's a new year; how can you not have a list? Come on, admit it, you have a list. It's about the things you want to do differently in 2009, isn't it? There are the old standbys: lose weight, stop smoking, learn Spanish...Mine is all about living intentionally. It's a very short list:

1. Live every moment as if it were the end, not just the means.
2. Love everyone and show it by smiling when you see them.
3. Be grateful.

From 1984-1995, I worked in non-profit management and fundraising for three different national health organizations. I learned many important life lessons during that time, one of which has to do with acquisition and distribution of wealth. In Fundraising 101 I learned that there are two types of people: those who are striving to acquire as much as possible and those who have enough and are looking for ways to distribute what they have acquired. Of course, the best charitable donors are the ones in the distribution phase of their lives.

That's where I am: in the distribution phase. In 2008 I sold my 767-square-foot house and its contents. Fortunately, I bought the house in 2003 for $60,000 and was able to sell it for $95,000. Not bad in the year the bubble burst. I could have spent another $20,000 and made a bigger profit, but I undoubtedly would not have been able to sell it so quickly--before the Open House--if my asking price had been over $100,000; plus, my kitchen and bath would have been unusable for weeks.

In 2008 I had already been working part-time since 1995 (yes, the year I quit my high-stress fundraising and management job), so it wasn't a huge step from 20 hours a week to 0 hours a week. With the help of a small inheritance, I was able to retire a year early and live my dream of traveling the country in a small motorhome. I "distributed" the house proceeds to MasterCard, my daughter's wedding, and the guy who sold me the motorhome. I distributed my car and the entire contents of my house, including most of my clothes. It took three days to figure out what I could put into the RV and what I absolutely had to keep in storage (family photos, high school yearbooks(?), winter coat, tax returns).

About the only thing I have left to distribute is my love and my gratitude, so for 2009, under #3 above, I am making a list of 60 things for which I am grateful. I've bought Sarah Ban Breathnach's The Simple Abundance Journal of Gratitude (thanks, Oprah) and since she suggests that we write down five things every day, I should have my 60 things in 12 days. For January 1, Sarah includes the following quote from Melody Beattie: "Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow."

Here are the five things I recorded yesterday:
1. I'm grateful that I am healthy.
2. I'm grateful that I had a good night's sleep.
3. I'm grateful to be staying in this place where I have free electricity and WiFi.
4. I'm grateful that I can leave any time I want to.
5. I'm grateful for cheeseburgers at Johnny Rocket's (I guess this is not the year I stop eating meat.)

Here's wishing you Peace and Gratitude in 2009.