Enjoy

My mornings usually start by first feeding the cats and then putting the kettle on to boil to make coffee. Waiting for the water to heat up I’ll do a “compare and contrast” of the temperatures between my hometown Lockport, NY and my current home in Tuscaloosa, AL. Lockport clocked in at 36°…Tuscaloosa was barely ahead at 37° this morning. Today looks to be another rainy, chilly, gray day. When will this miserable weather turn around???

Chance interactions with people can have a profound influence on your life. When I first met Bob from Michigan in April 1998, he instituted a chain of events that forever changed my life. His philosophy on life he summed up in one word, “enjoy”.

A few weeks ago I was working on the front yard. One of my neighbors John stopped by to visit. His wife just retired and he will be retiring soon. We were comparing our “bucket lists” (things we want to do before “kicking the bucket”). As we were talking the light bulb went off in my head. My good friend Louis is headed to California in April. He was tempting me on making another trip out to join up with him to do a road trip camping out and meeting up with friends.

I was just out visiting San Francisco in February…how can I justify another trip across the country so quickly? Rationally I can’t: except to say it would be a hoot to road trip with Louis and meet up again with our menagerie of friends.

I was telling John, “You will never be any younger or healthier than you are right now. If you want to do something by all means go and do it!” I took my own advice and booked my flight to Oakland, CA. Louis will pick me up at the airport and we will camp out as we travel up highway 1 to Eureka, CA. There we will join up with friends. From there it looks like hiking and camping in the Redwood forest.

For all the years I scrimped and saved for my retirement, it can now be hard for me to spend some of that money. I think it is like some people who grew up during the great depression; they were so afraid of being penniless they regretted spending money on “extravagances” or treating themselves. My dad was like that. One Christmas my sister gave him a woolen scarf from Scotland. Dad never wore it because it was “too good” to use every day. When we cleaned out the house I found it buried away in a drawer. I use it all the time. It is a constant reminder to me to live for today and to ENJOY.

My little Dagney also enjoying Dad’s old scarf!