When it’s just the sky on your way home from work at 5 PM. Pretty enough, but no place to stop for a nice picture. And no camera with you, well, besides your phone. And Ozzie patiently waiting for you to come home, as if you arriving home was going to mean fun for him. It wasn’t. Working on your feet from 8 to 5 is pretty darn tiring these days. Or maybe it’s like being on short time in the service, because I know I only have a week more to work and I’m done. And yes, there are mixed emotions associated with this. I will miss my co-workers who were there for me these last four years as I figured out how to keep on going on my own. Work was my social life, and I was happy to be home every night. And then I wasn’t.
This mental turning point took me by surprise. A friend describes hiking all the 4,000 ft peaks in the White Mountains, and how when you get to the top it can be extremely cold and windy, and you have to struggle to cross that peak and get to the tree line on the other side to find shelter from the weather. I have never climbed mountains, but I found myself realizing that the safe little harbor that I’ve been enjoying wasn’t going to sustain me in the long run, and that presented an emotional hurdle that I’ve found to be the mental equivalent of crossing that mountain peak. First to face the reality of the situation, and then to resist the urge to stick my head in the sand and do nothing. Or I could venture into the unknown, so to speak. But I’ve gotten there, I have rolled the dice even though I have no idea what’s next, besides the movers coming today to move the few larger items that I’m bringing with me to my tiny new Florida home. Tiny home and tiny expenses, and time to have an adventure or two. I’m just a fireman’s daughter who has been telling myself that being all tucked in at home was all I needed to be happy. But maybe there is more…
A Snowbird's Life Through the Lens 
One day at a time Sue. I never thought I would be living in North Carolina, but I have found a church I like and new friends where I live and my daughter has had two more babies since we moved here that I would not see if I didn’t take the chance to move. I look forward to hearing of your new adventures.
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Nice to hear that someone who has taken a chance on taking on a new living situation has had it all work out so well for them. I sometimes think that I’m insane to be upsetting the apple-cart at my age, but it’s now or never. And I can take all my internet friends with me while I’m at it. So I’m never really alone…
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There definitely is more!! You go girl😘
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LOL, I’m standing outside the gate at Senate Manor waiting to let the moving truck in. I’ve been lamenting paying them too much, but you can’t beat the convenience.
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I hope the truck beats the rain!
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Sue,
Just a reminder of all the beautiful mountains in Colorado and the 14,000 foot peaks!!!! Un believably gorgeous views! The road trip you’re looking for….to my house! You would be more than welcome at my house for as long as you like! My phone number is 719-651-4544. Just sayin! Jo
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Trust me Jo, if I’m ever in Colorado I’m looking you up. Just put your number in my phone. Charley and I took a trip to Colorado in 1991 and we avoided Colorado Springs because he said that surely I must understand why he wouldn’t be dying to visit my ex-husband’s family. Then when he met you, Greg, and Mary at Michael’s wedding he said that he really regretted that because he liked you so much, and he knew how much I wanted to see your parents again. And my mother said that I married the only Middleton that wasn’t any fun, LOL.
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