1000

This is......

I've been thinking about the journey I've taken and the one that my blog has traveled over these 1000 posts. It has occurred to me that I've had a lot of unexpected turns. My life has changed is so many ways over the past two and a half years. I'm not going to name the specifics, but rather just consider the overall effect.


Who I am today is very different than I would have expected, but I like who I am. There are some things missing for me, but over all, I can't say that there is much I would change. At least not those aspects that are within in my control.

I've made some great friends through my blog. I've seen some places that I probably wouldn't if not for the blog, like South Carolina, when I added some miles and a couple days to a trip so I could meet Patti. I met Dawn on that trip, too, but that didn't include new travel territory.

I've learned many, many new things through my blog and my associations to your blogs. I 've picked up some dynamite recipes. Thank you! I've learned about your lives, your thoughts, your emotions, your struggles, and it has helped to normalize my own thoughts and feelings on many occasions. I've learned about life styles that differ from my own. I've enjoyed memories of my own kids, sparked by your writing about your own children or nieces and nephews. In fact, here is a cartoon from today that did the same:



That would be something my son, Scott, would have done. His way of thinking as a very young kiddo, he would have deduced that this is a logical way to respond to the adult words. I might not have given so much thought to this cartoon, if I were not blogging, looking for interesting things to bring here.

I've had some struggles along the way, and I continue to have some. I'm sure I will always have struggles, and that GPS mentioned above would be mighty handy at times! However, those struggles also teach me to remember that I can't control everything in my life, and I have to remember there is a Greater Power that keeps me on track when I have no idea what to do. That is my GPS.


Through the course of this blog I've come to realize that faith to a greater degree, in part because of things I've read in your blogs and because of things you've brought to this one. Our ideas of our faith may be very different, but it really doesn't matter; it's the sharing and growing, not the similarities or lack thereof. We've shared a lot back and forth, and I wouldn't trade any of that for anything in the world.

And something that has significant in my life over this time is the sharing of stories about our four-leggers, our babies by choice and by chance.

Well, at my house, this is an issue these days. When I began writing this blog, I had three sweet babies, aging babies, dear luvs. I've lost two of those; I'm near losing the third. But I've also gained the four crazy furballs that now scramble for their food and defend their bowls as if they might never eat again. As the sadness of losing my old companions has hovered, the joy of the bouncy, adorable and infuriating new kids has kept me afloat.

And with that, I am reminded that life is a process. It has ebbs and wanes like the ocean, periods when I fly high and others when I'm deeper in doo-doo that I think I can survive. Yet, I do survive. My life is a journey, for certain, and unlike the journeys on terra firms such as my road trips, my life journey has no destination. The trip, the journey is what matters, not some unnamed destination. After all, the destination to my life journey will be to a place none of us really knows about, and I certainly can't cover that in my blog, now can I? So until then, I'll continue to write about what I do know .... I'll write about the experiences of my travels, the ones where the rubber meets the road, and the ones that exist only in the experiential space of my life.

Thank you for riding along with me for whatever part of my journey you have chosen to be a hitchhiker. I hope you will continue to stick your thumb out and catch a lift as often as you choose, for as long as you choose. I enjoy the company, especially when you shout out at me. I like hitchhikers who have something to say. It makes the trip much more interesting to have responsive riders, so click often on that phrase "Leave a Comment."

And remember ....

.... Life is beautiful!!!!

(And so is the journey!!!!)