Hi, just a very brief note. It appears that the link to the article on the post “Who Knew???” was incorrect. I have corrected it and it appears to be working.
Here is the link again: Driving Through Grief
A Correction
1
Monthly Archives: February 2015
Who Knew???
Approximately two weeks ago I was interviewed by Caitlin Kiernan for Yahoo Travel. At first I was going to be included in a larger article about RV’ing. Then her boss and she decided that my journey in my cute and new little RV that started this blog would be good as a feature article.
She interviewed me and some of the people I met along my travels and soon the article was finished. It appeared in this weeks Yahoo Travel on the web. It was a good article and I felt that she had done a good job. And I thought it was done.
Oh my goodness, the past few days have been amazing. I have recieved e-mails from people commenting on the article and their own personal journeys. Several people are now following this blog.
I am overwhelmed. So what did I do? I left town. When all else fails, run away (sic). I am now in Patagonia, Arizona visiting a friend and taking time out to digest what happened with this article. I am also going bird watching and hiking and generally enjoying my time out.
I started this blog as a way to keep friends and fellow adventureers up to date with where I was as I moved across the country. Very quickly it became something more. All any of us can do is help each other out. I hope that through these posts that maybe just maybe it can touch someone else’s life and help make their struggle just a wee bit easier and if not at least it is a good read. These posts have certainly helped me become clearer about life and my own personal journey.
I have continued to post because people did not want me to stop. My own journey is not over yet. Each time that I go somewhere whether it is for a day or a week or much longer it is part of my own personal journey of healing and wholeness.
So welcome aboard all of you who decided to start following my blog. Welcome to those who have been following this blog since it’s inception. I am honored and grateful for each of your visible or invisible presence in my life. Let the journey continue.
Here is a link to the article in Yahoo travel. Driving Through Grief
Hope Changes Everything
Wow, January has been a busy month. Besides work, hiking, home repairs and improvements I have also had my friends from Chicago and Florida visiting. And it has been fun.
Helen
Helen arrived early in January. It was so good to see her and spend some time with her. Our lives have intertwined for many years. About 3 weeks after Jim died Helen came to town for a week. Friends are amazing in knowing just what you need. At that point her visit was just what I needed. This January, once again, her visit was just what I needed.
HOPE
One of our discussions struck a chord with me and I have been pondering this since her visit.
Hope can be defined as a feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen. Or, to want something to happen or be the case.
Hope is something we all need. It is part of our every day lives, even though we don’t specifically address it. Sometimes it helps me get up in the morning. Sometimes it helps me to go to bed at night. Hope is a part of my everyday life. Often it surfaces and I don’t even know it is there.
Helen’s mom is in her late 80’s. MJ is not able to live at home and has not lived there for many years. Until this year they have been able to keep MJ’s home. Early on they would take her to visit and she would travel from room to room and review her treasured collections. That house I believe, represented hope for MJ. It may have given her daughter hope as well. No one knows what the outcome of any single event in our lives will be. Hope lets us know there are options.
Jim on Our Property
Spring on my property
When Jim was diagnosed with the metastasis of his cancer the first thing he said to me was “Let’s sell the land in Colorado” (We have 45 acres of bare land and we were planning to build and move there). I told him no,I did not think we should worry about that and if it became necessary I could take care of it later. I am glad I told him this. I believe that the land symbolized hope for a positive outcome. Although that did not happen, I recognize now how important it was for both of us to hold on to that property and know there was more than one possibility there.
Now hope helps me see the future. Hope I believe is part of the grieving process. When the days are not so shiny and positive hope helps me get through those moments, knowing that the next moment, hour or day may shine a little brighter. My friends and even strangers also help me hold hope in my heart. It is because of the love and support and caring of others that I am able to lift myself back up out of those darker places and move forward with my life and know there are unknown possibilities ahead for me to explore.
My days have been much brighter since about a week or so before Christmas. Hope helps me to see a future with possibilities. It helps me to grow and expand. When I am feeling sad or low hope certainly can help me remember to call someone or take a walk and get myself going again. Hope also helps me see beyond undefined fear that has become more prevalent since Jim’s death. Hope pushes aside fear and I am glad that hope is the stronger of the two emotions.
Hope is always part of my adventure into life. It has been since I was young and it will be until I am too old to move any more. But you know, even then the face of hope just changes. It will be always a part of my life.
How does hope affect you? I would love to have my readers share this with me.
Journeys of Thankfulness 