DAY 68: Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado
TEMP: High 66 / Low 42
“Twenty years from now, you will be more disappointed
by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do.
So throw off the bowlines,
sail away from the safe harbor.
Catch the trade winds in your sails.
Explore. Dream. Discover.”
Today marked the final day of our journey............Tomorrow we set out for home.
It was a bitter sweet day........part of me is sad to be leaving the "adventure"......the "unknown"..... the "wandering wherever the wind blew us".....such a blessing we have been given to be allowed to experience such a ride. The other part of me is looking forward to being home.....resting my head on a pillow that doesn't have wheels beneath it.......to see my family and friends that I've missed so much......getting back in my routine.
When I tell you how blessed we have been to experience this, I'm not just writing empty words......I truly, profoundly mean it. Most people only dream of being able to travel like we have for the past 4 years.....having no set itinerary.....just going until you feel like stopping. It's truly been a spiritual experience for me.
But we would never have made the decision to travel like we have, had we not been facing a debilitating disease. That forced us to see that we may not have all the time in the world to do this later in life.....that life, as we know it, could end tomorrow.
We needed to live for today, not tomorrow or yesterday....but just for today.
Friends, we don't have unlimited resources......we aren't wealthy people.....but what we are, are two people; many times resembling Lucy and Ricky Ricardo; with our two needy dogs and one-claw cat who love being together and storing up memories......good, bad, funny, frustrating, sad, scary and forever memories.
We are nearing the end of this chapter of our lives and I must admit, not sure I'm ready for the next chapter to begin. It's the unknown.....the blank pages that are waiting to be filled that is scary....but if I could leave you with anything I have learned from this closing chapter it would be to not delay.....don't wait till you have enough money; till your kid graduates from college; till the house is paid off; till you retire........you may never have enough money and your kid may move back in with you after college......
So, throw caution to the wind.......live your life NOW.......
You just may not have tomorrow.
“No one realizes how beautiful it is to travel
until he comes home and rests his head on his old, familiar pillow.”
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12 comments:
AMEN!!!! Sorry we didn’t get to see you in Colorado but felt we were always near you. Thank you for all your writings…you have touched many lives in your travels and in your messages to all of us. We are in Mt. Vernon and will leave tomorrow after the 9-11 service at your church to go to Missouri then on to the “Wild East”. Our West travels were wonderful for us too. Many memories and lots of new friends. It is a blessing to be able to do this and I cherish it all. Be careful on your trip home.
Doy & Arlen
So true!. Hope to see you soon. Is it next week you may be here?
Carla
Liz,
Thank YOU for the beautiful memories you’ve shared with all of US. Thank you for the joy your blogs give and the laughter you’ve made. The photography is wonderful and this blog has some of the best you’ve sent. This trip has to be put into a book. That should keep you busy for awhile…and keep the memories going longer. The next phase will be just as wonderful in it’s own way….because you and God make everything beautiful…in it’s own time. Be blessed as you have blessed so many of us back home … as we scorched in the Texas sun J
Bless you, girl.
Kathy
You were so wise in doing this. As you said, we never know what tomorrow brings. Vern and I spent three summers with our trailer parked in a park on the Oregon coast, and then three summers traveling with friends (different ones each year) through B.C., the Yukon and Alaska. We always treasured those memories the twelve years we had here in Texas. God bless you both, and travel safely home. I'm anxious to see you! Thanks for all the blogs you have sent. I shared them with Sue as well. Love ya'! Nyla
There is nothing like home and your own humble bed!
Please don't stop blogging....you have such interesting
experiences...and we all want to know.
I love you lots and lots. Travel home safely.
ant ellie
Love all the beautiful pictures! Keep sending your blogs! How is your Mom doing? Does she recognize you? Many prayers go up for here.
Continue to keep us up to date on your sweet husbands MS. You two are so much in love, God has blessed you both. Love, Lois
Okay, now I'm crying. :'( We sure need to be reminded every now and then that we aren't promised tomorrow...Great blog, Liz.
So glad you and Chuck have been blessed with many wonderful memories of travel and adventure. Hope you can enjoy many more years together just staying out of trouble at the lake!
Be careful driving back to Texas...See ya'll soon!
Nancy
Wow Liz, this was a very moving blog for us. I read it and had Jug come and read it. You’re so right about living for the day because you never know what might hit you the next day.
Jug and I struggled with retirement, one day retire the other not to retire, talked to financial advisors, and prayed alot. But, the one thing that kept me leaning towards retirement was the fact that we didn’t want to be a statistic like some who retire and stop living. We wanted to be able to go and do as we had planned and not deal with one or the other not being able to do it. So, your words were very encouraging that we have made the right decision.
Yes, we are also blessed and have many travel plans. I can’t say we regret anything at this point, maybe just hanging in Texas this year would be the only thing. There’s so much to do and see here in the US and we are planning to see it all.
God bless you and Chuck on your next chapter….I hope that our paths will cross again someday.
Here is Jug’s reply to your email:
Kinda weird or ironic to say you’ve met “friends for life” after meeting someone for 4 days but me and Donna knew we were friends for life after meeting you and Chuck for only four days. I was disappointed the day you and Chuck came over and we sat there all day under the awning, out of the drizzle and rain, eating elk sausage while Donna washed clothes while we sat and talked all day. Disappointed because we had “travel plans”. When we were finished traveling and were home, that’s when it became gin clear that day might have been our best day. I knew when I met Chuck from the opening “howdy”, I had a guy I was gonna be able relate to (I’m wrong from time to time but wasn’t this time). After the days we spent together, we knew we had met a “special couple”. One that wanted to and had trouble and one that wanted to and could help the other. That’s the way a marriage works.
Most, if not all of us, will regret those travel opportunities and folks not met. Time spent at home is bittersweet. The longer we’re away from Texas, the more we miss it. As I tell folks, can’t wait to get back home to bitch about the heat, mosquitoes, humidity, etc. but can’t wait to get home.
You gotta always look at the “glass half full” instead of half empty. Half full means you had the opportunity to see so much that many never got to see and meet so many that others never got to meet. If I was told I had to spend the rest of my life at home and never went “back on the road”, I’d still have the memories we’d made of the “small” times. I’ll always be grateful for all we’ve been blessed with. I gotta laugh at those that envy folks like us Liz. Folks that gotta have four car garages, five bedroom homes, etc. and wonder why we’re so “happy”. In a little house, not a pot to pee in and still doing all we can to “turn and burn” and loving every minute of it. Took our kids skiing to Colorado one year. Ate KFC and $0.99 breakfasts to make ends meet. Kids are 39 and 36 and still talking about the good time we had.
Good luck to you and Chuck. Even though we may not see you or speak in person, we’ll always be “near”.
Jug*
Hello Liz/Chuck, well, as you know we have an agenda, but God has a plan, and as we travel in life, our very eyes have seen the beauty of it all, beauty that no one has created ,but God. We contemplate in awe his perfection, perfection because He is God.....and yes, you leave friends...A man (no gender implied) that has friends must be himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticks closer than a brother. Prov. 18:24 Often times goodbye is not a pleasant expression, but I would say "so long" May the good Lord continue showering you and Chuck with multiple blessing.
Israel
U touch my heart u make me cry I am sooo glad u got to do this together, an u let me an others, ride along an enjoy it with u.. I am soo sad this chapter has to end. May God b with u every step of rest of ur lives may u make many more meories together. even if its just setting in ur own living room having coffee together enjoyin a good movie.. Life is too short enjoy it while u can.. BUT b ready for next life together where there will b no pains no parting.. even more beauty then any of us can imagine. GOD BLESS U both.. LOVE U
Thanks so much for allowing me to travel the road with you guys. The pictures were awsome and I enjoyed every minute of the adventure.
No we do not know what lies ahead of us, but God willing we will face the challenges with his help.
Thanks again.
Lover and God Bless
Betty
Day 68 blog is excellent....VERY EXCELLENT. A little too late for Dorothy and I, but verry good advice. I'm so glad you did it!!! JC
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