Life is so short!!! It doesn't matter if the light calls you at 35, 75 or 105... there is just not enough time to do all the things that our hearts and minds think of on this ride around the sun. I recently realized this during a chat with my 89 year old aunt. We were discussing her sister-in-law who had just passed away at 92. I said that she had a long and happy life and Aunt Rae got very quiet and replied, "It seems like a long life until you are there." Just think how your high school days seem like only yesterday. Time is relative and gets faster and faster with every ride around the sun. Everyone of us has a starting point and an ending point, but it is the dash in between that determines our mentality when the end comes. Large houses, big cars and lots of money really do not provide comfort when death comes calling. The love that we have, the dreams that we have made come true, the legacy that our lives make.... that is what helps our Spirits move on to the next level.
Ray and I have decided to move on to our boat and sail the Caribbean. This summer we are going to the Bahamas to seek out the life that we have envisioned before we actually sell and go. Our children have all started college and are embarking on their own lives. As I look around this big house, I see the home that we made with our three kids and it is so lonely. Rachel, Tanner and now Hannah have started on the journey to their own dreams. My heart hurts sometimes for the past but I know that life moves forward and so must I. I have been teaching in Florida with special need children and I know that I can use my skills any place that our boat can sail. Ray is a master rigger and his skills and knowledge will be greatly sought after no matter what harbor that we drop anchor. My curiosity for this world grows with each passing day. I want to go and see, live and feel, meet other cultures and learn! Our prejudices get smaller as we travel, our fears of other cultures and people diminish when we see for ourselves that they are in fact, people too. They have families, jobs, homes, dreams, beliefs as well as their own prejudices and fears. Sure we are different, but we are all the same also. I enjoy having my beliefs and prejudices challenged. It helps me grow as a person and requires that I really know not just what I believe, but why. I will admit that thought the core of my faith has stayed strong over the years, some of the things that I held fast to have become discarded. I think just realizing that we have hard set opinions that we now consider facts, is the first step to changing for the better. I cannot hope for a better world, if I do not first change myself!!! So with that knowledge, Ray and I are going. It is part exciting and part scary, but I have never been one to stop because of fear. As a matter of fact, sailing with all the sails up, still scares the crap out of me, but if we never challenge our fears, our fears will continue to hold us back.
Life is an adventure; a very short, crazy but totally amazing adventure!!! It has been said that everyone dies, but few people truly live!!! I want to fill this world with happiness, I want this world to fill me with amazement. There is never enough time, but I intend to use my time wisely. I will be starting a blog about our adventures. I hope to fill each one with history, culture, knowledge, crazy days and starry nights. Our preparation for this summer's trip begins next week. Our trip starts June 10th and ends when my spirit leaves this illusion for bigger and brighter adventures!!!
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