TREADING WATER

Do you ever feel like you're just treading water?

Recently our friend Rick wrote a blog (click the highlighted word to see the blog) about why he and Paulette chose the way of RVing that they are following: they are snowbirds, and they stay in one park in Desert Hot Springs for about three months at a time, same park every year. Paulette loves to visit quilt shops and yard sales; Rick enjoys sitting in the sunshine and reading, going to the pool, and taking the occasional hike in the local canyons. That's what they enjoy, and that's what they do.

Al wrote about "contentment" as an RVer (click that one too, to see Al's blog), and wonders why he can't seem to find it. He loves to roam the southwestern deserts, and he and Kelly prefer to boondock way out there away from people and cities and attractions. He's a photographer and takes fabulous pictures of anything and everything. But he doesn't like other people to encroach on his space. He'll move if another RV comes in close to his site. That's what he and Kelly prefer, and that's what they do.

But the subject was treading water. Right now, Suzy and I sometimes feel that's what we are doing a lot of the time. We're excited about getting our casita remodeled, and Salomon and Paco are doing a great job of it. But for the past two weeks we haven't been able to have our casita and use it. That's where we spend a lot of our time while we are here in Benson, and it's not available! Here's why we can't use it:

Here's what it looks like inside!

Suzy and I are doing a lot of work right now, mostly Suzy, on an upcoming SKP Chapter 21 Rally. She's the Treasurer and Membership Officer of the Chapter, and has ended up doing a lot of what the Rally Hosts ought to be doing, as well as her own work. With Suzy's physical limitations, I'm doing a good share of the work too. We're excited about this rally: it will be the best rally our Chapter has ever had. BUT -- we're not there yet! We're not enjoying it, we're just working. And this is what our office is right now - the living/dining room of our trailer, filled with half of what used to be the office in the casita. It's crowded and it's a mess!

We both have some health problems. Suzy's appear to be very long-term, with no end in sight. We're working toward getting a knee replacement for me, but we're not there yet. We don't even have a date set for the surgery.

Our 50th wedding anniversary is coming up in August (and remember, you are all invited to our party the first week of August!), but we're not there yet!

We want to get back on the road and see and do. But we're not able to ... yet.

So we feel like we're treading water.

BUT - sometimes treading water is what keeps you afloat, keeps you from drowning in a sea of misery. We still have a great faith in our God. We thank Him daily for the ever-so-many blessings He has given us - the ability to live a good life, even if it seems temporarily to be "on hold." We have good friends, we have our mental faculties holding up pretty well (sometimes I wonder about that!), we have a great place to live while we aren't traveling. And actually, we're treading water in a heated pool, the sun is shining, we'll be back in the casita in a couple of weeks, we'll get our living / dining room back,the rally will be upon us soon, we're going to take a few weeks on the road after the rally, and I'll get a surgery date after we see the surgeon this Thursday. Our anniversary week will just jump up and be here before we know it.

What more can we ask at this stage of ... Our Life on Wheels!