Planning a Trip

 I settled for organizing an anthology of all the short writings and poetry I've done over the course of 50 years. Yeah. Fifty. They were in a box, just lying around and on my blogs, and in notebooks and files. So, I'm collecting them, putting them together as a personal anthology. The good, the bad, the mediocre. None is really ugly but there are a few that come close. 

The poetry from 1972 is most interesting to me. It is pretty awful, but I was 16 and really had only been writing for a couple of years and none of the previous work was poetry. This was my first attempt, as far as I can tell. 

The title, for now, is Journeys. Writing, all of it, is a process and you move from one stage to the next. The trip is long and arduous, but interesting. And you'll either get better at it and learn, or you'll stagnate. 

This isn't what I really want to be doing. However, it is writing and I'm working. I've nearly shoved it aside a couple of times but I keep coming back. I won't get rich. I probably won't make any money on it but it will be there for my future relatives and maybe a friend or two who wants to remember me.

Finding Time

I know they say travel broadens the mind but it also rips a hole in your soul. The first trip I took was a vacation with my Aunt and Uncle. I read 5 books on that trip and it was awesome. I swam a little and was able to just site on a quiet patio and read. I do not require lots of entertainment on vacation.

I was home only three weeks when my brother died and I had to leave and go home for the funeral. I was gone only three days but let's face it, it was not a pleasant trip. My whole family is still reeling from this death and I don't know why we'll ever feel that it has really happened.

The next trip was exactly one week later. We went to Arkansas to pick up my granddaughter. She's been visiting her dad for the last six weeks. I'm glad she's home. I'm glad I'm home! This is the longest trip I take. It takes 12 hours. The map says 9 but if you really have to go to the bathroom and eat, you can just add more. If there is construction or car accidents... and there are... you can add even more. We experienced it all. We left both times at 6 a.m. and arrived home at 5 p.m. We limited out stops to the shortest possible time. This helped. Leaving extremely early also seemed to make a difference is how we felt. The fact that I didn't have to do the driving certainly helped me. I'm much less tired than I was after that first trip.

Somewhere in all that I managed to scrounge up 1354 thus far in July in one of my WIP. I'd hoped for more but unfortunately, travel got in the way. Now, despite all that, I don't think 1354 is anything to sneeze at. I'm amazed that I got that much writing done. Admittedly, that's only over the course of two days but I consider myself lucky to have had two days where I could function. I will thank God for small favors.

School starts on the 7th so things will be busy the next few weeks but I've pretty excited that I don't have anywhere I have to go and I might just get some more writing accomplished.

I'm going to set up my calendar in the next few days with my writing times and I'm trying to make sure I get enough rest factored in. That seems to be my biggest need. I am always tired due to the RA and the fibromyalgia. Factoring in rest when you have an autoimmune disease is so important, particularly if you want to write. In the past, I've always neglected it and this last year has really revealed that to me. Once I started making rest a priority, above everything else, and setting aside days for specific chores I found that I functioned better and actually felt like I could do other things like writing or working on a home improvement project.

I'm going to try to hang on to the optimism and structure my time more stringently. Pray for me. I need it.

Things I've Done

Since I've talked about things I'll probably never do, I decided to look at what I've actually done. I've always thought I lived a pretty average and boring life. However, when I remember a southern girl from a small town in South Alabama and what she accomplished, it looks a whole lot different.

At 17, I married. We'd known one another for about 6 weeks. No, we didn't "have to get married", although there were nasty people who suggested it. They said it wouldn't last but it lasted 35 years and was ended by death. He's a nasty one, too.

I didn't have children for the next 5 years. Later we were glad it worked out that way because we had a lot of fun just being together. And a lot of hardship. But, during the next 35 years, we did a lot of stuff!

• Lived in 5 states and 2 foreign countries in 35 yrs. 
• In first 6 years of our marriage, we moved 100 times. No, we didn't "like" moving. 

• We moved to Frankfurt W. Germany when I was 20 and lived there 2 years.
• Visited Bavaria and climb a mountain.
• Visited two castles & two palaces.
• Rode on a riverboat on the Rhine River and watched castle illuminations and fireworks in the dark. Breathtaking.
• Hopped on Strassenbahns and trains and went where we wanted just to see what we could see. We didn't have a car in Germany and didn't need it.
• Shopped at a Black Market... which looked like any other street market.
• Furnished our first apartment just by "Junking", the act of driving around with your pals and collecting stuff the Germans tossed (really nice stuff, btw). It is a lot of fun.
• Visited Paris, France and strolled the Champs Elysee with dear friends.
• Rode the Paris Metro - a rougher ride than the Strassenbahn.
• Climbed the Eiffel Tower and Arc Du Triumph.
• Stared in wonder at the Cathedral of Notre Dame. I mean, just look at it! 
• Visited Montmartre and Sacre Coeur (probably my two favorite places)
• Visited the Louvre - needed more time!!
• Visited the Musée de l'Armée
• Had my first child just before we relocated back to the states.

• Moved to Pisa, Italy at age 24.
• Visited the Leaning Tower when you could still climb it.
• Visited Rome for two weeks.
• Rode around the region and just took in the sights. 
• I sat on a rock on the shore of the Tyrrhenian Sea and watched the waves crash against the rocks.
• Returned back to the states where the second child was born.
• Camped in a tent with only some blankets to sleep on. I'd have been fine except for that one root. 
• Cooked full meals over a wood fire for a week (twice). 
• Went to college beginning at 32.
• Graduated with honors at 38.
• Raised two sons and visited assorted historical sites, zoos, museums, and other fun places.
• Retired at 58.
• Wrote 7 rough drafts novels in 7 years that I'm now trying to complete.
• Since I retired I've traveled some.

OK, so maybe it hasn't been such a boring life after all. 

Things I'll Never Do & Why

I see these Bucket List posted every once in awhile. They don't seem to be as popular as they were when the movie came out but they still show up.

After thinking about it, I decided I would be more accurate to create my UnBucket List. I mean, let's face it, I have a better chance of not doing something than I have of doing it. Right? So, here is some of my UnBucket List

See the Taj Mahal - It is a tomb for gosh sakes! I don't care if her husband built if for her and it is a beautiful building. She's dead. Where's he? Betting he remarried and moved on.

Visit Machu Picchu - This is unfortunate because I'd absolutely love to go here but my knees... mmmm not thinking it is going to happen, so I'll just leave it here.

See the North Pole - I live down the block. I hate cold.

Visit Washington DC - Look, the stuff that's been coming out of Washington for the last decade has made me violently ill. If I go there, I'm likely to die. There's probably a statistic somewhere about that.

Ride an elephant - Do I look stupid? What would be the point? Besides, everything I've read says they are bristly and dirty. Nah, I'm good.

Ride a camel - I have no plans to associate with something that will spit at me. Besides, they just don't look comfortable.

Ride a llama - See above. Unless it is to haul my big self up to Machu Picchu.

Visit the Middle East - I'm waiting until they all get here.

Sail around the world - I've had a cruise. It was enjoyable for a minute but I have to tell you the truth. I saw the whole boat in two days. After that, it is just a mall on water and you're trapped. I adored the shore excursion, which should tell you a lot.

Go deep sea fishing - Nah, just leave me on the beach with an ice chest. Pick me up when you come back.

Shoot an animal for food - I grew up with hunters and learned to shoot before I learned to drive. I was a very good shot. But I'm not interested in hunting so I'll leave the hunting to the pros.

Buy a pool - I'm waiting until I win the lottery. Right.

I suspect there is a lot more but we'll save it for another day.