In a previous blog post written a few months back, I mentioned missing Oregon and “Friday Night Fires” at my future brother and sister in law’s house. Well, on Sunday, we had a special treat, “Sunday Night Fires.” It’s been wonderful to be here in the Willamette Valley of the great state of Oregon, surrounded by fir, pine, sequoia, and cedar trees and mountain after mountain after mountain…If only I had enough time to hike them all! Sitting around the campfire, enjoying each other’s company while warming our bare feet in the cool evening air of July in Oregon is part of what makes me yearn for more someday. I have no idea where in Oregon we’ll end up or what we’ll be doing for a living when we finally pick up and leave our island ways behind us, but I do know we’ll end up here eventually. I can’t imagine not testing the waters of Oregon for a few years or maybe even permanently.
My brothers and I have never been afraid to travel and move away from our home state of Alabama. Only my parents still live there, but only after having tried out some other towns and places away from their birth homes first and then moving back just a couple of years ago to be near family who have all stayed in pretty much the same area their whole lives. In the beginning, it was very tough to move so far away from home as I didn’t just skip across the pond, but instead I leapt across the ocean and moved halfway around the world my first time. Today, I can’t imagine not having moved out to the islands or traveling to different countries on vacations. My life has been so enriched by that, and I’m blessed to have had the chance to see as much of the world as I have and to get to know and be involved in the lives of so many diverse cultures and peoples. I told my fiancé the other day that I was looking forward to retirement to which he jokingly replied, “Is that a red flag?” J But in all seriousness, I don’t mean I am looking forward to the day when I don’t have to work and can sit at home and do nothing type of retirement. I look forward to road trips in my homeland, to visiting all the places nearby that I have never visited before. I look forward to being involved in more volunteer and non-profit groups and causes. I look forward to focusing my efforts on serving others and giving back to the communities of this life that have so enriched mine along the way.
I could see myself doing volunteer tutoring or teaching others to read. I would love to do more with the 4-H communities in the states. I could see myself volunteering at a women’s shelter or working with young girls who have lost their way for a while. I could write more, have more time to complete my scrapbooks of photos and family mementoes for my boys. I’m sure my days will fill up quickly, even in retirement. I’m sure I’ll probably never make it around to doing all the things I’d like to do even then, but God willing, I’ll live a long, full life, contented with wherever I end up and whatever little I’ve been able to give back to others along the way.
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