35 YEARS AND COUNTING.
July marks my 35th year of packing up my car to venture out on my life journey.
TIME TO FLY THE NEST.
It has been an action packed 35.
Many adventures. Many more to come. I HOPE.
Also a tremendous amount of loss in every form that loss can come.
CAREER, FRIENDSHIPS, FAMILY, LOVE & SELF.
Obstacles and challenges is part of the recipe necessary for GROWTH.
Also our willingness to be OPEN to the lessons and challenges we are presented with.
I have been stumbling for 35 years. The only way that I have been able to still be on this journey is to carve my own path.
My way is not for everyone, that's why it is MY WAY. There is no instruction manual. Even if there were I am not one who likely would have taken the time to read it anyway. My journey would have been much easier if I was the type to take the time.
OH WELL.
I must say 35 years has gone by SO FAST.
They say the older you get the quicker it seems to go. This is a FACT. This is something I confirm with certainty. I AM THERE.
Aging is not all BAD. There is a FREEDOM that comes with the years as they pass.
I personally have suffered much loss through the years.
So being gifted the number of years I have been gifted is just that A GIFT.
So many have not been so fortunate.
WE WANT TO ASK WHY? As these unfortunate events happen around the world and in our own lives I am beginning to understand that even though we want to know why. It is not necessary for us to know.
THIS ONE IS A HARD ONE.
Many of my writings are about loss and saying goodbye YET AGAIN.
This post is also one of those posts.
In this post I say goodbye to three more people that have been a part of my journey and have added to my life for the time we spent together.
1st my friend Susie had to say goodbye to her husband Mike. Mike and Susie hosted me while I was on one of my many cross country trips. We had the opportunity to break bread and share a meal together.
Thank you Susie for introducing me to Mike and sharing stories of the beautiful family that you created. I know as you mourn the loss of your partner and begin this new journey that you are now on. You will be comforted by your FRIENDS, FAMILY & FAITH. I wish you PEACE on this new journey. Mike, thank you for hosting me and our sushi meal together. FUCK CANCER.
REST WELL.
2nd my friend Liz. We were hometown friends and former co-workers. I had not seen you in years. I was saddened to see you were battling a cancer diagnosis. This year on our birthdays you were on my mind as the realization that you would be celebrating your LAST weighed heavy on my mind. Than to see six weeks later your fight had come to an end. FUCK CANCER.
FLY FREE my friend. You whenever I thinks of our friendship I smile. I can really use that $20 RIGHT NOW.
3rd Joshua, I thought of you on July 4th as I was driving back from Horseshoe Bend. We just missed each other in the Grand Canyon by a day. I am planning a trip to Chicago in the fall and was going to send you a message to ask for recommendation on where to stay and what to do. An hour after thinking of you as I was driving home, I got online to see that you not even 12 hours earlier you were killed in a car accident.
SO FUCKING SAD. I AM SO SORRY. It was so nice seeing all of the photos from your trip. YOU LOOKED LIKE YOU WERE IN A REALLY GOOD PLACE AND HAPPY. 31 YEARS OLD AND YOU ARE GONE.
WHY???????????????????????????????????
Sometime we just need to TRUST that there is a reason for EVERYTHING.
Does not make it any EASIER.
I do know that my lessons are not completed yet.
So understanding that, I try to face each new day that I am gifted and ACCEPT WHATEVER I AM PRESENTED WITH.
While I am still hear NAVIGATING, I know there will be much more LOSS & many more CHALLENGES.
I UNDERSTAND THAT THESE ARE A PART OF LIFE.
I MOVE FORWARD WITH GRATITUDE & WONDER FOR WHATEVER IS NEXT.
THANK YOU FOR EVERYONE WHO HAS MADE AN APPEARANCE IN MY LIFE.
#WHERE IS JOE
#THE JOURNEY CONTINUES.
