Reflections

While in St. George, Utah a few weeks ago I mentioned that we discovered the roof of our RV had a tear in it. Most fifth wheel RV roofs are made of rubber and you have to be careful to avoid hitting any trees or anything else that may tear the roof. We think out awning blew backwards in high winds and caused the tear...but regardless, we had a tear large enough to require 1/3 of the roof to be re-roofed in it's entirety resulting in more $$$ than we had hoped.

While in Provo, Utah last week I mentioned that we had packed up early one morning and were ready to hop in the cars and head to Yellowstone. But, when we brought the slides in and stepped out to lock up the RV, the stairs literally 'fell' off. We had noticed they had been getting lower and lower to the ground over the last several months but just hadn't but 2 and 2 together so to speak, and unfortunately didn't address the problem before it became a big problem. You don't think of steps as being a big issue until you realize you can't get in or out of your 'home' without a 3-4 foot drop, making even trying to take the dogs out for a walk difficult. So we stayed in Provo and Mark went to an RV supply store found our 4-step stairs and installed them. Then, on to Yellowstone.

Which brings me to today. I was fixing a bit of lunch when there was a knock on our door. It was the man next door who asked if we were aware we had a flat tire on our trailer. Uh.....nope, didn't know that either. So, rather than run a few errands and buy some much needed groceries, Mark raised the trailer, removed the tire and took it to a tire store near Yellowstone to get it plugged and then brought the tire back and put it back on the trailer. We've put quite a few miles on this trailer in a short period and will have to replace them within the next year for sure, meaning quite a bit more $$$.

I mentioned last week that I had heard that things always seem to happen in "3's". Well, let's hope it stops at three anyway! In the last month we've had to have a 1) New Roof; 2) New Stairs and 3) Tire Repair. Actually, I realize that we are very blessed that this did not happen while driving 60 mph down the freeway...which could have caused serious damage to the trailer, and possibly injuring or killing us or someone else and that's the only thing that really matters isn't it? And what's more important than our health?

All in all, this journey we're on has indeed been life changing. We're getting to do and see things that we never thought we'd be able to do, certainly not until much later in life. Which brings me to one of the primary reasons we elected to take this journey now, rather than wait until we were 'officially' old enough to retire and it was age appropriate, say--maybe 62 - 65.

Had we waited until when we were "supposed" to retire, would we have been healthy enough to even do it at that time? If not, we would have had such regrets and disappointment, wondering what could've, would've been had we not waited. We've seen this happen to so many people. It's the Journey...not the Destination that counts. Our motto is Seize the Day! Carpe Diem!

We are by no means in a position where we'll be able to actually retire permanently at this point in our lives and we've known that from the beginning. Based on our life experiences, from the death of my immediately family within 5 years (father, mother and brother), to my cancer battle many years ago, we've discovered one thing for sure...Life is Short. Enjoy it. Embrace it. And most importantly Thank God for it. And never, ever take a single day of this precious life for granted.

And we're not.