Number 600

This is my 600th entry in this blog. I can't really wrap my mind around the hours of writing, the years of experiences, underlying these 600 vignettes. 

I've traveled so far since I wrote that first entry, back in August of 2011. I was brimming with hope, excitement, and no small amount of trepidation (though I kept that last part largely to myself). I was leaving behind all that was familiar and taking a chance on adventure. I'd quit the job I'd held for 27 years, sold my house, put all my stuff in storage, and set out to see what I could see.

I saw so much of the beauty I'd hoped to find in this country before my trip was derailed by my bout with cancer. I was so disappointed, so angry at the Universe, when my adventure on the road was assigned a permanent detour before I'd had a chance to unearth the elusive insights I'd hoped to find on my journey. *sigh*

It's a good thing I'd learned how to see beauty in every day while I was on my trip; I needed that skill during the next decade, which brought with it challenge after challenge to my body, heart and soul. Beauty carried me through those dark days while I was learning to live with the effects on my body of my cancer treatments. Kate's cancer, Maria's death, Libby's death, Tony's cancer in the midst of Libby's struggle - I still found, each day I remembered to look for it, Beauty. During the long and lonely days of COVID, and more recently, learning to walk with Bob in his dementia journey, Beauty still pops up its head, reminding me to live today; it's the only day I have.

Yeah... it's been quite the journey. I have learned so much along the way, and writing about the good and the bad has been one of the touchstones of my life; a way to know I am still connected to people who care about me and about my story.

600 pages. There's a book in there, at least one. I started, several months ago, to pull out just a fragment of the story - the part about helping to find Kevin a home.  Cleaning up and refining even that short piece was a lesson for me. Turns out, writing a story is a LOT of work. I know now why more people never finish writing the Next Great American Novel.

But, I do plan to give it a shot. I want to start with my blog entries, then pull together a cohesive tale of my Camper Van saga. It's such a good tale, if I do say so myself, and the notion keeps tugging at me; the tale wants to be told. 

Wish me luck!