2020

On March 1, while I was driving home from a church meeting, a black cat crossed my path. I wouldn't call myself superstituous, but I noticed the cat. I noted the color. And I wondered if, on some plane, it could be a bad omen. An hour later my dog got run over by a car. While driving to the veterinary hospital I told Randy: "I'm not saying it means anything, but a black cat ran in front of me while I was driving home earlier." Later I told a woman about the cat. "It's only bad luck if he is running from the right to the left." "He was," I said. "Oh," she replied, suddenly serious. We made more trips to the hospital -- both to the veterinary hospital and the human hospital -- in March of 2019 than we have in the entirety of our 5 years together. Cinnamon spent a week in the hospital, undergoing hernia surgery because her insides had more or less been torn in two. The week after she was released we were back at the h...

I was very much looking forward to our trip to Wyoming. Between my junior and senior years in college I spent the summer at Yellowstone National Park in the northwest corner of the state. It was by far the most foundational summer of my life. My parents probably thought I'd "gone prodigal" (to steal a phrase from Greg Laurie) because I wasn't much interested in hearing from home. But it was the first time I'd ever been immersed in a culture so different from the one I had grown up in. And I couldn't get enough of it. When you are surrounded by people who have always been where you have been and have grown up the way you have grown up, no one thinks to ask who you are. They assume they know. They assume you are just like them. And you can start to assume you are too. But these people I spent the summer with were people from every state and multiple countries and a variety of backgrounds and they all wanted to know: who are you? what do you like? ...

Our travels are starting to get confusing, even to us. How did we ever come up with this crazy plan? We partially blame (and definitely thank!) Randy's mom. When she died in November , she left her motor home to Randy and his brothers in her will. As we thought about leaving Mexico and how to honor Mom, it just felt right to go out on the open road. So, on leg 1 of this journey, we stopped in Pie Town, New Mexico, to fill the motor home with the belongings we would want to take with us (including Mom's ashes) for the RV portion of our journey. And now, a month later, we were heading back to Pie Town. We flew Allegiant Airlines from Stockton to Phoenix because it was several hundred dollars cheaper than anything else we could find. We know Allegiant has been in the news lately for safety concerns, but we've flown them several times, and put our granddaughters on their flights as well, and have always had positive experiences. (Incidentally, our flights from Ohio to...

We finally arrived in New Vienna, Ohio, on Tuesday, April 17. 17 days after leaving Mexico. It was a quiet homecoming. Dad was in town, bringing home his combine which had been in the shop. And Mom was napping. But Jovi's joyous face held all of Randy's and my attention. She was dumped off by a stranger here 12 years ago, and she's delighted to call it home ever since. It was obvious by her galloping across the lawn that she remembered, from her paws to her soul, that this was her happy place. We unloaded a few things, started a load of laundry, took a walk down the lane and soon were greeted by my parents. Later that evening my older brother and his family joined us. And just like when we spent time with my younger brother in Texas, we were delighted to have children around (though we are still adjusting to the fact that they can understand us when we speak!). Even though it has been busy, the week has been relaxing. And I see why Randy has so longed to move h...

Maybe it's just Randy and me, but we tend to wait until the last minute to pack our bags, and take on a ton of other projects (that we've been putting off) at the same time. Sure, I'll write a book this month. Sure, Randy will put in a new water heater for you. Of course we have time to take the girls out for pizza and the boys out for a dune buggy ride and have a slumber party with all 21 of them while buying last minute souvenirs and squeezing in a 30-minute massage. If you are a procrastinator like us, you get it. And you get why I'm playing a little "catch-up" and "I don't have time for a lengthy blog or photos" today. So here goes: my next 3 donations went to Habitat for Humanity , Baldwin Wallace University and GreySave . *** 40-40-40 ... Day 28: Habitat for Humanity When Randy and I let our friends know that we would be leaving San Felipe next week and traveling east, our friends Dave and Pam responded, "We'll be in Lo...

Anyone who truly knows me knows how important this little girl is in my life. This summer we'll have spent 12 years together. My dad found her, locked in his barn, when she was only 6 weeks old. She was an ornery puppy, hard to potty train and chewing on anything she could get her little puppy teeth into. But she showed up at just the right time... the week of my first divorce. I put up a good front on the outside, but most days this little girl was the only reason I got out of bed. She kept me moving and going. Since then we've been on countless adventures together. Moving from Ohio to Indiana, then back to Ohio, next to California, and then down to Mexico. And we're about to embark on another epic road trip across the U.S. once again. What does Jovi have to do with my 40-40-40 challenge? Today's donation goes to Paws Assisting Veterans ( PAVE USA ), which trains service dogs for veterans who suffer from mental or physical disabilities as a result...