Sh*ts gettin' real

Time flies. POD is loaded in my driveway and I'm 'camping' on my living room floor in my empty house with the one pillow that somehow escaped being packed or tossed. Dinner and beers (which after this crazy day of packing were so welcome) with several friends but I felt like I wanted to spend this last night in my house alone.  15 years, 3 kids, 2 dogs, numerous cats...it's a strange feeling. Happy, sad, excited, free and....totally exhausted. More on all that later. Feeling very lucky. 

My truck ❤️

One week countdown and things seem to be falling in to place. My house is under contract. And I sold my truck....bittersweet. 

Can I just say that I loved my truck. It represented a lot of things to me. It was the first car that I bought completely on my own. It made sense for so many reasons. Extended cab for kids and all their friends and a big bed to haul ladders, furniture and whatever else. It made several trips to Dallas. One with kids and one with an acquaintance who became a friend on that drive. It took me to more soccer games, volleyball games and cross country meets then I can count. Even when I got another car, and it didn't get much action, I could go out there on the coldest of mornings and it would fire right up.  Yesterday, when I drove it around for the last time, I kept patting it and telling it how much it had meant to me. A little crazy? Maybe...but I've probably done crazier things. 

But, the good news. One of my cousins bought it for her high school son to get back and forth to school and he is so excited. I know he'll take good care of it (let's face it, I loved it, but it had to be pretty hardy to put up with me) and now it gets to start a whole new chapter. Me too. So, on that note...time to go pack a few more boxes!!

One month countdown....

I walked by string cheese today at the grocery store and it made me smile. I'm pretty sure I haven't had any since August 2014, but it's about to become a staple in my diet again. And I'm happy about that! Tortillas, tuna, ramen.....it's all comin' back! 

I have just about all the gear I need. A few minor small purchases and I'm ready. And oh yea, still gotta sell my house. There's that.  

Sometimes I wonder why I love the long-distance hiking thing so much. Even when I'm at home, and it's a cold night out and I'm glad to climb under a bunch of warm blankets in my comfy bed, I crack open the window just a tiny bit. For the fresh air, and the sounds outside. For a neighborhood right in the middle of town, we have an inordinate number of owls. Pretty darn cool. 

But honestly, I think it all began in grade school when I read the book 'My Side of the Mountain'. 

27 times :). About a kid who runs away and lives in a tree. And oddly enough, as I was cleaning closets and purging and packing, I came across....

No joke! I took it as a sign that I'm doing the right thing.  I've gotten rid of a lot, I mean A LOT, of stuff the last few months, but this book definitely makes the cut. It's a keeper.

People probably wonder how I can afford to take five months off and go live in a tent...no, I am not independently wealthy. Not even close. At all. But I guess it's a priority for me. So, when I'm 90 and living in a van down by the river, I hope you all come down to say hi. I promise I'll have plenty of beer in the mini-fridge.