August 1, 2016… The movers arrived and loaded all my furniture and other stuff… My Rubicon had been crossed… The next leg of my journey had been fully set in motion, and my new venue for ‘residency’ had come a step closer…
Two days later the closing on my ‘old’ house was completed, and all vestiges of being an ‘Alabamian’ were jettisoned. I am to be, once again, a nominal Floridian. A gypsy, actually, but Florida will be where I stash my stuff and lay-up when not at large in our land. I will also change my driver’s license and voter registration accordingly… library card, too.
One chapter ends, and another begins… Bittersweet, to be sure, when we leave things behind that we care about, especially the people and lifestyles to which we’ve grown accustomed. Relationships are altered, routines are adjusted, often radically overhauled, and the familiar gives way to the new and unexplored. New synaptic connections must be made, as old ones are allowed to atrophy, wither, and vanish.
Change can be spooky, even downright frightening, as uncertainty replaces the predictable and comfortable familiar. Change is also necessary, in my view, and it is something that has always produced excitement, energy, and enthusiasm for whatever lies just ahead. I suppose I’m influenced by the fact that change, particularly significant changes like this one, have always had happy outcomes and positive results for me. Doubtless I would feel differently had things always gone the other way…
My furniture arrived in Florida more or less intact, and then the unpacking process combined with the settling-in issues that logically followed. Now what? Do I settle into another routine like the one I just left? Is that recliner of mine destined to be my remaining life’s primary feature? Will I have to continually pull-up stakes and relocate in order to keep myself re-charged and revitalized? Not necessarily…
Now it is time to do what it is that I love to do… To throw a leg over ALI and head out towards parts unknown! To wander and wonder about with no particular destination or time table in mind. To follow the front wheel and leave the navigation to destiny. The oil and filter have been changed, the gas tank is full, and she does have that eager look about her… I know she is ready, and now at last I am, as well.
It’s been said that the difference between being in the groove and being in a rut is a matter of small detail… I’ve been in a rut for some time… I’ve been needing to climb out, or at least climb up a notch or two, and regain my groove… ALI has been pining too, and it pains us both for her to languish in my buddy Sam’s shed, unattended and un-caressed, while her rider has been busily uprooting their lives.… It appears to me that nothing short of an epic road trip is all that stands between us and happier days! I think we’ll haul-off and do just that.