Bumbling along…

Now that I’m in my 70th decade, I wish I could say I’ve reached a pinnacle of success, but the reality is I’m not even close. Most days, I try not to think too deeply about it and continue to plug along with my writing and art ventures. Meanwhile, my neighbors are retired with nice retirement incomes living in big houses, tootling around on electric bikes, jaunting off to the mainland for haircuts and a day of shopping, vacationing in Europe (at least before the pandemic), and on.

I’m not the jealous or envious type but I do feel wistful at times when I think if I had only played the safe card and agreed to live status quo, I might have a comfy life like theirs—or at least a retirement fund. BUT that was never in the cards for me. Retired? I couldn’t imagine it.

Much to my mother’s dismay (and my daughter’s), I gleefully tromped the Napali Coast, lived near the edge of an active volcano, hiked and carved out a barebones existence in the desert of New Mexico. Oh, and drove the Alcan Highway to Anchorage and back with three cats and a dog. Before that, I stuffed a 17-foot UHaul trailer to the gills, trailered my car and drove 1,500 miles to the San Juan Islands. Those were whirlwind days where I traded “safe” for travel and adventure.

Eventually, I ended up in Friday Harbor, WA, the county seat for the San Juan Islands. This is where I live today. My needs are simple now, and since the pandemic barren of wanderlust. Writing, illustrating, gardening, strolling the beach are my main events now.

BUT, I will publish a few more books, meet a few more people and still have a few more adventures up my sleeve. Stay tuned!