Journey To A New Life – Part 5
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Now that our visit to Columbus, OH is almost over and we leave after breakfast in the morning, I find myself thinking about how our lives will change in Pittsburgh. I don’t know a lot of the details yet: where we will live, what kind of jobs we will have, what our daily lives will be like, etc. I am feeling that it is definitely time to finish our travel journey and start our new life journey!
We have been like vagabonds in a way – we mapped out a general route, but have selected each stopping point as we traveled according to how we felt and what we wanted to do in the present moment. It has definitely been interesting – and we have learned a lot along the way, as I have shared in each journal entry.
On the road from Walton, KY to Columbus, OH, we developed brake problems – first on one side of the trailer, and then on the RV brakes (since the trailer brakes weren’t able to assist in the braking of the whole vehicle). Jan did something which he thinks have fixed the problem. However, we will only know for sure when we start driving tomorrow. If anything feels “wrong” we will stop at a brake repair place and have them take a look at it. We have come too far to take a chance on this last 200 miles or so of our trip.
We know now, to just visualize that everything will go fine and we will be able to do whatever it takes to make this last drive safe and pleasant.
The past day and a half have been wonderful – we had a very good visit with my sister, Donna, with my niece Anna and her beautiful daughter Bella. We ate out at good restaurants and had a chance to visit and catch up. Now, at least, it is not such a long trip to see each other again – either her coming to us in Pittsburgh or us going to Columbus. Tomorrow morning we will have a final breakfast together in the little town of Westerville, where we are staying (outside of Columbus), and then we will get underway.
It’s funny – in spite of having had a relaxing day, we are both feeling tired. Maybe it is that we are just tired of traveling and are ready to go the final distance to get to our destination. Is that how it is in life? At the beginning of a new experience, we are all excited and gung-ho, but don’t really know what we are quite doing yet. Then we start to get in the swing of the trip and start feeling like we know the ropes and can enjoy the rhythm and flow of what’s happening. Towards the end of the journey, it starts to feel like we have been going forever and we are beginning to look forward to the end. Finally, in the last part of the trip we are weary of the experience and tired – and we want it to be over so we can consolidate, regroup, and start the next adventure.
So that is where we are now two and a half weeks since we started traveling. The last 200 miles to Pittsburgh – and the beginning of the next chapter.
I feel our journey will continue as we start to define how we will live in our new home city, so I will write a few more entries, if anyone is interested in hearing more. It has certainly been great to share what has been happening, and it has served to be a wonderful way to regroup my experiences. Thank you everyone who has been reading these messages for your interest and your friendship.
