Making a List and Checking it Twice!

Did you think I had vanished? It's been a while since I've posted because we've been so busy. We hit the road a bit in the RV this summer and remembered why we love it so much. Sometimes you have to reactivate your feelings when you get old...that includes our use of the RV. As you age, things do tend to get a bit stale so you have to shake things up a bit. We tend to get into a rut and forget to try new things. When we decided to travel this summer, we sat down with the Atlas and figured out how to work a trip around the wedding of a dear friend, picking Mackinac Island and the UP of Michigan and northern Wisconsin since we hadn't been there. When you travel as much as we do, you tend to struggle to find new places. The last two years we've done cruises to both coasts of Canada and Alaska, but really didn't want to cruise again this year. The international instability is also a concern...when there are riots in London, you know things are in turmoil. This turmoil is a great reason to explore the U.S.! We spent Labor Day at a family reunion in East TN with the kiddos and grandkiddos followed by a quick trip to NC, leave soon for a weekend with a dear friend in Tunica, MS, and head to the Natchez, MS Fall Pilgrimage in October. We can't wait to tour the Antebellum Mansions!

The other compelling reason to stay closer to home is money! The stock market is fluctuating to the point that I'm dizzy. When you are retired, you don't have a lot of time for the market to rebound! I think that I also would prefer that my little dab of money be spent at home to help our faltering economy since our fearful leaders in DC don't seem to be doing anything. We have been so blessed to have traveled so much internationally over the years that if we never leave the U.S. again, we'll be fine. I still want to go to Ireland, but I still have a few more good years so hopefully I will get there some day!!

So your tip for the day...re-energize and shake things up a bit. Get out of your rut. Even if you can't afford the trip of a lifetime, look closer to home and see what the U.S. has to offer...it doesn't even have to be far from home. Most of our trips have been regional and we are having a ball. We have a nephew and his family that recently moved to Nashville and find more to do here than we even realized. Shakespeare in the Park, lots of local and neighborhood festivals, art gallery crawls and plays and programs at local colleges are all things they've discovered. We just forget to look and then complain that there is nothing to do! When I worked, I always had a "to do" list and plans for the upcoming month. Crack open your favorite beverage and sit down with your significant other and make a list of places you'd like to see and things you like to do.They don't have to be costly and, in fact, many local events are free. 

Enjoying life requires a little effort on your part! Activities just don't drop in your lap...if you sit in front of the TV day in and day out, or do the same old things over and over, you may not shorten your life, but you'll certainly shorten your fun! So check the paper on Friday or Sunday for upcoming activities, check local and regional websites for festivals and celebrations, and don't forget your local colleges with theater departments who often offer plays very inexpensively! Be proactive and get out of the house! You'll be glad you did.