The Other Reason We Travel

The main reason we wanted to travel full time was to see the world and do it together as a family.  The other reason I love to travel is meeting all the new people we do.  We've had a fairly transient life from the time we were married.  We just never have seemed to want or need to stay put in any one place for too long.  But the last place we lived, and it is the longest I stayed put in one house in my life, was South Florida.  Southeast Florida to be exact.  There is much I loved about the place and the people.  And anyone that has lived there can attest to the fact that people being friendly or close to others is not one of the plusses.  It is just how it is there.

Not to say I didn't make and keep great friends there, because I did.  But they were few and far between.  I didn't realize how starved I was for people interaction until we went on the road.  I soak it up now that I have it so readily available to me everywhere we go.  And I love it.  I really miss it when I don't get it now. 

Today we are sitting inside and I'm a bit pouty about that because we were invited to Happy Hour over at Ken and Faye's.  All the pickle ball players will know who I am talking about because they are Pickle masters or ambassadors or something like that.  And they are really great people to boot.  (As a side note, I realized yesterday that Faye is one of the most regal women I've ever met.  She has the kind of southern accent that makes me feel homesick.  Someone once told me I was a southern Belle at heart and I think she meant that I want to be a southern Belle at heart, like Faye and my friend Marcia!  Unfortunately, I'm more like Jenny from the block so I'll let them be the Belle's!)   I'm really bummed that we are missing the Happy Hour due to rain.  And I am just so grateful that I know we live a life that another and another and another will come our way.  So it's not that big of a deal in the grand scheme of life.

I'm also pondering that the other day we went to Petsmart so we could waste more money on the pets who could care less about the gadgets and gizmos we buy them.  While we were there though, I struck up a conversation with one of the managers and she was just the neatest lady.  I'm thinking I'm going to have to drive back over just to talk to her again.  She had lots of animals for pets, told us about some of them and told us why she moved to Florida, told us how she lost her mom and MIL both within six months and she is from my hometown.  She is the first person I've met from Jackson.  Well the first person that would admit it at least.

I was so touched that she'd share her life with me so freely and I hope I extended the compassion that I felt in my heart when she shared about being here without extended family around.  While I can feel pouty about this or that in my life, she helped me to remember that most of the people I love the most are still here for me to see and visit with and talk to.  And that's a pretty huge thing.  She reminded me that while I lived for a season where I felt pretty lonely neighbor wise, I have now had a season where neighbors are abundant because most people in this country are still very neighborly.  She reminded me of the other reason I love to travel.  The people.  They are every bit as incredible as the landscape!


Living the life in rainy Florida!