Vacations

Vacations are for gaining perspective and adjusting assumptions. Michael and I have been out on the boat for almost three weeks. As ties to our home dock became more tenuous, fundamental perceptions gradually illuminated our awareness.

Our hometown: Its rural charm has been nibbled away and elbowed out by the seduction of convenience, expedience and fashion. Wal-Mart has come to town, challenging local merchants to upgrade their curb appeal and to keep an alert eye on current trends. The downtown area has been “quaintified,” with remodeled shoppes and special events (farmers’ markets, monthly walk-abouts, annual festivals) evolving from rural to suburban, less a geographic designation than a socio-cultural phenomenon. Expectations have ratcheted up so that “going to town” is more a mall experience of selecting from many options than, as formerly, determining what we will “settle for” among what is available locally.

The towns we visited reminded us why we chose this area for our retirement. The whip lash of deceleration, stepping aside from the constant sprint of a fully-packed retirement to the sauntering pace of a paradoxically recent earlier era was extreme.

For example, thinking we could post blogs from an Internet “hot spot,” we packed the computer and sailed away. The hot spots were inadequate to non-existent, isolating us from the world of the Internet. Many towns had no groceries or adequately stocked convenience stores within walking distance of the local wharf (although most boasted an ice cream emporium within steps of the dock). So until my health has stabilized we will sail closer to home and the comforting presence of practitioners familiar with my exotic medical requirements. Remote is okay as long as it is near home.

You are never far from our thoughts, no matter where we are. Stay well!

Copyright 2009
Lynn Chapman-Adler
www.lindalater.blogspot.com
Posted: May 29, 2009

Middle Ground

For years I have claimed to seek a “nice boring life,” relief from the intense engagement required for riding a torrent of experience. Well, here it is and this is what it looks like: The mental landscape around me is arid, an occasional tuft of brown grass ground to a nubbin by barely stirring air. Dry moguls relieve the sere sameness; they grope for the company of the next anomaly. I have a prairie dog view, eyes at ground level, eyebrows raised in barren hope of relief from the daily blah-dom.

I still have the option of hunkering down into the dim world of disengagement, or leaving the flavorless safety of the burrow behind and stepping out in search of new experiences. I finally have the stamina to take on a few non-cancer-related commitments, lifting some of the burden from Michael and giving me opportunity to catch up on a two year plus backlog of paperwork and projects.

By no means do I imply that the battle with cancer is won. We are at a new plateau, a resting place on the trail between avalanche and the bunny slope. The remainder of my life will be spent in watchful observance of my health and adherence to positive physical and mental disciplines. Cancer is well known to lash back after a period of quiescence. Here is where Michael and I look for your company. To know that we have such loyal, caring companions for this trip is comforting.

This is the most exciting period of boredom I’ve had in my life!


Copyright 2009
Lynn Chapman-Adler
www.lindalater.blogspot.com
Posted: May 7, 2009