Going, Going........GONE

To be honest, leaving home for 3 months is a bit harder than either one of us had imagined. We both had to wrap up things with work to ensure that everything was in order. This includes tying up all the "loose ends" so that whoever follows you will understand what has gone on, taking care of all the business you can so the following months will go smoothly for those who cover for you, cleaning out your desk so your replacement has some place to sit and then saying all the good byes.

If that was all we had to do it would be enough, but there still is the business of getting a house in order. They say calamity comes in threes.....our air conditioner went out, the stove went out and finally a large tree branch came down. For those of you who don't know our trees....when we say a large branch we really mean a branch the size of a good size tree. Myriads of repair men came throughout last week and early this week to ensure all the work was complete before our departure.

Saying goodbye to family...our children, grandchildren, siblings and parents reminded us that we would be changing our routine over the next few months and not seeing them on the regular basis that we have come to love and enjoy so much.

The first few days "off" I was sure I was busier than I had ever been at work. One small event occurred that reminded me I that my life was really changing. I had purchased a new pair of walking shoes for our trip and had decided to try them out around the house before we left. Much to my dismay, I developed 3 blisters within the first 30 minutes. My normal return policy is a mad dash at lunch while eating in my car and catching up on telephone calls (sometimes to patients) and frantically doing this in the allotted "lunchtime". I went to Macy's on Tuesday morning.....and let me tell you, there is a large selection of shoes! I actually walked into the store and sat down when I tried on each pair. I took my time and tried on as many as I wanted until I found the right pair. I may not have been physically "gone", but in my mind at that moment, I felt like I had truly started my sabbatical.

So now we are actually gone. Tom's brother Bob drove us to Sacramento where we spent the night with our daughter Amy and Brian and their family. The next morning we came to Travis Air Force base. We are staying in a nice room on the base and currently have a "shot" at a Space A flight to Andrews AFB (Maryland) this evening. We are planning the next steps that we would take after that, if we make this flight. Those steps would include renting a car and driving to Dover AFB (Delaware) to try for an afternoon flight to Rota, Spain. That plan depends on making the flight today. If not we have a plan B for tomorrow. The adventure in Space A travel is that one never knows until it actually happens. In the meantime we are resting and relaxing and enjoying "being in the moment", right where we are. Wherever we are we know we are in God's hands so there is no worry.