Tuesday Thoughts - What I Think I May Know For Sure

Month three on the road. Wowzer, what a ride...

Mixed feelings as we put "Flamingo Landing Studio on Wheels" on hiatus (sad to see our silver beauty go into a storage facility in Arizona for the next two months).

Will miss our tiny life in our travelling tin can, rolling into new adventures/learnings each day...however we are excited about our Mexico getaway in a few weeks, equally pumped to hit Whistler and Vancouver, and to catch up with friends back on the homefront in mid January...

We have been asked by many what we have gained thus far on this mad adventure of ours. Below, in priority, are our top three learnings:

TAKE CARE OF YOUR HEALTH, IT IS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING YOU HAVE (WITHOUT IT YOU HAVE NOTHING)

Even with extended US health care, be aware and take care (those of you that have read JDog's recent post are in the loop, he experienced the US medical system first hand). Fine print exclusions and deductibles on extended coverage leave your head spinning, you reach the point where it does not matter what anything costs, you need your health to function - period end of story!  Jason was without it for the last week, unable to enjoy and live each day to its fullest.  He is at an 85% recovery level, we realize that without our health, we have nothing!

THE GREATEST GIFT IN LIFE IS FRIENDSHIP, AND WE HAVE RECEIVED IT

Can not imagine life without family and friends in it.  The last three months would have been extremely flat without our tribe. Started this trip visiting Nanci at St Paul's before we departed, what we all thought was only to be a few days in the hospital to clear up an infection, turned into a message from her husband a few days later saying we lost her. A month after that, we lost another friend, a different circumstance (while she is still here in the world, she is no longer with us),  it makes you realize how fragile life truly is and how empty it is without friends.  We are extremely grateful for friendships in our life, old friends as well as new friends (that we met along the way on our latest adventure). Special shout outs to friends that reached out and were there for us as we passed through their towns; Ray and Sharon Cymbaluk in Sardis, opening up their driveway to us to trial run the "boon docking" thingy prior to our launch date; Daron and Kim Mayes in Salmon Arm, for making our first evening on the road extra special; Thera Lovelace & Mike, for adding a sparkle to Jason's visit to his hometown of Regina and ensured it was an A plus experience for me (and for him, with a football game ticket to cheer on his home team); Heather Mokelki, for the amazing afternoon meal and introduction to the artsy side of Regina; Pat Lovelace for the evening around her dinner table with family and her amazing homemade food; Doris & Dennis Dekelva in Winnipeg, proof that with friendships you can always pick up right where you left off no matter how many years pass by; Tami Shiels and Marvin MacGyver McKie in Northern Ontario, simply could not imagine life without TamTam in it; Lesley Milner and Eric Hindman in London, my sister from another mother, when we spend time together time truly does stand still; Brian and Erica Cymbaluk in The Hammer, JDog still talks about that meal saying it was the best meal ever; Mutt and Jeff (Mom and Dad) in Oakville, my parents said there was no way the Tin Can would see the light of day on their driveway in their upscale community for even one night, well guess again, it shone bright on their driveway for three nights (me thinks they secreatly want to borrow the tin can for their own adventures, Mom did admit that her grandmother was a travelling gypsy soul, which was news to my sister and I); Sandra and Shawn Donnan in Stirling, Shawn was an inspiration watching him now live his authentic life in the creative realm; Sheila Graham and Ralf in Amherst, for the night full of laughter, games, veggie food and ghosts; Dean and Laura Webb, once again it was like no time had passed since the Belgium years (all those decades ago); Suzanne and Gerry Dionne, for a night to remember in their cozy homestead with homemade dumplings to boot; Juanita and John Duncan in Arizona, for their love and a place for Jason to lay his head when his infection set in, best in-laws a gal could ask for.  And to all our friends following our adventure and checking in with us while on the road, your notes meant the world to us!

BE FEARLESS IN THE PURSUIT OF WHAT SETS YOUR SOUL ON FIRE

I have always said: "if you wait till you are ready to pursue your Soul Fire Passion,  you will be waiting for the rest of your life.  Jump into your passions today, as there is no guarantee of tomorrow, you'll be pleasantly surprised that there is a safety net to catch you when you free fall! JDog and I took the leap of faith and it is astonishing to see what has come our way.  All of a sudden, Jason is in high demand back in Canada for his cyber security talent, and to boot, his recent photo work from our travels has been picked up, and will be published this winter.  He'll have some serious decisions to make soon as to what pathway to follow (hmmm wonder if he can have his cake and eat it too)! My work has been picked up (where least expected) and the icing on the cake, a dream come true, an art gallery on the main drag in old Scottsdale has asked to feature my canvas work.  Our mini #artinmotion pop up exhibits across the country have been successful. Super amazed at the trades we have been able to do, top chefs for meals and RV Resort owners for places to dock.  What has stood out the most for us is the people that have made up the 100 plus places we have stopped at. An afternoon chat with a fellow artist in the Eastern Townships of Quebec (his art 100 percent recycled, all made from pieces of thrown out garbage finds) to fireside evening chats to those that have lost their earthly possessions in hard hit areas of Southern Texas, to driveway pot luck dinners with snowbirds in Arizona, commmunity spirit is indeed alive and well.  One thing we noticed about true community spirit is their acceptance of others, we were blessed to come across very few close knit communities that did not allow others to join in (other than the incident I wrote about in Maine, all have welcomed us with open arms).  The sucess of community does indeed have to do with the acceptance of others, that is the only way growth and learning can occur!

And on that note, we return to our community we left this summer, wiser and more open to change than we have ever been before.  We also return with the realization that we have to be hands on to help be that change!

Peace Out

Till Next Year...

And to all our Vancouver peeps we will be hosting something very special next week for ya all, stay tuned for deets.

Sharon & JDog xo