The week that John retired

Monday was his last day of work.  Tuesday was  a new beginning with errands, resting a little and lunch with a friend.  It was off to a great start, then we got the phone call.  John's 94 year old mother had fallen and was on the way to the emergency room.  Plane reservations, phone calls, packing the suitcase and he left the next morning to fly to Kansas City.  Lucille declined quickly and passed away on May 15, 2011, John's birthday.  We felt the sting of death but recognized the fact that she had lived life on her own terms, never having to enter an assisted living facility and going quickly when her time came.  The memorial service celebrated the wonderful life that she had lived.

And life goes on...

Now or never

John and I went hiking last Sunday, on a glorious afternoon along the Blue Ridge Parkway.  This is something that we, for the past 8 years, have never had time to do.  The view from the Craggy Gardens Overlook was 360 degrees of beautiful blue-green mountains.  And it struck me that life is changing in a wonderful way.  Now that John has retired, we have TIME and I don't want to miss a minute of it.  Sooooo, I am starting a blog to journal our experiences and capture the adventure.  I hope that I am loyal to the process and keep it up.