It has been very nice to just hang out with Melisa in Des Moines and catch up with her. Her plans for the summer are in place, and it should be a great adventure. She will be in Verona, Venice, Malta and London. What a great opportunity.
We are now back where we started, packing up the house, getting movers for the remainder of our stuff, and trying to rent the Ann Arbor house. It was a great trip, a wonderful adventure, and a real transition time, for both Pat and me. It couldn't have gone better. There are so many highlights I don't even know where to start. If you are first reading the blog, scroll through it and you will see the many things we experienced. Dan
I am transitioning now back to Michigan, back to home. I haven't even sorted out how I feel yet, as I am just task oriented and focused on getting our Ann Arbor house packed up. Knowing we did this, knowing we both want to make this an annual trek as long as we can, is a good feeling. it's nice to have this sense of unity as we have both moved into retirement. It was very hard to leave our children in their various locations , hard to say good-bye, a joy to see their daily lives and how they are all thriving. I tend to be a person who is in the moment, sometimes too much so, probably, but past events and growing older has made me this way.
So, this does make me focused on the day at hand, which, as I write this, is finishing up our move from Ann Arbor to Cedar. I am beginning to think about the good times we've had in the house we are leaving, the many memories of 20 years, the longest time either Dan or I have actually lived in one house. So, I am rather focused on that now. This 3 months has made me realize I am ready to move out of Ann Arbor, to move on. It's helped me see the possibilities of change, of not having to hang on to the familiar. I truly learned that last year when I went out to California alone, (www.sfstairways.blogspot.com) but feel so good that Dan feels the same way. I think we have good times ahead.
I think about aging, I see it in the mirror, I see physical problems beginning to happen to friends and to us. It makes me feel that this time in our lives is important to take some of these risks; it doesn't have to be the travel we did, it can be whatever, but taking the risks to find the joys in life is so fulfilling. Laura, my sister-in-law, is finding this in her art work, continuing to stretch herself to grow as an artist. it makes her uncomfortable sometimes, but then, she feels such satisfaction that she took the risk. It's like a hump you have to get over, to "get out there." I did not do this when I was younger, but I feel like I have done this now. I know that I can do this. So, wherever you are, there you are! (Jon Cabat-Zinn)
Pat
p.s. one last picture--I cannot resist this---we had Tom and Ruth over for lunch a few days ago, and I used the opportunity to make these cupcakes that someone made for Jay and Lindsey's BBQ. 
Are they hamburgers or cupcakes?
Are they hamburgers or cupcakes?
