Who am I?
I'm a Texan chick living my dream with my Scotsman DH and Lhasa Apso/? wee doggie, currently in New Jersey.
It's all my Dad's fault, you know.
My first trailer (we called 'em "trailers" back then) trip was literally as a babe in arms. That was soon-to-be 54 years ago. I spent my childhood going to weekend rallies and summer trips (often national rallies) with my parents in our various trailers, mostly Holiday Ramblers. Often my Mom might say, "Don't you want to come learn how to cook so-and-so?" and my response would be something like, "I can't. I'm helping Dad change the oil in the car." My Mom always said she was a tree married to a fish.
Apparently I dipped my big toe deeply into my Dad's wanderlust gene pool.
In adult life, I always had a tent, starting small and then ending up with a two-roomer I could successfully, if not comically, erect by myself. My then dog, Baby, was sweet and only smiled, but did not laugh. I don't know about the folks at the neighboring campsites, however . . .
Long story short over the years - marriage, no kids except the furry kind, breast cancer 11 years ago, survived the carnage of cancer and subsequently finding myself flying solo through life again, birth of the full-timing dream, courted by a Scotsman from 4000 miles away (he proposed over the phone) who had only camped under the stars in Scotland, remarriage, dream becomes dormant, pop-up camper, bumper pull trailer, emergence of the dream and hoping DH would share it, and now a 38' fifth wheel with one-ton truck in which I do the towing. My DH has given me two grown stepsons and now we have an Irish/Scots grandson!
I do the towing because I enjoy it and Dave enjoys being the passenger. I have seen most of this country of ours; Dave has not. It's his turn. That's part of the joy of this life, sharing my country with him.
Whew! Got that? Okay. Moving along . . .
Setting sail in June 2010, on Feb. 23, 2012, we will have been in New Jersey one year working as an on-site security team at a dormant paper mill. Pre-retirement age, we do need to work most months of the year, but that's okay . . . we're loving where we're at both geographically, professionally and emotionally with a good gig, great surroundings and terrific people.
Besides the security work, I am also a Reiki Master/Teacher and AHA CPR instructor. These days I find myself dabbling in Web design again, being asked to create a site/social media marketing plan for a demolition company. Writing is a passion/obsession. (Can you tell??
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I am fortunate to be living my personal dream. Dave is getting to see some of the USA. We have a pretty laid-back lifestyle with minimal stress and, hey, if we should happen to become dissatisfied with our situation . . . our house has wheels.
We decided to full-time now instead of waiting until "retirement," whatever that may be these days. We are acutely aware that life is short and there are no guarantees of a tomorrow for anyone. Carpe diem, gals.
Why am I here in this forum? Hey, I work with guys all day. Need I say more, ladies? I do keep in touch with friends, gals and guys, but sometimes I miss the company of women. Ya know what I mean? Not just women, but those who can relate to the lifestyle I'm living so ridiculously gleefully.
So there you have it. That's me in a very small nutshell. Nut? Moi?
Thanks for reading and I look forward to visiting with you!
Cheers,
Betty