When One Door Closes

December has been a very long month that began with festivities, but ended after many exhausting days.  Personally, I've been pushing my body and mind to reach my cycling and reading goals for the year (yes, I can!). However, a friend's unforeseen heart procedure on Christmas Eve made for a very stressful and demanding final week. In the end, all seems good.  

So, 2020 has begun and I'm on task, but first I must take a look at my 2019 experiences before jumping into the new decade. As has been my pattern these past few years, the winter began with a bit of insanity in southern Florida, but ended with a series of enjoyable reunions in the northern part of the state. I then rolled into Greenville, South Carolina for a month-long reality check, and Mount Airy, North Carolina for a taste of life in Mayberry.  

Unfortunately, May brought great sadness with the passing of my sister and a month-long visit with family. A brief retreat to the mountains of New Hampshire helped, as well as a month of rest and rejuvenation in Rothesay, New Brunswick. From here, it was a special summer of camping along the Acadian Coast and reconnecting with my roots. 

A stop in Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and North Carolina dropped me back into Florida in time for an approaching cat 5 hurricane, but my guardian angels are still with me, so I stepped onto the plane, as planned, for a glorious five weeks in Croatia. Five is my lucky number!  The year closed with reunions in Maryland, South Carolina and Florida, and yes, here we go again. 

I read an interesting novel at year's end where the character would circumstantially ask, "When you were a little girl, madam, was this the woman you dreamed of becoming?"  As I ponder 2020 this seems like a very good question to ask, and now that I've returned to solo mode, I may actually find an answer.   

​I don't plan to settle in place in 2020, though it's obvious that I'm staying in place longer.  It feels like I'm living life in seasons rather than weeks now. The first quarter of this new year will certainly be spent in Florida as I must stay warm, but I'm plotting already as I hope to enjoy a bike tour this year, experience a trip to Portugal and maybe Spain, do a writing retreat, and work a political campaign. Oh so much to do in this life!