We arrived in St Petersburg for another round of moochdocking at Dale’s place, until Friday. I promptly overdid it and got laid up by a bout of heat exhaustion and find myself in a bed in Dale’s pool house with Rusty sighing at my midnight restlessness while Layne sleeps aboard GANNET2 outside.
My mood is one of restlessness, because though I enjoy Florida I find myself back where we started a year ago. Layne is enjoying the familiar and remarks on how easy it is to manage a life on the road when we know where we are going. I want change and I feel goofy for being impatient. Change is coming in spades in a couple of months and you’d think I’d know by now how to enjoy the moment.
After the National Forest stop we had a truck stop shower and in clean clothes presented ourselves for lunch with Nancy, a former resident of Big Pine Key at the grandiosely titled World Equestrian Center outside Ocala.
We ate in the outside courtyard in perfect Fall temperatures and reminisced. I left them to it after a while and took Rusty for a walk under the giant live oaks festooned with Spanish moss. I couldn’t shake off the feeling of irritation hanging over me like a cloud.
Layne is a patient listener and she sat me down and worked it out. We have to wait until January before we can leave the southeast for Arizona and ultimately Mexico. Thanksgiving has to be in Florida this year, we have doctor appointments in the Keys quite aside from friends to spend valuable time with. After that, instead of heading west we now have to plan end of year festivities in freezing North Carolina.
It’s good to be around people we care about and I need an attitude adjustment. Knowing that makes me feel worse. I have had more exploration across the US this past summer than most people have had in a lifetime. Yet it’s not enough. I’ve seen places and talked to strangers in landmarks I’ve waited all my life to see. I evaded the horror of Hurricane Ian and the ghastly endless clean up. Dale, a great conversationalist has opened his doors to us and two fabulous spots to park await us in Key West. To say we are lucky grossly understates the case. Indeed we have done plenty already for one retirement.
I think that cascade of good fortune pushes the pessimist in me to wonder when it will end. I fear the two month pause, I fear lose if kind Tim, I fear ease and comfort and don’t trust myself to keep pressing on. What if…? Layne the practical as usual calms me down. Rusty treats me like the idiot I am by stretching out and enjoying the comforts of home while we have them.
The future is there, waiting, but learning to live in the moment is as tough a lesson as ever. You’d think I have it figured out by now. Silly me.
After the pause this week we will have to remember to enjoy Florida once again and that’s not hard to do.
