As most of you already know, Dave and I made a conscious decision to quit our perfectly fine jobs to travel around the U.S. over the last year. When we shared the news of our decision, there were so many people who said things like: “That is my dream!”; “I’ve always wanted to do that”; “That’s what I’m going to do when I retire”. Could we have waited until we retired? Maybe. But, we aren’t on the same retirement schedule so there was that. And, more importantly, we were compelled NOT to wait because we did not want to chance something happening to one or both of us that would prevent us from being able to do this one-in-a-lifetime trip. Plus, we knew we’d be doing a lot of hiking so we wanted to do it while we were both physically able to. If we waited five or ten years there was certainly a possibility that our bodies just wouldn’t be able to keep up or worse, that we might be faced with a fatal illness. So, for us, we knew we couldn’t put it off and we are so glad we didn’t.

During our travels, we had the most fortunate opportunity to reconnect with family and friends and make new friends which was definitely one of the highlights of our year. Sadly, for some, things unexpectedly changed for them since we last saw them. We met a lovely couple in Colorado last July and spent a fun-filled afternoon with them in the bar. They invited us to visit them in Plant City, Florida so we took them up on it. We went to their home for dinner and had a great evening and even surprised them a second time on an unexpected trip back across Florida. We made fast friends and hoped they might visit us in N.J. Sadly, not long after our last visit we received an email that Linda was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and they’ve since had to sell their home in the country and move into a condo closer to family. We’re not sure Linda will remember meeting us. We stopped in to visit Dave’s first wife Belinda’s sister and her family in California last October. We parked the RV in their driveway and spent several days with them catching up on so many years gone passed. About 2 months ago, we got the news that Dee was hospitalized and then diagnosed with Stage 4 ovarian cancer. She is currently undergoing chemotherapy and her autistic son is having difficulties dealing with her illness. We visited an old friend and colleague, Eric and his wife Kim in Phoenix in December. We hadn’t seen them 7 and 14 years respectively. We had such an enjoyable visit – great conversation, lots of laughs and delicious home-made pancakes! We received bad news from Eric just a few days ago that he is in Stage 5 renal failure and needs a kidney donor ASAP. We are hopeful he finds a match soon. While we were in Florida, we paid a visit to Dave’s Aunt Lil and spent a lovely afternoon reminiscing about the past and learning things about his Mother’s family we hadn’t known before. I had never met her so it was nice for me to put a face with the name and she was so delighted to see her “handsome” nephew after nearly 30 years. She passed away 2 weeks after our visit.  Lastly, our beloved Bing, Belinda’s father, Mike’s and Matt’s grandfather, had some health issues in 2017 that forced him into a rehabilitation center. We surprised him with a visit last September which lifted his spirits and ours. Had we been in N.J., this likely would not have happened. We went back again for a few days in early December and then, again, at Christmas. Mike and Matt flew out and the six of us got to be together on Christmas for the first time in 15 years. And, as a bonus, we were able to help Bing & Mac celebrate their wedding anniversary on 12/26 which was such a joy and treat and a memory forever etched in our hearts. After Christmas, Mac voluntarily moved Bing home and orchestrated in-home rehab enabling him to regain strength and get back some lost independence. Things were looking up for him. And, then, out of the blue, last Saturday, we got the dreaded phone call that Bing had taken a turn for the worse. His body was shutting down. He passed away the very next day.

So, you see folks, this is the stuff Dave and I were worried about. The things you cannot predict that completely turn your live upside down in a blink of an eye. We are so incredibly grateful for the chance to be with these 5 people and all the others throughout our travels. We know how fortunate we were to be able to take a year off from our regular, working lives to explore the country and live out our dream. We do not take any of it for granted. So, at the risk of sounding preachy, I am compelled to remind you that LIFE IS SHORT. There are no guarantees. The clock ticks, the years pass and our bodies tend to slow and weaken. There are any number of things that can sneak up on you and topple your world. Get off that couch! Take a walk in the woods. Swim in the ocean. Open that special bottle of wine. Book that dream vacation! Call that friend you’ve been meaning to but just haven’t found the time. Go visit your loved ones whom you haven’t seen since you cannot remember when. Get out that bucket list and start checking things off! And if you don’t have a bucket list, make one. Don’t wait to get to the end and say; “Oh, I wish I would’ve done that, gone there or said that”. Don’t regret the things you didn’t do or meant to do. Stop putting it off until tomorrow. Live for today. Carpe Diem!

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Warner “Bing” Bordier, March 3, 1932 – July 15, 2018