Feb. 27 to March 12, 2007

Life is short. Break the rules. Forgive quickly. Kiss slowly. Love truly. Laugh uncontrollably. And never regret anything that made you smile.
Life may not be the party we hoped for, but while we’re here we should dance....

It’s Tuesday evening, Feb. 27.
I am at my favorite Colorado River camping park – Mayflower County Park just north of Blythe, California, for two nights. Finally, I am in short-sleeved shirts, although wearing long-sleeved ones in the early morning; I have pushed my turtleneck sweaters to the back of the closet.

After a busy bunch of days in the Phoenix area with family and high school friends, I was due for a day to myself. Jeremiah needed cleaning and reorganizing both inside and out. The park rangers allow motorhome washing because the parking spaces are grass and they need watering.

In between cleaning and taking care of some writing, I took walks along the river, visited with other campers, check to see if Mrs. Owl is still on her nest in the big tree – she is – and kept an eye on Cat so she could wander outside, hoping that the owl couple wouldn’t snatch Cat up for their dinner.

Around 10 a.m., it sounded like I was near a schoolyard with kids nosily playing. Nope! It was a bunch of campers happily participating in a lawn-bowling match. Another group were tossing horseshoes. Serious stuff!

Blythe brings back memories. My father-in-law, Dick Pray, and his wife Vera owned a motel in town in the 1960s, and we visited there a couple of time, staying in one of the motel room.

March 1 - 10
The drive west – on my least favorite Interstate (I-40) – was fairly easy through the desert. The road is straight and boring; a good time to go skipping down memory lane. I’ve spent most of my life in southern California – first about 10 years in the Santa Barbara area, then 30+ years in the North San Diego County, split between Del Mar, Solana Beach, Carlsbad, Valley Center and Palomar Mountain.

My days flew by. While I’m in the San Diego area I camped at the Oceanside and Vista Elks Lodges and at Pat and Russ Vollman’s home – three nights each. I had precious time with my son and his family (wife Dianne, granddaughters Christine and Danielle). I enjoyed time with numerous friends.

I also had annual and semi-annual medical checkups. It’s been 10 years since my breast cancer diagnosis – so I’m celebrating. Actually, I celebrate each and every day, counting my blessings, and finding ways to make each day special.

Whew! A busy time, but such a happy one!

March 12
I'm back at Mayflower County Park, and will leave this morning, heading to Laughlin, Nevada.

Finally, it is warm – actually hot enough to wear shorts! Coats, wooly scarves and sweaters have been wrapped and stowed in an outside compartment, inside Jeremiah was dusted and vacuumed, and I finished my writing work.

Life is an adventure – and it goes so fast. Here’s something to ponder. It was written by Max Lucado.

Growing old can be dangerous. The trail is treacherous and the pitfalls are many. One is wise to be prepared. You know it’s coming. It’s not like God kept the process a secret. It’s not like you are blazing a trail as you grow older. It’s not as if no one has ever done it before. Look around you. You have ample opportunity to prepare and ample case studies to consider. If growing old catches you by surprise, don’t blame God. He gave you plenty of warning. He also gave you plenty of advice.