Since marrying my husband just shy of twenty-five years ago, we have lived:
When you move this often, your riches are not stored in a bank or safe deposit box.
You may be wondering why, since every single place we have lived has been beautiful, we continually sell everything – buy high, sell low is our motto – and move on to the next adventure.
In ’65 my husband, Jack, stepped on a land mine just outside Danang. There was a lot of that going on back then in that steamy corner of the world. He deals with his physical wounds in a variety of ways including meds and Marine Corp-instilled will power. But it’s the mental shrapnel of that war, post-traumatic stress, that is his biggest challenge.
Heck, in between moving from place to place, we packed one change of clothes each and backpacked for six months around Thailand, Nepal, and Vietnam. But times change, we all age. There comes a time when sixty-seven pieces of shrapnel become too heavy a weight to bear with Marine Corp Ooorah. Comes a time when fifty years of roaring adrenaline and constant overcoming begins to show its effects on the body and on the brain. Comes a time when the doctors speak words like dementia and irreparable damage.
Comes a time to settle into a quieter life.
But you’ve already picked up on the fact that Jack is a Marine, right? He will not go quietly into this good night. He will rage against the darkness to his dying breath. As the wife of a Marine, I will plead, and force compromise when I can, and insist on pointing out all the reasons he needs to slow down. But in the end, I will go where he goes. As the heat of summer blesses us, Jack glares at the winter that must follow and makes plans to escape the ice and snow in Chiang Mai, Thailand.
When Imperfection Strikes! What happens when those closest to us ultimately disappoint? Why do we…
We hadn’t done much planning. After all, we weren’t even sure we would get across…
My “Medellin Jubilado (Retiree) Odyssey” contained a trap. I toured,, was a wonderful tourist. I…
I have always believed in intuition and never more than on January 19, 2021. A…
We two have been motivated to hike and climb mountains through our 45 years of…
Fortunately, we were gifted with good genes at birth. We’ve kept persistently active walking and…
This website uses cookies.
View Comments
Chiang Mai is warm and the people are charming, but can you take your service dogs? I've really enjoyed your blogs on PTSD. I've learned a lot and hope to see more.
My advice: Go, go while you can, before the true old man winter sets in. Then come back to your Ozarks where solid ground and friends await.
You continue to be an inspiration, and I count my blessings that along your wide and varied journeys, our paths crossed.
We mostly regret the things we did NOT do. Go while you can.