Don't forget to SMILE

OK, this is a cheat blip. The photo was taken in 2007 (it took a lot of clicking to get back to today's date!) when I was recording an entry that I had made in my journal.

Today I was scanning through old directories looking for some "Nature" photos to post to a Facebook challenge. I stumbled on this image and it seemed so appropriate on a morning after a night when I was wakeful and imagining the tears on the day that I leave here.

I have moved home many times in my life and have had almost 30 postal address in my time on this planet. Only once have I cried on departure, and that was on my first move from the home of my birth, in 1961. I was 8 years old and I was being uprooted. I sobbed my heart out. 

After that and until we came to Sanday, I had been more or less rootless. Always moving on without a backward glance.  After ten years here I feel very much at home and in the right place.  I know that when we drive off on our big adventure that there will be some tears. I trust that there will also be plenty of smiles: anticipation of things to come, some very happy memories of our time here; expectation of an eventual return.

I think that perhaps this journal of mine should not end up on the bonfire. I would like to take it on my travels and even add to it. Having seen this photo and others of my "paper-crafting adventures" I find that I miss doing that a great deal (I had to pack it all away when I lost my dedicated play room and had to return to sharing my DH's office space.) 

I have a ton of crafting materials that will have to be re-homed but I think perhaps I shall take some minimal supplies with me and play a little whilst on the road. It would be good to return to Mail Art especially and to post missives from all around the world, decorated with a little extra love.

This thing seems to be actually happening. It has passed the dream stage by  a long way. Yesterday the chooks went, taking their little house with them. We paid a holding deposit on our new home on wheels, and sourced some short term financing to tide us over until September. An appointment has been set to go and see and (hopefully) purchase an RV. Insurance matters were sorted out based on that expected purchase. Today it looks as though the Land Rover will be going to a new home soon. 

Suddenly everything is real.

Suddenly I am pleased that I have been a  photographer; that I have literally thousands of images from our time here. So happy to have been a digital photographer and to have numerous memories that I can keep and take with me and not be concerned about volume or weight in our new tiny home. Imagine if these memories had been on film - the gargantuan task of selecting the few prints that I would be able to keep!