Life is Short

A mild winter in East Texas – and a new favorite photo of our little family on a rare cold day, captured on a game camera….

Mindful that it is never too late to reconnect with the people who are important in your life – I had a mini-reunion in California with some cousins, second cousins, and even third cousins!

Shortly after, my cardiologist told me that my congenital heart valve defect had reached the point where a replacement was needed via a non-invasive procedure through the groin. Easy peasy.

Little did I know…..

The valve worked fine, but my heart rhythm was off; my blood pressure and heart rate plummeted, and they brought out the crash cart to keep me going with a defibrillator….

Following an urgent procedure to install a pacemaker and an extra day in the hospital, everything stabilized and I got back to relative normal….. with what feels like 5 pounds of shrapnel in my chest.

The entire medical team was dedicated to getting me back in shape for our next travel adventure – a trip around the world beginning only a week after the valve replacement. I had my doubts….but here we are!

This little brush with mortality made me realize more than ever the philosophy so aptly articulated by that venerable sage, Viggo Mortensen:

Life is short and the older you get, the more you feel it. Indeed, the shorter it is. People lose their capacity to walk, run, travel, think, and experience life. I realize how important it is to use the time I have.

There is still so much to see, so many people to meet, and so many things to experience. It’s fun and we can!

SOOOO – a frantic few days of packing and preparing the animals and house, and off we went to Seattle.

Our dear friend Margaret was able to join us there from her home in Portland for a couple of days….

We join fellow travelers and the National Geographic experts in Seattle and will take off soon for our first stop – Kyoto, Japan.

More later!