TRADING PLACES

Back when our oldest child was just starting high school, we came to a pivotal point in our marriage. Hubby was spending most of his time working overseas, and I was spending way too much time reading books about finding one's authentic self. We ended up with a wonderful marriage counselor who, along with Julia Cameron and her book The Artist's Way, got me into the "morning pages" journaling habit, which turned into a writing habit, which turned into this blog -- a critical tool in figuring out what I really wanted out of life, and in solving #2 below.

If I had a bucket list at the time (I'm sure I did. I always have lists.) it probably went something like this...

1) Find My Tribe

Exploring San Antonio With The Muses

2) Find My Voice

3) Find New Ways to Express my Creativity (thanks to reading The Artist's Way)

4) Learn to Cook and Eat Real Food

Daughter Lexie Helps With Distribution at The Bountiful Sprout

5) Become a Locavore (thanks to reading Animal, Vegetable, Miracle)

6) Try Growing Some of My Own Food

The Mexican Hacienda Kitchen Courtyard Cantina Garden Comes To Life

7) Live a More Reasonable Life (thanks to reading A Reasonable Life, by Ferenc Maté and The Good Life by Helen and Scott Nearing)

Our Water Catchment System is Installed

8) Become the Woman I Was Always Meant To Be (thanks to reading Simple Abundance by Sarah Ban Breathnach)

9) Simplify -- Make My Life Less About Stuff and More About Experiences

10) Visit Tuscany (thanks to reading The Hills of Tuscany, also by Ferenc Maté, and Under the Tuscan Sun)

One day our counselor asked me where I imagined myself being ten years on, and I told him about my dreams. I told him I pictured myself living in the Texas Hill Country, doing all of these wonderful things, and that the only thing I had a hard time picturing was my hubby, doing them along with me, since those most definitely were not his dreams!

He then turned to Hubby and said "For more than 25 years Becky has been the caboose to your engine, following wherever you led, doing whatever needed to be done in order to further your dreams, has she not?" "Yes, she has." "So, would you ever be willing to trade places, and become the caboose to her engine?" "Absolutely!"my hubby replied. And he meant it.

Which is how we ended up spending the last ten years here in Wimberley, living out my dreams, and fulfilling all my fantasies. Well, all but that last one.

We kept meaning to do that one, but things kept happening to distract us -- like several trips to the ER; the discovery of river cruises which, unfortunately, do not go to Italy, but do go to Provence, which is just as good; weddings; Sudan; grandbabies; etc. You know how it goes. You also know how much my hubby loves shopping. Especially Christmas shopping. So imagine my surprise when, just the other day, he announces out of the blue that Christmas shopping for each other is no fun anymore since we both have everything we could possibly want or need. "Next year, why don't we just skip buying presents for each other, and plan a trip instead? Like maybe to Tuscany?"

Yes. Yes. YES!