AAM Monday: On My Own

My car is a real joy to me and I love driving it. It's good solid German steel, drives well in snow even if I don't and it fits my body very well. I like changing gears, I like my sun/moon roof and there is just enough space to carry some things without giving me lots of space which might be encouragement to buy big stuff I don't have room for.

I also like going places in my car and it gets good mileage - it's a Golf diesel. Last month, I took myself to an oyster festival on the other side of the Chesapeake Bay, our Eastern Shore. It's a totally different world, mostly flat land that is farmed. It used to seem so boring to me as I was growing up because it was the last stretch of drive before we arrived at the beach and by the time we crossed the bay, I knew we were getting there but Not There yet.

Today I see it differently. I do my hospice volunteer work on the Shore and as I meet the people I am introduced to a life I've never lived. A life where a lot of families still are connected to the land or the water. Life can be a bit more real on the Shore and it's a good balance to the kind of life so many of us live 'over here'. We don't farm, we aren't watermen, and while many of us have jobs in ordinary fields like education or health, more of our focus is on government and its many branches. Many of us weren't born or raised here. It's where we came for the job and it may or may not become 'home'. Attitudes are different.

Last month, after a wonderful day eating those oysters and meeting some fun women to talk with, I stopped and talked with a few of my hospice folk. They seemed surprised that I drove all the way from my home in Annapolis over to Snow Hill ...by myself. I went out for a day by myself. Almost to a woman, my peers and friends in Annapolis wouldn't give this a 2nd thought. You want to go somewhere, your spouse or partner isn't interested or you're single, so you go! Yes, just you, you go. But the women I spoke to at hospice said they never did this. They couldn't quite imagine 1. going some where on your own and 2. enjoying it. I thought if you wait for someone, especially a special someone, to go places or do things, you might wait a long time, and miss some great experiences.

I've driven to Canada with only a map challenged young teen and to Baton Rouge alone. I know I can eat alone, sleep in motel alone, and call AAA alone.  I can talk to strangers as I did yesterday and enjoy making new friends. Company is great but it's not always necessary nor is it right for some trips.

Do you go places on your own when your spouse isn't interested, doesn't exist, or don't have a tag along friend?  If so, why not? Really, why not?

Now what did that mean???

Have you ever wondered what your dream meant and wanted a neutral interpretation? Well you can find out at Dream Interpreter.



Have fun!

Some people have asked about the postcard/journal swaps, and they come from Swap-Bot where you can find enough swaps to keep you busy till the cows come home. The journal was my 'biggest' project but in the end I found it tiresome. Check out the pics on Flickr with swap-bot as a tag to see what others have swapped.

The layout for the postcards came from a WebChallenge at the wonderful Designer Digitals . I certainly don't get to even a fraction of the challenges, but I find them good ways to have a base to test out some Photoshop Elements techniques without having to come up with an idea of my own. I need skills training and practice at this point. DD comes up with the idea and I work on my ability to manipulate the digital graphic. btw, I don't scrapbook but find that the inspiration can be used in other ways.


Happy Weekend and for those in the US, Happy Independence Day to us!