TheJessicaness

I decided to change my start day to February 29th; it only comes once every four years. I’ve tried to pack, but have to remember that’s the mover’s job – otherwise I could be held responsible for broken items. They did great with our last move; we only lost three glasses. I’m busy trying to make sure everything is taken care of before I leave. I don’t want to feel guilty if there are any mistakes; such as attempting to forward our mail to a stranger’s house because of a one number difference in the address.

I’m excited for this trip that might bring rain, lots of wind, maybe a flat tire, some rude drivers, suicidal squirrels, and bumpy roads. It will also bring sunshine, donuts, animals, plants, parks, smooth roads, and camping under the stars. For a week I will not have to worry about walking dogs, filling the car with lots of gas, or paying bills. I will have to worry about my dogs missing me, my husband not eating, and me trying to eat enough food.

I’ve got a list of what goes where – whether on me, the bike, or in my panniers. That will be a post before I go. I will be keeping track of what I bring, what I use, how much it weighs and other such adventure details to help those that are looking for a handy guide to get them started. Weather is a big factor in gear, then there is life’s necessity of water, some calories to keep me going, tools to keep me going faster, and cameras and notebooks to help me remember the details.

I haven’t been on here in a while. It’s not because I don’t miss it; it’s because I miss my fast internet speed. I don’t know how I ever used to manage doing college homework on this slow, small screen. This helps me realize why it’s good to grow up with less and then experience the nicer things in life. If a spoiled rich kid ever had to digress it would break their spirit. Caleb got a new pair of shoes and was reminded that shoes are supposed to come with padding – no more used shoes for that guy!

With my time away and Caleb working every four nights, I’ve had some time to do more reading. Last month’s theme was animals, travel, and outdoors. This month’s theme is sex, violence, court rooms, and World War II. I also read some childhood favorites – James and the Giant Peach, Matilda, and The Witches. February included a science-fictiony story By the Light of the Moon by Dean Koontz. People are injected with weird goo and gain special powers.

Double Vision; a story about quantum physics, two girls after the same guy, and the government out to get the little guy. Cold Mountain; a soldier skipping out on the war to get back to his lady. The Great Gatsby; a rich man throws parties to get back the love of his life and people die. The Count of Monte Cristo (Abridged Edition); a guy loses his future wife and job, suffers a lot, and then comes back for revenge. Snow Falling on Cedars; a story that taught me more about WWII from the Japanese-American point of view. The Predators; a boy’s parents die and he gets drafted into the army, lots of sex, mafia, and loss. Dead Ringer; a lawyer with a twin sister that tries to ruin her life.

More packing, more reading, more donating, more selling, more buying. The movers want everything off the walls – pictures, curtains, and everything taken down off high shelves. Then you need to have all clothes, toys, books, and dishes somewhat in their own space for more efficient packing. We will donate the old sneakers with no padding, the tire chains that don’t fit the new car (another future post), and recycle the CDs we can’t sell, and sell the college books Caleb didn’t get the chance to use.

The hardest part for me is trying to use what food we have in the cabinets, fridge, freezer without buying too many things to go with what we have. Caleb would be fine with bringing a mini-fridge, but as much as we can survive on trail mix while on the road every few days we love a heated meal. The other part is sleep. As exciting events approach my mind seems to have the incapacity to rest for too long.

I anticipate a night with stars and crickets, maybe some frogs. A night with no traffic and sirens, no cell phones or alarm clocks, no barking or neighbors screaming, no street lights or water sprinklers, and hopefully no mosquitoes – I just can’t sleep with them buzzing around the tent and making me step outside into a full-on attack of all the local fire ant hills. I will enjoy days without depressing news, demanding media, and deprived status updates.

If you have any questions about the who, what, when, where, or why of my upcoming trip just let me know and I will answer it in my next post; though it’s usually good to wait until after, probably, but there may be something I don’t think of and it will be a few weeks after Feb. 29 before I am back on the Web. And while I’m gone I hope all my fellow readers are finding the adventure in their lives, as usual. I look forward to catching up soon.