A Holiday and a Road Trip

My goodness, what a week this has been! Lots of uncertainties, as the last post showed rather clearly. Much of that, I think, was caused by a bad combination of stress and long-standing lack of sleep/rest, which in and of itself causes stress. One of those vicious circles we all hear about.

The good news is that I feel better today, although sleep was seriously missing for most of last night. All the indecision, the stress, are making me look deeply inside and question so much, and I have been narrowing in on what's important to me, what I want and need as well as what I do NOT want and need. It's all good.

Since I have a three-day weekend, I'm going to hit the road tomorrow and drive south down the Oregon coast to the little town of Brookings, just north of the California state line. It's an area I've been drawn to for a variety of reasons -- not the least of which is its 'banana belt' climate. It's a charming little port town, picturesque, and within easy driving distance of the redwoods, and not too far from Napa and even Eugene -- all the places I love about the west coast. It's a great location. I have numerous apartments to look at along the way -- all affordable, tax-credit housing for low-income seniors and families. And on Saturday morning I have an appointment to see a little cabin in the redwoods down in California. It's in an extraordinarily beautiful part of the world -- big redwoods everywhere, the fabulous Smith River, just lovely. The cabin is small, but may be doable. Hard to tell until I see it. There's also a little 'mother-in-law' cottage behind a larger house in Brookings.

I don't know if any of these will work for me, but I feel the need to give it a try before I take off for Georgia. Friends say the worst that can happen is that I'll get to Georgia and end up coming back to the west coast -- but I don't see it that way. I really don't see me making another cross-country move, so I need to get this one right, if I'm going to do it. I'd rather make a move to Brookings or elsewhere in that area and have that be temporary -- move on to Georgia if I find I still need to do that. Cheaper and easier in the long run. So -- stay tuned for results of this trip. As of today there is a wireless card installed in my laptop, so I'll be mobile and able to upload photos on a daily basis.

One thing that has become crystal clear is that staying in Eugene is really not an option for me, as much as I like it and as much as I'll miss it. There are simply too many unhealthy emotional ties here that need to be broken, and that can only happen with many miles of distance. I'm very comfortable with that, finally! And it's about time.