Makes me High

Yes, John Denver again. I know it’s the height of dorkiness to admit liking his music, but there – I’ve said it. Right now Sunshine on My Shoulders is playing, it’s a beautiful day and we are out camping. I feel a little high or at least pretty darn good.

There have been a few times this summer when I’ve wondered if maybe I’m sick of camping and ready to give it up. Then I go camping again and realize that nothing could be farther from the truth. I feel so relaxed and content. Maybe it’s the walking, or the beautiful surroundings, or maybe it’s the to-do list that has been parked for a while. No matter – the result is good. Our usual tradition for first night of camping is a beer and snacks as soon as we set up and I always feel so content and happy – I’ve always attributed it to the beer, but here it is mid afternoon, no booze in sight, and I have that same feeling. It’s the closest to the heady feelings of mania that I used to experience.

The new sun shade is great – if a bit fussy to get threaded into the awning groove. Today, with temps at around 22C it provides just the right amount of shade while still letting some warming sun through. So we’ve been sitting in it’s dappled shade, drinking lemon water (zest and juice of 1 lemon into glasses of ice and cold water), reading, writing my blog and listening to some ancient music (Gordon Lightfoot is playing now).

The dogs have been on high alert most of the day as the squirrels run about collecting their nuts and battling for the prime storage sites.

I forgot to mention that I got the most amazing birthday gift from myself! Finally on Thursday the mailman delivered the printed book of the first 6 months of my blog! It’s on nice glossy paper, the photos are good (but a little small) and there, in print, is all my months of babble. What a terrific keepsake of the first days of retirement. I can imagine sitting down with it 10 or 20 years from now…

Remember, happiness doesn't depend upon who you are or what you have, it depends solely upon what you think.
Dale Carnegie