Staying Put

For many people that I know, the measure of one's 'interesting-ness' rests with how much one has traveled.  In other words,  if you have not traveled some place exotic recently,  there is something missing from your life. Or that tends to be what I perceive.  In several of the groups in which I participate, one is automatically introduced by their travels.  This has a negative effect upon a person who has no desire whatsoever to travel to exotic places.

For most of my life,  I have been moving from place to place, and traveling here and there.  As a preacher's family, we moved frequently when I was a child.  Then in my twenties, as a a military family, we moved frequently to various locations.  In my thirties, I moved to several different abodes, though within the same general vicinity of the state, trying to get settled, which I finally did for a little while, when I married Gerry and we lived in Dryden.

Then I experienced a call to ministry, and once again, that meant many changes in one's living environment.  We have occupied a variety of homes during the past twenty years, in a number of locations.  Now, my greatest need and desire is not to see the world,  but to experience being in one place without moving for the next ten years, hopefully!  (then this house may be too large for aging occupants)

In a recent conversation with a friend who said she would travel constantly, if she could, I realized that like so many people I know,  she has lived all her life in the exact same town.  I can understand why that would make travel more appealing than it is for one who has not lived in any one place for very long.

Probably a contributing factor in my non-desire for travel is the fact that I hate to fly.  That is not because of a fear of flying, but a somewhat claustrophobic reaction to being confined in such a small space for so long. I have racked up some terrible experiences over the years. Now intensified security only makes flying less appealing.

I have traveled and/or lived in various parts of the United States, including Hawaii.  I have been to Canada, Mexico,  England, Ireland, Guatemala, Aruba.  I traveled back and forth from NY to Mississippi for many years until my mother passed away in 2008.

Now my greatest desire is to stay put!   I realize that it makes me boring to other people.    Perhaps the longer I stay home the more boring I will become.

But who knows what adventures might arise in the future?  (though hopefully they will be by car)