Can You Blog Your Dash?

Thanks to my dear friend, Kathy Holmes, who posted about this on her blog, I have found something called the Blogging Challenge which you can find out more right here. This is really neat because it not only gives you ideas on what to blog about but they really make you think.

This week's blogging challenge is called Blog Your Dash. According to Lorelle, this is what you're supposed to do:

"Everyone’s tombstone will have two dates separated by a dash. That little dash is your time on this planet measured against eternity. How do you plan to live out that dash?Your blogging challenge this week?Blog about your dash."

How absolutely neat, so being as it's the weekend and I'm taking a break from setting up tours, I thought I'd give it a go...

How do I plan to live out my dash? Well, I have found myself, now I have to find my space. What I will be doing is finding it.

Now, this brings up a pretty interesting, but complex situation. I have traveled all my life. I have lived on the Eastern Shore of Virginia (where I live now), Burbank, California and Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. I have vacationed in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, and rode in the back of a sixteen wheeler to Canada. So, I have basically seen pretty much of the U.S., although that does leave out a lot of states I haven't put my foot in.

With all that traveling, though, you would think I would know where I wanted to live. I mean, I'm in my early fifties for gosh sakes and should know by now, don't you think?

But, I don't.

I had a phone call this afternoon from a woman whose son, Abraham, I used to talk about who was fighting cancer through unconventional means. I know you all have at least heard about him since he made the news and was a guest on many talk shows. There was a huge court battle because social services were charging the mother and father with neglect because they were letting their son refuse chemo which the doctors ordered. He ended up winning the court battle, but his troubles were only just beginning.

The family fell apart and the mother has full custody of the kids living in Floyd, Virginia.

Even though the family has been through so much, they are happy now. She was telling me how different Floyd was from the Eastern Shore. Among other things, every Friday, they have like this one huge block party in the middle of main street with people playing guitars and there's bluegrass music and just having a great time. When I asked her about crime, she said she never hears about any really.

Man, can you believe that? Where I am, there's a cop car with siren on every single day of life going by the house.

Anyway, I digressed a bit.

Her phone call hit that "I wanna find my place to live" button.

I have a friend who told me something I'll never forget. He said, "Find out what you want and what it takes to get it." I've done that in my professional life, but my personal life involves finding that oasis, that place where I can finally call home. Being an army brat does have its disadvantages because you never really know where home is.

So, my dash will be finding a home where I can feel rejuvenated and enriched and where I'll be able to breathe in peace. And I'm going to find it while I still have some dash left.

Anyway, I think I'm doing this wrong. You might have to leave your answer on the Blogging Challenge blog, but it really made me think about this, which I've been doing already for ages and never finding a solution.