Responsibilities

I just got back from a walk around Lake Padden in south Bellingham. The sun peaked out this morning, so I decided to grab my hiking boots for the 2.6 mi trek in this beautiful park we found two years ago. Bob is recovering from a cold, so I went solo. While I was enjoying the cool, crisp air, the water lapping on the shore, and the wonderful smell of pine trees, I started thinking about how I felt when we first took this hike two years ago. We had just arrived and it felt like our only responsibility at that time was getting settled and finding our way around Bellingham. Although it was scary to be starting over again, there was also sense of excitement and wonder about our new life in retirement.

Sometimes, lately, I find that I miss that feeling that goes with being free of responsibility. We've worked real hard to "get connected" to our new community these past two years. The result is a job for me and a seeming gazillion things I'm involved with at church. Bob is so busy volunteering that he has made little progress building his model boat. The good news is that we WANT to be busy. We are young retirees and I think it would be awfully boring to not be a part of something more important than ourselves. Still, every now and then, I think back to those first few months here, when everything was fresh and new, and I get a little wistful. While I was walking today, I had that feeling, but also a very happy feeling. Happy to live within 10 minutes of a pretty hike, happy to have a sweet memory of our first hike there, and mostly happy to have landed in this most amazing spot at this time in our lives. I realize that you never truly get away from responsibility and I believe it makes your life richer. But, living in the beautiful Northwest, allows us to escape now and then to the mountains, or to the bay, or to a lake, or just a nearby park, and we continue to be grateful for that each and every day.