![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-K-gXu_RY5MOSC5mppJXc7VlSB3U5B7K0JUEkzjtRtB1dymYAipCt8aOtaXUgDj5ignPEOLJsXw3iT6m2TGX6WSPj2r3MU7uMXF13kmYSh40d6Qr0GkdJ5BR7VqDqm1Eqdikp76oKes4/s400/missourisign1.jpg)
Amazing.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBGmDHn7QhyphenhyphenSmq-U5kld94BjeU_YUX9-MV3OlmFxjJM4FFB7IK3IfLUl8Jw0UNE13UgFFBFA9WmNrkmO6JxqyB5M2fJtLm5QmOwknfjJ_3XMQzxDL7b8lnOzztX5hnMCm5V-5BIfz2qY4/s400/labodeg10.jpg)
And so, it's that very thought that swept through my head last night as I sipped sangria and munched on my mushrooms and shrimp, surrounded by a group of really good and nice people. One line kept popping into my head: "Look what I've created here." I mean, when I left New York to start my cross-country Eldercation trip, I knew I was heading to new places and I was excited about it. Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa - all these states I'd heard about, read about, flown over for so many years - finally, I was driving through the small towns, meeting the people. It's been ... for lack of a better term ... thrilling. And the thing is, never during this entire process, have I ever given much thought to where I'm going to end up once this stage of the project is completed. Having said that, I'll again mention - Kansas
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNpBd96mvu_NKL00_FuzJrCcYvJQsA0CvwLzyIxxogpCZcCbK4RbpN5PtPySwf_zR1Oq6FAAhDtCc1KdB3xI8AwUv_pp_tO2dnxzgrTalKidsD2DNc9YVKDJXAd8kKOS4LLjoX6L8DxFU/s320/IMG_0020.jpg)
And yet, there I was last night. Surrounded by people - new friends in a new land - all of us in Kansas City.
As I pointed out last month, the end of the year presented me with a good opportunity to do some solid thinking. That's when it gets dangerous for me. Still, I realized something pretty important - I was downright tired of dealing with my December 28 birthday the same way every year. Alone. What can I say? It's just in that "spot." In what I like to call that deep valley in between Christmas and New Year's. And so, this was the year I was determined to change course, seize the moment, and create something special.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB0X-fsVyfwV0aMxVYCUPKOgb6ldZLwgCWLy2BA2h84Fee_H4uALpK5HDyOTA2Attia6grOE2va_UQeQUdEKP9wj8tPw98fDj1xFB65RxefsTN-f5XqscBCwaP3dJwiZ_lEZyq4oTUsog/s320/labodeg7.jpg)
There really is something envigorating about sharing friends. It's not something I've been especially good at over the years but, last night, I took a shot at doing just that by organizing a night out at a fun (and delicious) Spanish restaurant here in KC. Just about every person at the table last night has figured in my adventure here in some special way. I could have invited - in fact, I wanted to invite - more folks to the outing, but the La Bodega-man told me that 17 was pushing it. That was the number I had to work with, so I dealt with it. And it was fine.
Once again, I'm now looking just up around the next turn and I can't say for sure what's going to happen next. Then again, who among us can actually do that? (If someone out there can do that - I'd
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzA-GavqC7csEzkE6Sd1UiY6LHCuKfO_AWz7xrGb5QIaNd_6nYxYDlq1zMu4BwAGqP236k60oSNdwUt-WsmkC7lP-Xwi-eTuWua4dXieOXjLSQV6uy2EpHDAa8H-ObjvMWSEldnyRTX6k/s320/IMG_0018.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5tHA_kgwP7GIkjmqGWPSXi_GYYuXvvw5oGJ6qSjTNgQ0fTXt4HAa-93NTH15KTteakFp3VsS-hcTtcsdTN6vFhyphenhyphenhBxhhGuKgXkgfe3gFPOiDO8uUI3br8zPypzo1tEsQDFjihVkRvsM8/s320/labodeg2.jpg)
For now, I'll finish here by saying this - I bring up the winding down of the book because it's very much tied to what I was feeling last night during our little La Bodega fiesta. Now that I've lifted up my head, after being so focused over the past few years, I need to think about what's next? And before any changes come about, I wanted to make sure I took a solid snapshot of what I have right now - in this moment - with the people I've met here in Kansas City, Missouri. Amazing. Never in my wildest dreams. It's funny how this life thing works.
No comments:
Post a Comment