The U-Pack trailer was finally dropped off at 5:00 yesterday afternoon. My fabulous neighbors emptied all the plastic tubs into boxes so they would pack tighter while I emptied the trailer of all the items it took ten people to stuff in it Wednesday. Then three guys packed the semi while us gals went to buy dinner. OMGosh! They got everything in 5 linear feet of space in that trailer…it was amazing! I have very little in my car and TOW-Wanda Grande is packed like a house with just the things I’ll need for housekeeping. However…now the slide won’t go out! It worked fine at the lot. But now the motor on the left works but not the right. I took it in but it was too late in the day. They can squeeze me in at noon today and they will have a two hour window to diagnose and fix it. They have no time available Monday so if it can’t be fixed tomorrow, it may be Tuesday or Wednesday before I get out of here. Go figure! On the plus side, my sister-in-law got in from Salt Lake last night!

When I was going through a really difficult time in my life, I began doing daily meditation to cope with the stress. It was no more than most women cope with…children, husbands, dog, house, bills. But I didn’t have a great set of tools in my toolbox to help me get through it. My learned set of skills for coping was alcohol (handed down from dad) and pills (handed down from mom). One day I was meditating and I had a clear vision. In this vision, I was in Glenwood Canyon, standing in the middle of the Colorado River in June at the peak of runoff. I was facing upstream and the river was rushing past me in a death defying whirl of whitewater that nailed me to the spot in terror. It was all going too fast and I needed to slow things down but I couldn’t. I spread my arms out wide and tried with all my might to hold back the mighty force of the river but I could not. I was exhausted. I was terrified. And I was sure I would die. Then I remembered what they taught me the first time I went whitewater rafting. If you fall out of the boat, don’t get caught underneath it. Kick away and turn around. Point your feet downstream, sit back, and let the river take you along with it. In my meditation, I leaned back into the mighty arms of the river and let it carry me away. The stress literally melted away from life every time I mediated on leaning back into the force and letting it carry me. I think this is why I do so well when all this life stuff keeps rising up and threatens to sink me. I’ll have none of that. Life is too short to spend it trying to control everything. And the view is much prettier looking forward! <3