A leap of faith.

Georgia threw up again this morning and is a little down. It looks like brisket bones have stopped agreeing with her delicate pigdog constitution. Or perhaps she just feels the anxiety/excitement that's been hovering over our little house the last week.

The Other Half has now been a fulltime cushion for 3 weeks. He's really working hard at it too, so Georgia is a happy bikkie. It's been an interesting time for all of us. 

Georgia has learnt how to sleep in till 7. She often eats brunch instead of brekkie. Now that she doesn't have to look forward to the man coming home at half 5 to take her out for her evening walk, she randomly, hopefully pesters him to take her out at all odd hours. Weekdays melt into weekends. Without even capoeira to mark time, I often have no idea what day it is. 

It's been a while since there were 2 bodies in the house 24/7. Like some newly minted couple, The Other Half and I are learning how to make space for each other, and I don't mean just physically. I'm not sure who will go mad first.

This week, the hot topic in our little house has been "What next?" or to be precise, "Where next?"

Apparently, the #1 spot in the world for a happy comfortable retirement is now Ecuador. I wonder if Julian knew that.

This pic from HERE.


Some of you who follow our stories might remember that we've been fiddling with the idea of moving to Somewhere Else for a while.

Like many people of a certain age, we wonder what we're going to do with the rest of our lives, how we can make our money last, where we could go to live more simply. We're not seeking enlightenment, just something less mundane than suburbia with a view of our neighbour's big gum tree.

Since The Other Half stopped working, such thoughts have gone into overdrive.

*

While in Brazil, we met an 80-odd year old man who spends 9 months of every year on the road, travelling with no frills and all by himself. I feel envious and tired, just thinking of him.

Did he meticulously plan for this kind of retirement? Or did he just wake up one morning particularly bored? Could we do it? Even more importantly, is it possible to embark on such an adventure with an occasionally fearful 45kilo dog at the end of a short leash? 

Maybe Pamela has some answers. 

"My friend Oscar moved to London last week. I think it's very far away and way over the bridge." 

"Bye Oscar! I hope you have a good life! Please don't forget us!"

The Other Half passed me a blog post this morning. 

Reading it, my head started nodding and my heart started pounding. The idea of moving  to Somewhere Else! further than the Gong, or even Hobart! at our age! is daunting, fascinating, frightening and exhilarating. 

The idea of moving to a place that we've never even set foot in, could just be plain stupid. 

And yet. 

And yet. 

A gungho Other Half is kind of pissed off at my lack of courage. He tells me, "We just have to take a leap of faith."

"Are you sure, Cushion? Remember what happened to me when I leapt off that ledge at Mort Bay?"

So there you are, Rose. If I've been quiet and not posting or visiting lately, you now know why. 

I've been busy pondering alternative realities,

things that may or may not come to pass, 

with a man who is on a short break/long break 

or possibly even, has retired.

As you can imagine, this might take some time. Please be patient and don't hold your breath.