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| Baby bushbuck is no more than a month old. |
“Sighting of the Day in the Bush”
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| Bushbuck mom drank from our pond after eating the dry pellets. |
When we recall posting our first story on March 14, 2012, which was 7½ months before our leaving Minnesota on October 31, 2012, it seems much longer ago. Tom was still working on the railroad until the day we departed while I was entrenched in getting everything sold and making plans for our future lives of world travel.
At that point, we were totally committed and never faltered in that commitment, even when we encountered one obstacle after another. Leaving one’s home country for years to come proved to be a much more daunting task than we ever imagined when we conceived of the idea in January 2012.
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| Mrs. Warthog lays down to feed her two fast-growing piglets, most likely three or four months old. |
My return to good health in November 2011, after a massive change of diet the prior August, prompted our decision a mere two months later. Traveling had never been a priority in our lives with my poor health and our stringent work schedules.
Oddly, neither of us had dreamed about traveling and rarely discussed anywhere we’d like to go if we did. Oh, we took a few trips, mostly shorter flights when I couldn’t sit for more than a few hours on a plane, but we were always anxious to get back home to family, pets, and friends. How did this happen?
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| Big Daddy Kudu visits almost daily. Last night he stopped by while we were dining outdoors. We no longer have dinner indoors when dining outside is heavenly. |
How were we able to leave everything and everyone we loved behind to embark on this peculiar and yet enchanting lifestyle? Besides the health aspect, I think both of us had a lot of responsibility at a very young age.
Tom’s first child, Tammy, was born when he was 17, and my first son, Richard, was born when I had just turned 19 (his 51st birthday is this week). By the time we were each in our early 20’s, we had owned houses, worked long hours, and had responsibilities many don’t experience well into their 30’s in today’s world.
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| As the sun began to set, mom and baby bushbuck stopped by for a visit. |
Our 20’s and our 30’s flew by in a blur. When Tom and I met, he was 38, and I was 43. Like most parents, we were overworked and, at times, totally engrossed in our responsibilities. We made mistakes as parents, as spouses to others, and in life in general.
Together, we formed a strong unit in continuing our sense of responsibility in helping in the care of aging parents and others. We never allowed ourselves to think of or conceive of an alternate plan for the remaining years of our lives.
And then, with my returning health, we both ironically and simultaneously had a powerful and unstoppable desire to “step outside the box” of our predictable lives. Of course, most of our family members weren’t thrilled we were leaving with no particular end in sight. We understood that then and fully understand that now.
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| Their eyes leaned into a sound they heard in the bush. Even the baby’s instinct to watch for predators has kicked in at an early age. Fortunately, there are few predators in Marloth Park, except for a few lions roaming around. |
But, as time has passed, we’ve become even happier and more fulfilled (if that’s at all possible) in this nomadic life; free, unencumbered, and dedicated to embracing the world around us.
No, it’s not always easy. Today, the temperature will reach 98F (37C), and we’ll spend no less than 15 hours outdoors in the heat. With a bit of a hot breeze, the dry dirt roads scatter dust and dirt around us, making us sneeze and have itchy eyes.
The mozzies bite day and night, and yet…reading our posts. You can easily see how happy we are, we have been, here in Marloth Park and many other countries throughout the world.
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| They both came right up to the edge of the veranda, looking for pellets. Of course, we complied. |
We’re living a dream, a dream neither of us ever had in our old lives, a dream one can barely imagine as becoming real, manageable, and fulfilling. So today, six years later, we thank every one of our loyal readers for sharing this dream with us.
Today is post #2052. That’s right. In these past six years, we’ve written 2,052 stories. It wasn’t until 2013 that we began posting daily and more photos as time moved along. Documenting this journey has added more to our experiences than we ever dreamed possible.
If seven years ago, someone told me I’d have to write a story every day of my life, I’d have said it was an impossible task. Now, if someone said I couldn’t write a story every day of my life, I’d say it was impossible not to.
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| A mongoose dosing on the bottom step after another wild frenzy over the sour cream in the cup. |
As laborious or tedious as it may seem at times, particularly with such stories as the past several days, it’s always done with love. When one is motivated to perform a task out of love, it’s much easier to do. Should the time ever come that we can no longer write here, it would be the time to stop traveling.
If anything, we almost feel as if we’ve just begun. Our enthusiasm, commitment, and desire to share our story are only enhanced as each day passes. Please share our story with others who may glean a morsel of pleasure from it, and please, dear readers, continue with us…there’s so much on the horizon.
Please click here for our original post on March 14, 2012.
May you find your joy and fulfillment.
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| We “borrowed” this photo from Bob, our landlord in Fairlight/Manly. The previous night, while dark and cloudy, we spotted two cruise ships leaving Sydney Harbour heading out to sea. For more photos, please click here. |