About loss, bad luck and still carrying on
- Richard
- 4 hours ago
- 3 min read
It all seems so fantastic. Our photos, videos, and stories. But things aren't always so Instagram-friendly for us. The past few weeks are certainly a case in point. You can read what happened in this blog post.
On the road in Germany
Where should I begin? Perhaps with the most devastating news for me. In the past two months, seven people close to me have been told they are terminally ill. Three of them have also passed away within those two months. This has hit me hard. Some are, of course, more distant than others, but there are a lot of them. Several of these acquaintances are also my own age. So it all hits very close to home. You know, I've already shed several tears over this. Especially, of course, for those left behind.
Own ailments
Actually, this blog could end here. The rest of what's yet to come is completely out of proportion to the above. Anyway... At the end of my last trip, I had bursitis in my right elbow. I never knew it was so painful. Four months have passed, and it's still not completely gone. In addition, all that lugging around my father's house caused me to sprain my back. Although that resolved surprisingly quickly, it resulted in a pinched nerve in my neck, which has been causing me pain for weeks now. I went to the physiotherapist several times in the Netherlands, but that's still difficult while traveling.
Flu
It was over a week ago, you know. The flu. Neither Kelly nor I usually get sick easily, and we're certainly not complainers, but now we've been taking turns with it. So, last week we've been stuck in one place and mostly in bed.
Guilt
My time in the Netherlands was quite intense. We had, of course, rushed home, and within a week of arriving home, my father passed away. Arranging the funeral, clearing out the house, handling administrative matters. Busy. So busy that I feel like I haven't seen my children nearly enough and haven't been able to help them enough with their homes. That guilt has always nagged at me. I choose a nomadic life, but the downside is that I don't see my children much. My underlying feeling is that I've cared for them for 21 years, and now it's my time again. They're independent enough to take care of themselves. And yet... it nags at me sometimes.
Even Globus2 is sick
And then we're barely on our way when Globus2 refuses to start. The first morning, we discover that our jump starter is dead. The second morning, the newly purchased jump starter also fails to get Globus2 started, and we have to call the ADAC again. A new battery is installed, but that doesn't help either. The third morning, Globus2 won't start again. "What's wrong with you, man? What are you trying to tell us?" Back to the garage, where they finally discover that a computer causing the glow plugs to overheat is broken. After replacing it, we're eight hundred euros poorer, but Globus2 runs like a charm again.
"We are all temporary. That realization makes every day infinitely valuable."
Not a good start
All in all, not a great start. Although we're also very good at putting things into perspective. All those people around me dying make me realize even more that I made the right choice. Retiring early to enjoy life. You never know how much time we have left. Ultimately, we're all terminal, we just don't know how much time we have left. Every day we've enjoyed, no one can take it away from us.
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Slow down
Globus2 broke down in Germany. What luck! Our VW couldn't think of a better place to break down. Imagine if this had happened in Tunisia. Would it have been resolved so quickly? The trip was delayed for four days by the Globus2 issue. A delay that was extended by another week by our flu in Northern Italy. Wasn't this exactly what we wanted, and perhaps needed even more than we thought?
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