----->>> In a Home Named Destiny: Finish the Race- the last days

So something happened two weeks before we left Arkansas... I was determined to finish cleaning up the side of the log cabin. It consisted of 8 hours of raking, weeding, and digging in the dirt. After I finally got it all clean I planted rosemary, thyme, citronella and some pretty yellow flowers. It looked so nice! All this to say... I found out that the whole eight hours I was digging and weeding, I was actually playing in the roots and stems of poison ivy. It took a little bit to figure out what it was because I have never had it before. We thought maybe chiggers or some kind of little mite. But after a few days we finally realized what it was. It covered both of my arms and all of my shins.

I am laughing now but it was pretty miserable at the time and I still have scars on my arms. Turns out I am allergic to poison ivy. I think it is a little comical because everything always seems to hit the fan in the weeks leading up to our departures. I am serious! I mean one time our clutch went out one day before we were were supposed to leave and I ended up being stranded in a parking lot til my dad could come save me, another time the company I was working for withheld ALL of the money I had earned in the months before, and recently I opened a letter right before we were supposed to leave from the IRS who was claiming we owed them over $4500 in back taxes (not possible!).... something always comes up. This time on top of my poison ivy infestation, I pinched my sciatic nerve and then the alternator went out on our Xterra as we were going to pick up Destiny from storage to get her loaded up.

A week like that really just makes me want to punch someone.... really, really hard. The thing is though, it literally happens before every trip so we are learning to laugh it off and roll with it. Most of it is just annoying little things that you just don't want to deal with right before you leave.

I was pretty impressed with us this time, we were mad for a little bit (about the alternator on our NEW car) but we just let it go and kept moving forward. Our recovery rate is getting much faster in these types of situations. In the beginning we would steep over these things for weeks, full of frustration and anger. I guess that living in a 1988 motor home that constantly has something breaking in it will teach you PATIENCE and resiliency and PATIENCE! You have to be flexible and roll with all the punches of the mobile lifestyle. They will come, oh trust me they will, and you can either choose to roll with it or let it eat you alive!

So we got over our little set back and then loaded up Destiny. Jordan has been amazing with all his help getting ready for this trip as I wasn't quite up to par and at the end of the long days of getting things ready he would even give me back massages! (Lucky wifey!) Once Des was all set to go we went out to dinner with Wendy in downtown Hot Springs at my favorite restaurant there. It has an amazing outdoor patio. It's dug into the side of a mountain so you have this beautiful cliff with green vines on one side of you. There are lights all over, hanging from trees and all sorts of greenery while someone is playing live music in the background. It was wonderful.

When we got home we watched one more storm roll in from our log cabin porch and talked about all the great things that came of this trip. We always try to reflect on every chapter and really try to remember each and every part of it. The good, the bad, the fun and crazy, the lessons learned. It helps us to really find joy in what we are doing and embrace our attitudes of gratefulness. The nights we sit around for hours with these "reflections" are some of my favorite memories with Jordan. We stay up way too late drinking wine and getting lost in conversations while watching the stars or storms. I love every part of it.

In the morning I hit one last Farmer's market with Wendy. It was bitter sweet, as I reflected on how much I poured my heart into those herbal products. It's hard to leave your work behind sometimes. But we had a great day and enjoyed the plant sale that was happening this week. I found my new baby "FERNY" He is so cute!