Two Weeks Before I Leave for the DR!

Two weeks from tomorrow I'll be heading to Washington DC, and Wednesday, August 22, I'll be in the Dominican Republic. Today I spent the day in beautiful Bodega Bay with friends Alex and Ellen Rush. They hosted a gathering for those of us who wanted to do The Work, a process taught by Byron Katie. Basically this is an inquiry process, designed to question belief systems, and stay open to acceptance of life on life's terms. It was a day of deep internal work, empathy and laughter. I was so glad that I took the day off to participate.

Of course, the number one false belief most of us have is that we are in control of life's energies. Right know I am realizing how little control I have over a lot of things in life. For instance, next week I'll put my car up for sale. I'm not in control of whether it will sell over the weekend. I bet it will though! I am doing my best to manage my anxieties about wrapping everything up and starting a new chapter in life. Time with friends and a gorgeous drive helped a lot to increase my relaxation level.

So all of my life's possessions are in storage, with the exception of a few minor articles I'll add in the last few days before I leave California. I was very glad to have the help of a friend putting my things in a closet sized storage room. I think I got things pretty well distilled out over the past six months, considering I've been on the planet 63 years. Here is a photograph.

And I've pretty much got what I need for going to the Dominican Republic, too. Hope all of this stuff fits into my pack and rolling duffel. The Peace Corps allows 80 pounds. You can see I've got a package of balloons and a pump to blow balloons up with. Over my years as a child therapist I've developed a certain expertise with balloon animals. I'm taking a few card games, and some puppets. Also, I've wrapped a few gifts for host families I'll be staying with. Several DR travel books and a map are in the pile, as well as a few swimsuits, a warm weather sleeping bag, a sleeping pad, clothes, rain jacket, electronics and so on. The Peace Corps DR packing list suggests that we pack a can opener and vegetable peeler, so these are here too!

Here is a photograph. Oh, and of course, there is a ribbon for outstanding 8th Grade Spanish...just to remind myself that at various times of life my Spanish has been pretty decent. In my last few days here I plan to get in some concentrated time studying...if I can just get my jumpy nerves to settle long enough!