Notches in your belt

Tuesday, December 31
At this time of year folks tend to sit back and reflect on the year past and look ahead to the next. As 2019 draws to a close we may also be thinking back on the previous decade. As I sat this morning enjoying the sunshine and doing a bit of 'navel gazing' I realized the belt I was wearing has seen a lot of personal history. (sorry for the belly shot!!)

The belt I'm wearing is 30 years old. I bought it on vacation in Missoula, Montana. Yes, it's worn out but like most folks it's hard to part with a comfortable part of your wardrobe, like an old hat, sweater, or shoes. You wear them until they fall off you, and you don't care what other people think!

My belt has lived through a lot with me. You can tell by the wear marks on the belt holes that it has seen variances in my girth over that time. I'm proud to say it is cinched up as tight as it will go so it either stretched or my waist line shrank. Let's go with the latter shall we!

So my belt has lived with me for three decades. A lot has happened over those years. Family gatherings, two kids married, three Grandchildren born, and yes, loved ones lost. We've been together through sad times, bad times, good times and mostly healthy times. I've hung a nail bag on it when I built my garage fifteen or so years ago, and this past summer when I built the deck at the lake. I've hung knives from it when camping and fishing. It has outlived numerous pairs of jeans that it helped hold up.

My belt has traveled with me for a lot of miles and seen a lot of sights. Cheryl and I (and my belt) have traveled a lot in the past two and a half years since I stopped doing the 'work' thing. We've seen the Pacific, Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico. We've seen well over half of the US States and nine Canadian provinces. Prior to retirement we've stayed in hotels and motels, tents and various camping rigs. We've hiked and biked and yes, my belt and I even swam together......by accident.

You can tell by the well used notches that we've enjoyed some great meals together and lived through some hungry days as well.

2019 was a very good year, and looking back on the decade I don't think we'd have done anything different. Selling the house, buying the fifth wheel and hitting the road was a life-long dream that came true for us. Cheryl and I have met so many nice folks from all over the continent and from all walks of life. Certainly we know more people now since full time RV'ing than we did in the previous 30 years of living in a city. We hope to keep doing what we're doing for many years to come. Maybe in 2030 I'll do another decade in review from our trailer parked in a nice warm spot. I might even have the same belt!

HAPPY NEW YEAR to ALL!  We wish you health and happiness in 2020.
From Cheryl, Dave....and yes, my belt!

.....and that was Our View From Here!