A few weeks ago my brother-in-law John, suffered a stroke. He is only 67 years young. Fortunately, my sister LuAnn realized his behavior was very erratic, and called 911. They live in the Dallas area, which has many excellent hospitals. The paramedics recognized his symptoms, and took him to Baylor University Hospital, a certified stroke facility. My sister was very impressed by how quickly the hospital staff treated him. When a stroke is suspected, timing is critical.

By clicking this LINK, you can learn more about the signs of a stroke. Please take a moment to do so, as you can help save a life. Remember to think F.A.S.T.

John is at home, and going through daily outpatient rehabilitation. It has been a slow process, and his long-term prognosis is not fully known at this time. My sister is remaining positive and just trying to take things one day at a time. If you are a praying person, I know they would appreciate keeping them in your prayers.

And if that isn’t enough for my sister to deal with, she is also trying to teach her daughter Alicia how to drive!

It has been a while since I have seen John, LuAnn and Alicia, so I do not have a recent picture. The one below is from a breast cancer walk that I participated in down in Dallas in October 2009 with John, LuAnn and Alicia. That little girl just to my sisters left in the pink head scarf is Alicia, now all grown up! (Watch out Dallas, she has a learners permit!) My sister has beaten cancer, so I know she has the strength to get through this.

Alicia, LuAnn and John

Two Sundays ago I learned from my sister Margie that her brother-in-law, David (a/k/a Lumpy), had suffered a heart attack. He is only 58, and is recovering after having a stent put in his artery . Please keep him and his family in your prayers as well.

And here is the link for recognizing symptoms of a heart attack.

Hearing things like these give me a lot of mixed emotions. I have debated writing about this for a while now, but it keeps gnawing at me, so I decided to post a blog. Normally I like to keep personal matters to myself. I feel very blessed that we have been able to fulfill our dreams and live the RV lifestyle. The number one reason we are out here doing this, is because life is not guaranteed. After working in a hospital, and seeing how quickly life can change, I just wanted to get out and live life. If I die tomorrow, I can die happy.

But, I just wish we were more mobile, so we could go and help out when needed. I would love to be able to drive down to Dallas and help my sister out. We would also be able to attend more events with family and friends, such as weddings, graduations, funerals, class reunions, baptisms, etc., which we have been missing.

I don’t have any regrets about what we are doing, and I certainly don’t want to go back to a stationary life living in a house full of stuff. I just need to start looking into other sources of income that we can do on the road. I need to find a ‘work from the RV’ job, so we can be more mobile.

I have been spending a lot more time pondering the value of life. Fortunately, cleaning cabins doesn’t require a lot of thought, so I just quietly scrub the toilets while I think about things. I am thankful that we do not have television out here in Moran, Wyoming. There is just too much ‘noise’ going on in the world right now. We spend too much time worrying about things beyond our control. Too much time on social media. Sometimes we forget what is really important in our lives.

So take some time and hug your loved ones. Give them a call, write a letter (yes, snail mail) and plan a get together. Just try to enjoy life! Don’t take it for granted.

Quote for the day: “I believe every human has a finite number of heartbeats. I don’t intend to waste any of mine.” – Neal Armstrong