Post Card from Vermont

i just came in from cross country skiing in my back yard
tossed a dry log to the fire
a cup of tea sits nearby patiently brewing.
there is always a book lying in wait on the table
scrabble, puzzles, and deck of cards are piled near the woodstove
cyrus rests on the couch with one eye partly open.

a typical scene in my house.
one i won't participate in for some time.
i always feel nostalgic before i travel.
suddenly my bed feels extra comfy.
the cold weather is refreshing.
the woodstove is a joy and not a chore.
ahead the unknown awaits.
i don't even have a thought out plan.
i did buy a one way ticket to Guatemala.
so far its Florida to Guate.
i leave today.

my bag is packed.
one bag for 3 or 4 countries for several weeks.
travel light. live light.
the less i take, the less i have to worry about.
its my approach to life these days.
i am just coming to an age (um, may be called adulthood) where i appreciate how little can be so much.

once while traveling in asia, i took a one hour flight from hanoi to siem reap, cambodia.
one flight. one hour. they lost my one bag--for longer than one day.
i had the clothes i wore in chilly northern viet nam and my courier bag.

siem reap was at least 20 degrees warmer than hanoi.
i went to the central market in siem reap and bought a light cotton tunic.
i wore the same blue pants & white tunic for 4 days.
there are pictures of me touring temples, hiking in the jungle, riding motos--all in the same outfit. anyone viewing my travel pictures may conclude that was one long day full of activities.

i was determined not to to fall prey to the tourist markets filled with kitshy ethnic knock-off sarongs. i managed. each night, i rinsed my panties and tunic in the bathroom sink then hung them to dry. it worked.

i did so much over the course of those days. the lost luggage was a glitch on the scale. a tale of misadventure for later. back to the moral of the story-- you don't have to worry about things, if you don't have them.

a friend in guatemala told me the super bowl will be on, the day i am to arrive in lago atitlan.
it's funny to learn a bit of main stream americana from someone abroad.

wonder what more interesting things i may come to learn on this trip.