For the last year I've once again lived a life
straddled between rural Montana and urban
Manhattan. In theory such an existence is the
ultimate expression of yin and yang. But it's
not the best of both worlds. Managing the
constant transfers between here and there is
anything but a delicate balance. Not a day
goes by when I don't assume that something
is at hand in the kitchen cupboard or fridge.
When in reality it's over two thousand miles
away. A phenomena that causes me to double
down. And to question the benefits of living
in two places. Is it worth all of the hassles?
In theory one's golden years should be spent
enjoying the fruits of one's labors. Yet many
of my fellow baby boomers continue to take
things to the extreme. Post retirement things
can get more complicated. In theory splitting
one's time between hot and cold makes sense.
However I question whether spending one's
winter searching for all you need is worth
avoiding snow. Either I'm in the early stages
of dementia or it's just too confusing. All that
I know is that rushing to and fro between two
extremes is exhausting. And so come January
we're coming home to stay! The end is near!
As Lisa said on Green Acres - I just adore
a penthouse view. However I don't enjoy
all of the responsibility that accompanies
maintaining our New York apartment. Like
any home - something is always breaking.
Recently our fridge starting making awful
noises. For a day I fretted over what to do
as the idea of coordinating a repair in this
city is daunting. So rather than pick up the
phone - I prayed for redemption. By the
next day all was silent. Yet I still worry
about what might go wrong next. Is my
dual existence causing me to breakdown?
Nothing is ever easy. Yet inevitably I seem to
be adept at complicating almost any situation.
The resulting confusion has me resolved to
put an end to all of this fuss. There has to be
an easier answer. Thus my early new years
resolution is to stay in ONE place. In truth
nothing is more ridiculous that attempting to
be in two places at once. Burning one's candle
on both ends ultimately burns you out. Maybe
it's time that I put on my big boy pants. Should
I accentuate the positive by eliminating the
negative? All of which means that by the end
of January we'll be going home for GOOD.
Enough is enough. Each of us have our
individual sweet spot. The error in many
of our ways is assuming that we require
more than one. At many points in life we
all escape reality. However there's a big
difference between taking a vacation and
maintaining a vacation home. So while
our plan is to stay in one place, I've no
doubt that we'll continue to be frequent
travelers. The difference being that in the
future somebody else must worry about
whether the toilets are scrubbed. Which
in my opinion is the ultimate get away...
